India - Historic Places

While in India we visited many historic sites.  Our first visit was to the summer palace of Muslim general Tipu Sultan built sometime in the late 1700’s.  While there we saw a Persian manuscript book written by hand which contained the code of regulations used by the general and his Army.  It was a beautiful palace requiring some restoration which was being done while we were there.  From there we visited the gorgeous cathedral of St. Philomena.   For lunch we headed to the Queen’s Castle in Mysore.  Professor Rao explained that the ladies of the court stayed with the queen in this smaller palace while the king conducted business across town in his much larger and more majestic palace.  The Queen’s Castle was now a five star hotel accommodating guests as a cost of about 6000 rupees per night for two people in a standard room.  The grounds had monkeys roaming around and were found in the outdoor pool when one of the group jumped in for a swim.  Sitting at the lunch table under the Wedgewood blue colored ceilings we ate from a Thali.  The Thali contains a plate of various curry entrees, bread and a dessert.  There were sitar players serenading the group.  It was a magical experience completed with a surprise visit by a lizard on the veranda as we left the building.  From there we ventured across town to the King’s Palace with many cannons guarding the entryway.  Large photographs of royals showed the group who inhabited these magnificent domains.  There was a quick stop to the Timpurthy Temple and the wonders at Mahabalipuram.  There were many temples throughout our visit.  While in Chennai we went with a guide to the oldest temple there.  We left there to see St. Thomas’ Basilica and then to Fort James Museum.  We ended that day with a trip to the Snake Park seeing massive reptiles all in one place.  The next day we set out for a long drive to Pondicherry, a French colony.  This looked a lot like the architecture of New Orleans.  Pondicherry is also on the ocean.  We rode by another beautiful Christian church and stopped at an ashram where silence was a requirement.  The last and most breathtaking monument (for me) was that of Golkonda.  This fourteenth century fortress encompassed a massive amount of property which included several walls to surround several villages.  To reach the top one must climb more than 350 stairs passing two mosques along the way.  That evening we took our seats to a fascinating history of the fort including a light show.  The challenge besides the 360 stairs was staying awake after the early morning departure, physically exhausting day and the excitement of being in India.  Fortunately some old was mixed in with the new when we had a stimulating visit to the new golf country club in Hyderabad courtesy of Professor Rao’s former classmate, Mr. Amarnath Devabhaktuni.