TAJ MAHAL
 Built by
Mughal Emperor Shahjahan, Taj Mahal is located in Agra, Uttar
Pradesh.
Better known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and structured
in white marble, the pristine purity of the Taj draws visitors from
every corner of the globe. Its untouched beauty leaves visitors in
amazement. The vision of the Taj is like experiencing the slow
unfolding of a raga. By moonlight, by sunrise and sunset, the Taj is
a flawless monument. Its every facet unimpeachable, as it turns its
face to the changing courses of the sessions and to the hours of the
day and night. It is the tomb of dedicated love and a lover’s lament
for his beloved. It celebrates her memory, snatching from time’s
relentless hands, a perfect crystal.
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JANTAR MANTAR
 Built
by Sawai Jai Singh-II in seven years, Jantar Mantar is located
near the gate of City Palace, Jaipur.
The Jantar Mantar was conceived as a quest for discovering the
mysteries of the Cosmos. The 'Jantar Mantar', is a re-phrasal
of the Sanskrit word 'yantra mantra' meaning instruments and
formulae. It was built to verify astronomical observations
made at Jaipur, and to stimulate interest in astronomy which
had become enmeshed in theory, superstition and religious
jargon.
Following the style of an observatory at Samarkand, huge
masonry instruments were built, keeping in mind the rules of astronomy, the position of the
equator, latitudes and longitudes. The observatory at Jaipur has
the Samrat yantra, the Jaiprakash yantra, Ram yantra and the
composite instrument includes a sun-dial and a massive
hemisphere on the northern wall.
The Samrat yantra consists of a massive triangle with a curved
structure on both sides. The face of these masonry instruments
is lined with marble and has astronomical gradations that may be
used to give the local time according to the shadow cast by the
triangle and to study the position of the sun and stars by using
a metal rod.
The Jaiprakash yantra is in the form of two hemispherical bowls
representing the celestial spheres and the use of a vertical rod
in the center give different positions of celestial bodies
during the day and night, the gradations are etched on the
marble lining.
The Ram yantra is in the form of a high cylinder surrounded by
circular walls and the shadow of the sun on the vertical and
horizontal marble gradations via the cylinder, indicates the
altitude and the azemuth or declination of celestial bodies.
The composite instrument is heart shaped and has massive
triangular central gnomon and circles. The edges of the gnomon
and circles are marble-topped and their etchings were used to
give the mid-day times of Greenwich (England), Zurich
(Switzerland), Notkey (Japan), and Seritchew Islands (Pacific
Ocean) as these places and sun observatories too.
On either side is small Samrat yantra giving the Jaipur local
time and on top is a sun-dial which shows the sun’s position,
besides a massive semi-circle on the 5 inclined north wall that
shows the entry of the sun into the astrological sign of Cancer.
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AJANTA & ELLORA CAVES
 Ellora
- This ancient rock complex at Ellora near Aurangabad carved 107 feet deep
is an invocation to the glory of man and the grandeur of God. The cave was
a parallel sanctum as compared to the “sanctum sanctorum” of the HIndu
temples of India, and the cave constituted “a miniature womb of divinity.”
Ellora is located 45 kms from Aurangabad and is famous for Buddhist caves
and rock carvings.
Jain caves and Hindu temples - There are 34 temples sculpted out
of stone expressing Hindu, Buddhist and Jain themes. It took over five
centuries for the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain monks to chisel out these
monasteries, temples, chaplets and decorate them with remarkable
imagination and detail. These caves run North-South and take on the Golden
Radiance of the late afternoon sun.
Ajanta Caves - When the echo of the chisel faded, the
world forgot these cave temples. Till the 19th century these caves were
hidden under thick forest growth. These caves are the representation of
Buddhist thoughts, which were etched on walls of these caves. These caves
were built between 2nd century B.C to 7th century A.D. The 30 Chaityas and
Viharas have paintings which illustrate the life and incarnations of
Buddha. These paintings have survived time. Even today, the numerous
paintings on the walls leave visitors spell bound.
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