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Kaziranga National Park lies partly in Golaghat District and partly in Nagaon District of Assam. It is the oldest park in assam covers an area of 430 Sq kms along the river Brahmaputra on the North and the Karbi Anglong hills on the South. The National Highway 37 passes through the park area and tea estates, hemmed by table-top tea bushes. One can even see the rhinos and wild elephants straying near the highway.

Catching the glimpses of the wild denizens is a complete delight for the nature enthusiasts at this magnificent park. On your wildlife tours in Kaziranga you will come across several wild animals such as Indian Elephants, Indian Bison, Swamp Deer or Barasingha, Hog Deer, Sloth Bears, Tigers, Leopard Cats, Jungle Cats, Otters, Hog Badgers, Capped Langurs, Hoolock Gibbons, Wild Boar, Jackal, Wild Buffalo, Pythons, Monitor Lizards, etc.

Besides the wildlife safari, the birding tour would be a remarkable experience for the passionate birdwatchers and wildlife photographers. Some of the bird species include Oriental Honey Buzzard, Black-Shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Pallas’s Fishing Eagle, White Tailed Eagle, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, Himalayan Griffon, etc. One can also spot a significant number of the migratory birds that frequent the parks lakes and swampy areas during winters that include Greylag Geese, Bar-Headed Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Red-Crested Pochard and Northern Shoveller. Read the rest of this entry »

Mani Square is on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass of Kolkata.  It is the next generation shopping and entertainment destination.  It has the Kolkata’s first IMAX theater, a 3-screen multiplex, Scary House, Spencer’s Hypermart, Westside, McDonald’s, a 25,000 square foot food court, 50,000 square feet of fine dining space, top brand stores, state-of-the art amenities and facilities to help you.  There is a large space for car parking.  About 1500 vehicles can park there!  Isn’t it amazing?

The Mani Square has good customer service.  They are as follows:

1.    Customer Relation Officers.
2.    First Aid.
3.    Lost and Found Assistance.
4.    Comfort Zone.
5.    Car Wash Service.
6.    Valet Parking.
7.    Mobile phone recharging.
8.    Internet connection/WiFi.
9.    Fax and business Center Service.
10.  Wheelchairs.
11.  Children’s Day Care Center.
12.   ATM Counters.

If you fall sick or any medical aid, you just call any staff, they are going to help you.  The lost and found assistance is at the ground floor.  The atrium and sofas are all over the mall that helps you regroup and energize yourself.  While you are shopping, you can cleanse your car.  So the car wash service is available.  There is valet parking.  The pick up point is on the south side of the mall.  There are 2 tiers of service:  Gold and Platinum.  If your mobile phone is not recharged, you can recharge them at the customer service desk.  You can surf the net free of cost at WiFi hotspots.  Here you can get fast, reliable, wirefree internet connection.  You can send faxes wherever you want by just coming at the customer service desk!  There are wheelchairs for the disabled people.  The staff is eager to help you.  There is a crèche where your child can play while you shop.  There are baby strollers, which will help the mother and father of the kids.  It can be rented on an hourly basis.  The ATM counter point gives you tension free shopping.

We get a large number of shops under one roof.  A number of reputed brands and companies have opened their outlets here at Mani Square making it the hottest destination for shopping!!! For books and stationery, there are Luxor Parker, Starmark, Westside, and Write Site. For cards and gifts, there are Archies, Ariana, Exclusive Lines, Infinity, Presto stamps, Nik-Nish, Starmark, Westside and Wonderland. For kidswear, there are Barbie, Catmoss, Lilliput, Little Shop, OVO, Oyo, Paridhan, Scram, Westside, and Zapp. For confectionary and icecream parlour, there are Baskin and Robbins, Biscotti, Cookieman, Just Desserts, Mama Mia, New Zealand Naturals. The department stores are My Dollar Store, Spencers, and Westside. For electronic, computer, and Communication, there are Ezone, Planet M, The Mobile Store. For footwear, there are Addidas, Liberty, Magnet, M&B footwear, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Westside, Woodland.

So visit this place, enjoy the right shopping ambience and shop till you drop!!!

The Archaeological Museum was established in 1917 and houses the antiquities mainly those excavated from Nalanda, the earliest university cum monastery complex and from Rajgir. In the museum there is a small but beautiful collection of Buddhist and Hindu bronzes and a number of undamaged statues of the Lord Buddha that were found in the area. Two enormous terra-cotta jars of the first century stand intact behind the museum in a shaded enclosure. The collection includes copper plates and stone inscriptions, coins, pottery and samples of burnt rice (12th century AD) found among the ruins here. Open during 10.00 to 17.00. The museum is closed on Friday.

Two huge jars found from the monastic complex at Nalanda have displayed in a separate shed. A rich wealth of stone sculptures and images, terracotta, bronzes and other antiquarian objects are preserved in its reserve collection. Out of 13463 antiquities, 349 are on display in the four galleries of the museum. The antiquities from Nalanda are datable from 5th to 12th century AD but some of those from Rajgir are a little earlier in date.

The Sonepur Mela takes place at the town Sonepur which is 22km from Patna. The Mela takes place on Kartik Purnima, a fortnight after Diwali , and people from all over the world get together to participate in this huge festival and is enjoyed by all. The full moon day of the month of Kartik (November) is regarded as one of the most auspicious days for the Hindus. Sonepur situated on the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga and Gandak, has the reverence of a blessed ground and lasts for a fortnight. In ancient times the Royal Rajahs and Nawabs used to camp here. The Sonepue Fair has unique and historical importance.

The sprawling mela ground here with the pulsating market has the widest possible range of cattle and commodities. The array of shops sells all sorts of merchandise. Sonepur Fair is the only one of its kind where a large number of elephants are sold. These are purchased mainly by forest departments and people involved with logging operations. Apart from elephants, a large number of cattle and horses are also brought to the fair for sale. Various folk shows, games and jugglers can be seen in the fair.

Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, spread over 34 acres of land, is located in Patna of Bihar. Established in 1969 as a botanical garden, it was later developed into a biological park. It has been declared a protected forest by the state government. One of the 16 large zoos in India, the park is home to over 300 species of trees, herbs and shrubs. There is an exclusive nursery for medicinal plants. Rose garden, orchid house and grass lawns can also be found here.

The Patna Zoo makes considerable effort to conserve and propagate endangered species from around the world. Breeding captive wild animals is a difficult challenge that the zoo has met with some notable success. Apart from this, it harbors more than 800 animals. Aquarium and snake house are the added attractions. The aquarium has about 35 species of fish and is the maximum revenue earner for the park after the gate entry fee. Snake house has 32 snakes belonging to 5 species.
 

The Martyr’s Memorial is a memorial to seven freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during the Quit India Movement in August 1942, while attempting to hoist the national flag. Martyr’s Memorial is situated outside the Secretariat building in Patna. 

The foundation stone of Martyr’s Memorial was laid on August 15, 1947, by the governer of Bihar, Mr. Jairam Das Daulatram. The sculptor Mr. Deviprasad Roychoudhry built the [bronze] statue of the seven students with the national flag. These statues were cast in Italy and later placed here. The names of the seven martyr’s are engraved in the memorial :

Umakant Prasad Sinha of Ram Mohan Roy Seminary,class IX;
Ramanand Singh of Ram Mohan Roy Seminary, class IX;
Satish Prasad Jha of Patna Collegiate School, class X;
Jalpati Kumar of Bihar National College, 2nd year;
Devipada Choudhry of Miller High English School, class IX;
Rajendra Singh of Patna High English School, matric class;
Ramgovind Singh of Punpun High English School, matric class IX;

Gandhi Setu is built over the river Ganga. The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilization, ever changing, ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.

The bridge is located near Patna, capital of the state of Bihar in Eastern India. The 5.575 km long bridge between the faces of the Hajipur side abutment and the last foundation on the high bank at Patna, consists of 45 intermediate spans of 121.065 m each, and
two end spans of 65.530 m each. As the river carries navigational traffic, the span arrangement for the decking had to be provided with a minimum headroom clearance of not less than 10.7 m. The headroom
has to be maintained in all the spans of the bridge except for the last few spans on the Hajipur side, which covers a length of 305 m.

The cantilever segmental construction method is adopted to construct this mega bridge. This bridge was built by Gammon India Limited. It was innaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi in 1982.

Patna city at one point of time have ruled the entire Indian subcontinent. This is the truth and there are many interesting monuments here that remind you of the rich past of the city. Panic stricken by the devastating famine of 1770, the British ruler Captain John Garstin had built a SILO or Golghar for the storage of foodgrains for British army with the storing capacity of 140000 tons on 20th July 1786, at the east bank of the Ganga where today’s Gandhi Maidan is located. At present it is the Central Granary. First in Asia and largest in the world this SILO has unique qualities in architecture. It is round like a honeycomb.

Golghar or the round house, the huge granary was built in 1786 by Captain John Garstin, at the behest of the then administrator, Warren Hastings. Bihar experienced severe draught that resulted in acute famine in the year 1770. Alarmed by the situation faced by the people, this massive granary was constructed for the British army.

The enormous structure is 29 m high and is 3.6 m wide at the base. Overlooking the river and the plains, it looks like the upper half of a gigantic, decorated Easter egg, with the spiral stairway winding around this monument, adding to its embellishment. It offers a magnificent breathtaking view of the city and the river Ganges, flowing nearby.The spiral staircase was so designed, in order to facilitate the passage of the coolies, who had to carry grain-bags up one flight, deliver their load through a hole at the top, and descend the other stairs.