Golden Temple (Amritsar)

The Harmandir Sahib and the Darbar Sahib located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab (India) are informally known as the Golden Temple. Built in the 16^th Century by Guru Arjan Dev, the golden Temple opens from four gates which symbolises the openness of Sikhism towards all the people and all the religions.
Jasa Singh Ahluwalia with the help of other Sikh Misl’s re- builded the present- day Gurudwara in 1764 with the intention of building a place of worship for all the men and women irrespective of their cast or social status. Guru Granth Sahib, the most holy text of Sikhism is always present inside the Golden Temple.
The temple welcomes more than one lakh worshippers on a daily basis. As the name states, the Golden Temple is made up of pure gold thus attracting lakhs of tourists from all around the world. The reflection of the Golden Temple in the pond located in the premises of the Gurudwara under the moonlight acts as one of the major attractions for the tourists.

                                  The Sufi saint Main Mir laid the foundation of the Golden Temple with the intention of building one of the best historical Sikh monument in the world. The Golden Temple is surrounded by a large holy tank or a Sarovar with the presence of a number of holy shrines named after the Sikh Gurus. While entering the Golden Temple, proper code of conduct is to be maintained by the visitors. The code of conduct is based on the following principles:
I. It is essential to maintain the purity of the sacred temple and one’s own body while entering the premises.
II. It is essential to open the shoes while entering the temple premises and washing feet in a small pool of water provided.
III. Smoking cigarettes, eating meat, drinking alcohol is not permitted inside the temple premises.
IV. As a sign of respect, it is essential to cover one’s own head with a piece of cloth. Visitors without a cloth are provided one while entering the temple.
V. It is also essential to sit on the ground in order to show respect to Shri Guru Granth Sahib and God.
Viasakhi is celebrated in the second week of April at all the Gurudwars including Sri Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple. The day of Vaisakhi is considered to be a sacred day by the Sikhs because it is believed that Khalsa was founded on that day.
A number of other celebrations such as the birthday of Guru Nanak Dev, the martyrdom day of Guru Tej Bahadur are celebrated on a large scale at the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is lit up with Diya’s beautifully on the occasion of Diwali and special fireworks and lightening are also visible on the day. Most of the Sikhs visit Sri Harmandir Sahib at least once in their lifetime.

History of Red fort

 

'Red Fort

History of Taj Mahal

                                  History of Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just looking magnificent. It's the history of Taj Mahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a soul that is filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if it was not for love, the world would have been robbed of a fine example upon which people base their relationships. An example of how deeply a man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made sure that this memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in love with Mumtaz Mahal, his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name Arjumand Banu Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and fell in love with her. Five years later in the year 1612, they got married.

Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their 14th child. It was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a magnificent monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the "Taj Mahal". The construction of Taj Mahal started in the year 1631. Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from Central Asia and Iran, and it took approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The monument was built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees, Taj Mahal was finally completed in the year 1653.

It was soon after the completion of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was at the end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908, as a measure to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion of 1857: Taj being blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also deprived the monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls. Also, the British style lawns that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were remodeled around the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present threats from Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of love continuous to shine and attract people from all over the world.