British India Flag

There were different princely rulers in India and the British India came up with a single national flag. The first flag of India was designed was similar to the British colonies with a blue background and the Union Flag on the upper left and a Star of India capped by the royal crown in the middle of the right half. (The star being the Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India award created by Queen Victoria to honour the services to the empire by the Indian subjects).  The British India flag remained the same from 1858 to 1947.

Navarathri - The doll festival of India

Navarathri - The nine day(night) festival for Devi.

Navratri that is celebrted as the beginning of winter is also known as Maha Navratri or Sharada Navartri. The festival falls on the Purattasi or Ashwin month. Starting on the new moon day and ends on the 10th day.

This is one another festival, after Diwali, which is celebrated by almost by all, all over India. Nava - nine, Ratri - night.

Devi is worshipped in her 3 important forms - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. The first 3 days are for Durga, the middle 3 days are for lakshmi and the last 3 days are for Saraswati and the 10th day Vijayadasami is celebrated to proclaim victory. On the 9th day or on the Navami day, the books and the equipments used to do business are kept in Pooja and lordess Saraswathi is worshipped on that day. On the Vijayadasami day, the small kids who are yet to go to school are taken to the school and Aksharabyasam is started.

Durga is the personification of Shakti or power or energy. She is the destroyer of evil and she is the consort of Lord Shiva.

Lakshmi is the personification of wealth and she is the consort of Mahavishnu.

Saraswathi is the personification of knowledge and she is the consort of Brahma.

Deepavali - The festival of lights

Deepavali is a festival of light and it is celebrated all over India. It is normally celebrated after 21 days after Dussehra. This festival marks the Unity in Diversity of Indians. This is one festival, that young and old look forward alike, and celebrate it with great zeal and enthusiasm. Diwali brings all friends and relatives together. The legends of Diwali are so many and the famous ones amongst them, is Rama's return back to Ayodhya, Killing of Narakasura. Deepavali is celebrated in Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore too.  Deepavali is considered to be the national festival of India.

Deepavali in different regions of India:
Deepavali in South India:
    Deepavali is celebrated in a different manner in different parts of India. In south Indian states of Tamilnadu, Andrapradesh and Karnataka, people clean their house and decorate it with Kolams(Rangoli). In south India, the celebrations of Diwali are for two days, the Diwali day and the previous day night. The previous day night is Lakshmi Pooja day and the next day is the Naraka Chaturdasi,(the day, the evil Narakasura was killed). Early in the morning on the Deepavali day, every one takes bath before sunrise and wear new clothes.

Deepavali in West India:
   Deepavali is celebrated for almost 5 days in all the western states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat. The first day  is Dhanteras, the second day is Kali choudas, third day is Lakshmi Puja, the fourth day is Muhurat Pujan and the fifth day is Yamadwitheya. Lakshmi Puja, new year, new account opening mark the most significance features of Deepavali in the western parts of India.

Deepavali in East India:
    Kali Puja is the main celebration of Deepavali in West Bengal. Lamps are lit in her honour and houses glow with those lights. Evenings are ear marked for Lakshmi Puja.
     In Orissa, Deepavali is celebrated with crackers and sweet meats. All the members of the household gather together in the house in the evening and draw a sail boat with 7 chambers and 7 different items are kept along with the prasad in the middle chamber on which jute stem is placed. The jute stem is with a cotton wick and is lighted and from that all the members light their own bundle of jute sticks and pray with hands raised p to the sky. After this puja crackers are burst. The houses are decorated brightly with lights and flowers.

Deepavali in North India:
         There are 3 day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir. People decorate the house with lights after cleaning their homes. This occassion they mark it as a day to buy new things. On the Deepavali day, people get up early and put on their new clothes and go to temples and exchange pleasantaries. The day next to Deepavali is known as Sukhsuptika, and on this day, the elders of the family fast and do Lakshmi Pooja.

In most of the parts of Uttarpradesh, Deepavali is celebrated for 5 days just like that in Gujarat, along with the return of Rama after the victory over Ravana.

Teesta Tea Festival - Darjeeling

Teesta Tea Festival - very popular tourism festival in Darjeeling West Bengal. The tea producing districts are in the northern parts of West Bengal. The neighbouring states also produce a large amount of tea and the Teesta Tea Festival is celebrated every year in the month of November and December and a large number of tourists visit the state during that festival.

This festival is also regarded as the tourism festival of West Bengal. This festival is organized by the West Bengal Tourism, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and Sikkim Tourism. The festival is supported by Govt. of Indian Tourism and with the help of some Private Tour Operators.

The Teesta Tea and Tourism Festival is organized in the hilly areas of Darjeeling which is a beautiful place surrounded by long stretch of tea gardens. The festival is celebrated with grandouise and pomp and locals and foriegn tourists visit during the festival. The festival is full of excitement with food carnivals, film festival, toy train ride, Water sports, Nature walk, visit to the nearby sanctuaries and lots more. The generally calm hill locality looks entirely different during this season with lots of colours, festivity and music.

Harvest Festival in Different Parts of India

Pongal is the name given for the Thanks Giving festival in Tamilnadu. The name of Harvest Thanks Giving festival in different states of India are:

Pongal - Harvest festival of Tamilnadu celebrated for four days and the new and feshly harvested rice is cooked with Jaggery and milk and offerred to Sun God. The Sun God is offerred with Sweet Pongal, Ven Pongal, Sugar Cane.

Makar Sankaranti - In most of the north Indian states people celebrate the harvest festival as Makar Sankaranthi and the main attraction of this celebration is the kite flying. Competitions and contests on kite flying and kite capturing goes on in many states.

Lohri - The harvest festival of Punjab is celebrated on the coldest day of the Lunar year. The celebration is performed with the traditional Bhangra dance around the fire. People offer sugarcane, rice and sesame seeds. Folk songs are sung as a thanks for giving a good harvest.

Bihi/Bohaggiyo Bhishu - The harvest festival of Assam and is one the biggest of the 3 Bihus that is celebrated. This  festival is celebrated as the festival of cultivation of paddy which is the principal produce crop of Assam.

Hadaga Festival - This is the harvest and monsoon thanking festival of Maharashtra. People of Maharashtra pray to lord Indra. People sing songs to praise Indra and also draw the images of elephant which the mount of Indra to thank him for the rain.

Forts of India

For a very long time, India had been ruled by so many kings and emperors. There wer dynasties and the kings lived in styles. To safeguard their palaces and their people, the kings build huge forts. Many forts are seen in Rajasthan as there were Rajputna kings and these forts are symbols of their grandeur living. The forts depict their architecture and the colours of the past. Most of the Indian forts are mainly castles and fortressess. But it was British people during their rule gave the common name fort to all of them. Though many of the ancient forts have become old and have become mere rampages, still there are some forts that are strong enough and stand as icons of past.

The 16th century saw a lot of fort constructions due to the muslim invasion. The forts that were built during this period were built to withstand the gun powder attack. The gates of the forts were decorated intricately and artisticly, (Lintel design for Hindu or Rajput forts or the arch design for Mughal forts. Most forts have sharp iron spikes to stop the gates being broken by the elephants.

The British too built forts in India. The famous forts built by British are the Fort William in Kolkataand Fort St. George in Chennai.

Two of the Indian forts - The Redfort and Agra Fort have been named the Unesco World Heritage sites.

Toy Trains of India

There are 4 toy trains running. All the trains still run on steam engine giving the travelers a great insight of how the trains would have been in the past.

The train in the north run from Kalka to Shimla. The train in the south runs from Mettupalayam to Ooty. The train in the east runs from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeling. The train in the west runs between Neral and Matheran. Visiting these hill stations of Shimla, Ooty, Darjelling and Matheran is always a entrhrilling experience. The trains chugg through fields, goes through tunels, runs over bridges and helps the traveller breathe the hilly air. 

 
The toy train to Shimla - The toy train that runs between Kalka and Shimla is a six hour journey. The entire stretch have 107 tunnels. There are 4 stations enroute - Dharmpore, Taksal, Gamma and Solan. 

The toy train to Ooty (Udhagamandalam) - One can reach Mettupalayam by Nilgiri Express and Chennai Daily. From there one can take up The Nilgiri Mountain Railway train. The entire journey is 46 km long and the train ascends slowly in twists and turns. The train runs in narrow gauge and it runs at a speed of 33kms per hour. The entire journey runs through plains, plantations and forest clad hills. There are 16 tunnels and tall bridges all along. 

 


The toy train to Darjeeling - The famous hill station Darjeeling have its own toy train. This guage is a 2ft wide one and is the narrowest hill train guage. The engine is quite tiny and is a century old and it is worth seeing and taking a snap in front of it. The entire stretch is 86 kms and the traveler can view the breath taking view of the Himalayas all through the 7 1/2 hour ride. The Himalayan mountain in this stretch is a delight to see. New Jalpaiguri have trains connecting it with Kolkatta(Calcutta). This is the most famous of the 4 toy trains of India.

Toy train to Matheran - This is a 77 year old line connecting Matheran with Neral (the main line of Central Railway). The scenic beauty of the hils and the plains below gives a wonderful traveling experience. The travel to Matheran and stay at Matheran is definitely a peaceful one. The travel time is 1 and a half hours. Neral is a station in the Mumbai-Pune line

Journey from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling by Toy Train

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - is one of the four Toy Trains of India. It is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway that runs between Siliguri and Darjelling run by the Indian Railways. The 86 kms ride starts from the plains and move towards the hills. The journey starts with a warmer climate and moves to a chill and cold climate. So while travelling in the Darjeeling toy train one need to keep warm clothes handy.

Nearing Darjeeling town

The route stretch from Tindhara to Gayabari station is a scenic beauty of jagged rock faced mountains of Giddapahar through which the train passes through and reaches the Gayabari station at 3400 ft. The train stops at Pagla Jhora where it stops for water. Then the train reaches Mahanadi Bazar station which is at 4000ft and which is also close to the source of the Mahanadi river. From here the train reaches Kurseong station at 4864 ft travelling west. Kurseong a little hill station where one can see the culture and tradition of a hill town and hill people. From Kurseong the train crosses through the Kurseong bazar which gives a glimpse of the Tibetian prayer flags while crossing over Hussel and Khola. The train passes through the forests of maple, chestnut, pear, cherry and cardamom plants. The train then reaches Tung at 5656 ft.

Train going through cross roads

From Tung the train reaches Sonada at 6552 ft and passes through the Sonada bazar giving a glimpse of Tibetan Stupa. Before reaching Ghoom, the train passes through the Senchel Reserve forest. One can get to see bright blooms of rododendrons, cream magnolias and orchids during the spring. The Senchel Reserve forest region is a world wide bird watching centre and the top of the hill is the famous tourist spot Tiger hill which gives a different and unique view of Himalayas and one can watch sunrise from this point. The train then crosses the town of Jore bunglow where the roads are narrow and this is the place where the traffic in and out of Darjeeling crosses. The train stops here for a while till the traffic clears if one happens. After crossing this town the train reaches Ghoom at 7407 ft.

Inside DHR toy Train

From Ghoom the train moves towards Darjeeling pasing through Batasia Loop from where one can see a splendid view of the Darjeeling town and the Kanchenjunga peak. The train then reaches the Darjeeling Station. The total travel time all along the route is about 9 hours (which could extend an hour more too).

All along the route from Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, there are lots of road crossings and almost all through the journey the train runs quite parallel to road and one can see cars and other vehicles running very close. The famous song of Meri Sapnon ki Rani from the movie Aradana is shot in this train and all along the route.

Darjeeling Railway Station

Shivalik Palace - The Luxury Coach

Shivalik Palace, a special tourist coach, which is a 6 seater one, which can be classified into a deluxe hotel room. This can be attached with any train that runs between Kalka and Shimla so that a good view of the valleys, mountains and lot more.
The journey in this coach is absolutely elite class one. It have a kitchen with kitchen ware which can be used by the tourists themselves. It have two rooms and is suitable for a family of 6. The entire coach is nicely decorated with lights, music system, a load of indoor games, books and magazines to get entertained if at all the view outside is boring, though which is not to happen at any time.

The rooms have folding cushion beds. The kitchen have a dining table and refrigerator. The bathrooms are fitted with modern amenities.

The total fare is Rs. 8,225.00 (both ways), and for the up direction - Rs. 4,790.00 and for down direction Rs. 3,495.00. A complimentary retiring room for two at Shimla  comes with the fare.

Shivalik Queen - Tourist Coach for Honey mooners

A luxury tourist coach launched in the year 1998, especially for the honey moon couples. There are two sections in each coach which is designed elegantly from wall to wall and the windows are curtained beautifully. There is a bell to communicate with the driver and microphone to communicate with the guard. Magazines and newspapers are provided for free. The fare for a couple is approximately around Rs. 750 per couple in which meals are also included. This coach can be attached along with any mail or express from Kalka-Shimla.

Palace on Wheels - Experience the life of Maharajas

Palace on Wheels was first started in the year 1982 as a means to promote Rajasthan Tourism. The entire train had coaches that were used in the British period and this train was regarded as a special Heritage Tourist Train. The main aim of the Palace on Wheels train was to provide an unique experience for the tourists of Rajasthan. 


The first train of the Palace on Wheels which run using steam engine started running from October 1982. 
 
 

In the year 2009, Indian Railways started running the new luxury train Palace on Wheels or Royal Rajasthan on Wheels train which covers a circuit of Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Chittorgarh Hill Fort, Udaipur, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and Tajmahal of Agra. 

The entire tour circuit trip is for seven nights and eight days though there is an option to book for minimum of 4 nights journey from Jaipur to Udaipur.

Palace on Wheels is a splendid and enchating royal journey in train. The train itself gives the feel of the era of the Maharajas. The Palace on Wheels have luxurious cabins, wall to wall carpeting, a well stocked bar, two dining cars and all these comes with personalized services. 


The train Palace on Wheels have 14 carriages and all the carriages are well designed and decorated with the Rajput style. 


The coaches named after the princely states of Rajputs are decorated with Rajasthani style. 


All the saloons in the coaches have channel music, intercom facilities, attached toilets with 24 hours supply of cold and water shower. 

The names of the 14 coaches are:
1. Alwar
2. Bharatpur
3. Bikaner
4. Bundi
5. Dholpur
6. Dungargarh
7. Jaisalmer
8. Jaipur
9. Jhalwar
10. Jodhpur
11. Kishangarh
12. Kota

13. Sirohi
14. Udaipur


Each saloon have a mini pantry and a lounge. One can get hot and cold beverages and refreshments and a place to relax. 


The bar in the Palace on Wheels is well stocked with Indian and International brands.

Facilities in Palace of Wheels: 
There are individual and Common Facilities available in the Palace on Wheels


Individual Facilities
All the 14 coaches are airconditioned deluxe salons, and have 4 twin bedded chambers. 


The luggage is placed in the respective salons and the passengers can board just as it is enjoying the royal welcome.


Every guest is provided with a welcome kit on arrival which have stationery items, brochures, cards and anything more needed can be asked for from the Khidmatgar. A complimentary beer or wine is also provided to the guests. 

A personal attendant - Khidmatgar is always at the service of the passengers and they take care of every need of the passengers.

Safety measures and other arrangements are made to safely secure the personal belongings in the train.

The guests are provided with toiletries. Soaps, shampoos and moisturizers are provided in the train. 

Special assistance is provided to needy in the form of wheel chairs, creches and special personal assistant. 

The two restaurants in the Palace on Wheels are named as Maharaja Restaurant and Maharani Restaurnat.  guests can choose from the Continental, Chinese, Indian and Rajasthani cuisines on board Palace on Wheels. Mineral water is served to all the guests on board


Every morning the guests are given newspapers and dailies along with a hot cup of tea or coffee or any beverages of choice. A large collection of magazines are also available to choose from.



Common Facilities
Guests can play Indoor games like Chess, Playing cards, Chinese Checkers, Carom Board and Crossword Puzzles.

The lounge in every coach provides a great place for relaxing and interacting with other guests.

To post mail, a mail box is provided on board.


Medical aid is provided in the train. First aid is available immediatly and in case of need a doctor can be arranged in the nearest station.


Guests can choose from a vareity of handicrafts from Rajasthan from the Emporium inside the Palace on Wheels which is owned by the state. 


The entire train is a no smoking train.