Indian Columbus

Kanchipuram, the city of 1000 temples, is one of the ancient cities of India. In the olden days, it was called Kachi or Kachiampathi. Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet, has mentioned: "Nagareshu Kanchi" meaning "Kanchi - the best city". Kanchipuram has a lot of important features to talk about. I try to cover as much as possible in this small article.   1) Kanchipuram is one of the seven sacred cities of India. India's other six holy cities are Varanasi, a.k.a. Kasi, Haridwar, Ayodhya, Mathura, Dwarka, and Ujjain.  2) Kanchipuram is called a city of 1000 temples. It is believed that there were around 1000 temples in ancient Kanchi. Now, there are about 250 temples in and around the city.  3) Kanchipuram is famous for its silk sarees too (Kanchi Pattu). The other city in India famous for silk materials is Varanasi. 4) Kanchipuram had its golden times during the rule of Pallava kings. It remained as their capital city. Most of the current temples of the city wer...

Avudayar Koil temple, one of the oldest temples in Tamil Nadu, is located in a small town, Avudayaurkoil. It is situated at a distance of around 14 kms from Aranthangi city of Pudhukkottai district. The site was called Tiiruperunthurai in ancient times. Avudayar Koil (the word "Koil" means "temple" in the Tamil language) is attractive not only due to spiritual reasons but also due to its architecture and sculptures. Because of this temple, the entire Avudayarkoil town has been declared as a 'heritage town' by the Government. Even though the temple is popularly referred to as Avudayar Koil, the temple's name is Atmanatha Swamy Temple. The original structure is believed to have been built by the Saint Manickavasagar in the 8th century CE. It is evident that the temple has been extended in the later years. The temple legend is closely connected to the history of Manickavasagar. King Arimardhana Pandian asked his minister Tiruvadhavoorar to buy horses and ga...

Srirangapatna , the historical town of India, located near  Mysore  city, has many important tourist and historical sites. Gumbaz, the tombs of Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali, is one of the most important tourist sites in Srirangapatna. Tipu Sultan, the tiger of Mysore, the great warrior who fought with the British empire, built Gumbaz amid Lal Bagh, a beautiful garden. He built tombs for his father Hyder Ali and mother Fathima Begam (Fakr-Un-Nisa) in Gumbaz. The structure is stunning, standing on a high and wide platform with an open verandah of polished pillars all around. The highlight of the Gumbaz structure is a well-shaped large dome, ivory inlaid doors, and carved stone windows of fine workmanship. The chamber is painted with tiger stripes. In Gumbaz, the tomb of Hyder Ali is found in the middle, with the tombs of Tipu Sultan and Fathima Begam on either side. (The tomb of Tipu Sultan was added to Gumbaz after he died.) There are the graves of other family members of Hyder Al...

Srirangapatna , the historical town of India, which is located next to the heritage city of India,  Mysore , is an important tourist spot in Karnataka state of India. It has a lot of exciting tourist destinations. Among those sites, Daria Daulat Bagh is one of the most important tourist destinations. Daria Daulat Bagh, also known as "the wealth of the sea," was the summer palace of the great warrior of the Mysore region, Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan built this summer palace in 1784 CE. The summer palace (Daria Daulat Bagh) is square in plan and was built on a raised stone plinth. There are a lot of teak pillars on the outer edge of this two-storeyed beautiful palace. All the walls and ceilings of this palace are painted, mostly depicting the victories of Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali, the durbar (court) scenes of Tipu Sultan and his contemporaries, and other people and scenes related to him. The architecture of the palace is Indo-Islamic style. There is a well-laid and wel...

When you go to  Mysore , you should not stop just by visiting  Mysore Zoo ,  Mysore Palace ,  Chamundi Hills , and  Brindavan Gardens . You should also extend and visit the nearby historical towns called Srirangapatna. Even though the highlight of Srirangapatna town is  the Ranganathaswamy temple , many historical sites and monuments are also located there.  Masjid-e-Ala or Jumma Masjid is one such important historical site in  Srirangapatna . Tipu Sultan built the Masjid in 1784 CE, once he came to the throne of Mysore. He performed his first Imamath here (Imamath = some religious course in Islam). The Masjid (mosque) has an open court and a covered verandah. The highlight of the structure is two lofty minarets, which stand on a high platform. The octagonal-shaped minarets are two stories surmounted by domes. The minarets are beautiful and can be watched even from a long distance. There is a flight of around 200 steps to the top of minarets from ...