Monument sights in India
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Gateway of India
The bold basalt Gateway of India arch faces out to Mumbai Harbour at the tip of Apollo Bunder. Derived from the Islamic styles of 16th-century Gujarat, it was built to commemorate the 1911 royal visit of King George V. It was completed in 1924: ironically, the gateway's British architects used it just 24 years later to parade off their last British regiment, as India marched towards independence.
These days, the gateway is a favourite gathering spot for locals and a top spot for people-watching. Giant-balloon sellers, photographers, beggars and touts rub shoulders with Indian and foreign tourists, creating all the hubbub of a bazaar. Boats depart from the gateway's wharfs…
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Cellular Jail National Memorial
A former British prison that is now a shrine to the political dissidents it once jailed, Cellular Jail National Memorial is worth visiting to understand the important space the Andamans occupy in India’s national memory. Built over a period of 18 years in 1890, the original seven wings contained 698 cells radiating from a central tower. Like many political prisons, Cellular Jail became something of a university for freedom fighters, who exchanged books, ideas and debates despite walls and wardens.
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Cenotaph of Maharaja Bakhtawar Singh
This double-storey edifice, resting on a platform of sandstone, was built in 1815 by Maharaja Vinay Singh in memory of his father. To gain access to the cenotaph, take the steps on the far left when facing the palace. The cenotaph is also known as the Chhatri of Moosi Rani, after one of the mistresses of Bakhtawar Singh who performed sati (self-immolation) on his funeral pyre - after this act she was promoted to wifely status.
Everyday several women can be seen paying homage to the maharani by pouring holy water over raised sculpted footprints of the deceased royal couple. There is fine carving on the interior of the cenotaph (shoes should be removed), but unfortunately t…
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Coronation Durbar Site
Incurable Raj fans should head to the Coronation Durbar site, marked by a lone obelisk in a desolate field located in open country north of 'Old' Delhi. Pride of place goes to a 15m (50ft) high statue of George V that rises ghost-like above the acacia trees. It was placed here after being removed from the canopy midway along Rajpath soon after Independence.
It was on this site that, in 1877 and 1903, the durbars were enacted and, in 1911, King George V was declared Emperor of India. Close by there's a walled garden complete with a rogues' gallery of marble statues of former imperial dignitaries, languishing like disgraced schoolboys out of the public eye. Most of Delhi's …
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Aga Khan Palace & Gandhi National Memorial
Set amid a sylvan 6.5-hectare plot across the Mula River in Yerwada, the grand Aga Khan Palace & Gandhi National Memorial is easily Pune’s biggest crowd-puller. Built in 1892 by Sultan Aga Khan III, this lofty building was where the Mahatma and other prominent nationalist leaders were interned by the British for about two years following Gandhi’s Quit India resolution in 1942. Both Kasturba Gandhi, the Mahatma’s wife, and Mahadeobhai Desai, his secretary for 35 years, died here in confinement. You’ll find their shrines (containing their ashes) in a quiet garden to the rear.
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Southern Gateway
The back-to-back lions supporting the oldest gateway form the state emblem of India and can be seen on every banknote; they're an excellent example of the Greco-Buddhist art of that era. The gateway narrates Ashoka's life as a Buddhist, with scenes of Buddha's birth and another representation of the Great Departure. Also featured is the Chhaddanta Jataka, in which Buddha took the form of a six-tusked elephant. One of his two wives became jealous and had the elephant hunted and killed. The sight of his tusks, sawn off by the hunter, was sufficient for the queen to die of remorse.
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Padmini's Palace
Continuing south from the Gaumukh Reservoir, you reach Padmini's Palace, beside a large lotus pool with a central pavilion. Legend relates that, as Padmini sat in this pavilion, Ala-ud-din saw her reflection in the lake. This glimpse convinced him to destroy Chittor in order to possess her. The bronze gates to this pavilion were carried off by Akbar and can now be seen in Agra Fort. Near Padmini's Palace is a small prison where captured invaders were kept; former prisoners include sultans of Malwa and of Gujarat.
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Eastern Gateway
The breathtakingly carved figure of a yakshi, hanging from an architrave, is one of Sanchi's best-known images. One of the pillars, supported by elephants, features scenes from Buddha's entry to nirvana. Another shows Buddha's mother Maya's dream of an elephant standing on the moon, which she had when he was conceived. Across the front of the middle architrave is the Great Departure, when Buddha (a riderless horse) renounced the sensual life and set out to find enlightenment.
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Victoria Memorial
Set in an attractive, well-tended park, the incredible Victoria Memorial is a vast, beautifully proportioned confection of white marble domes: think US Capitol meets Taj Mahal. Built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 1901 diamond jubilee, the structure was finally finished nearly 20 years after her death. Had it been built for a beautiful Indian princess rather than a dead colonial queen, it would surely rate as one of India’s greatest buildings.
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Pillars
Of the scattered remains of pillars, the most important is Pillar 10, erected by Ashoka and later broken by a local landowner. Two upper sections of this beautifully proportioned and executed shaft lie side by side under a shelter 20m away; the capital (pillar's top, usually sculpted) is in the museum. Pillar 25, dating from the Sunga period (2nd century BC) and the 5th-century AD Pillar 35 are not as fine as the earlier pillar.
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Chandi Devi Temple
Chandi Devi Temple was built by Raja Suchet Singh of Kashmir in 1929.
Many visitors and pilgrims combine this with a cable car to the crowded hilltop temple of Mansa Devi, a wish-fulfilling goddess. Pay Rs 144 at Mansa Devi and you can ride on both cable cars and take an AC coach between the two temples.
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Chhatris
On the climb up to the fort you pass two chhatris, memorials between the second and third gates. These mark the spots where Jaimal and Kalla, heroes of the 1568 siege, fell during the struggle against Akbar. Jaimal had been already fatally wounded but was carried out by Kalla to fight on to the death.
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Stupas
The hilltop stupas are reached via a path and stone steps at the end of Monuments Rd, where the ticket office is. There’s a Publication Sale Counter selling postcards and guidebooks inside the monuments enclosure itself, at the top of the hill.
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Safdarjang's Tomb
The mid-18th-century Safdarjang's Tomb was built by the Nawab of Avadh for his father, Safdarjang, and is one of the last examples of Mughal architecture before the final remnants of the great empire collapsed.
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Cenotaphs of the Maharanis of Jaipur
The cenotaphs of the maharanis of Jaipur are less impressive and less well maintained but OK for a stroll. They are found midway between Jaipur and Amber, opposite the Holiday Inn.
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Notre Dame de Anges
The mellow pink-and-cream Notre Dame de Anges, built in 1858, looks sublime in the late-afternoon light. The smooth limestone interior was made using eggshells in the plaster.
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Great Bowl
Behind Monastery 51, partway down the hill towards Stupa 2, is the Great Bowl, carved from a huge boulder, into which food and offerings were placed for distribution to the monks.
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Nandi Statue
At the east end of Hampi Bazaar is a monolithic Nandi Statue and shrine. This is the main location for Vijaya Utsav, the Hampi arts festival held in November.
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Statue of Maharaja Chamarajendar Wodeyar
Built in 1920, this statue stands in front of the north gate of the Maharaja's Palace and faces the 1927 Silver Jubilee Clock Tower.
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