Jantar Mantar

Comment

Jantar Mantar

August 2008, Delhi.

I made my way to the Jantar Mantar on a hot Monday morning. The Jantar Mantar is an observatory consisting of a series of scientific instruments built in the form of buildings and used to make astronomical measurements (the huge block you see in the middle of the above photo is actually part of a giant sun dial). It was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur from 1724 onwards. A total of five such observatories were built in various cities in North India of which the ones in Jaipur and Delhi are most popular. Incidentally, the area to the right of Jantar Mantar is the officially designated area in which protests/demonstrations can be organized in Delhi by anyone with a grievance. The day I was visiting the observatory there were a group of Hindu holy men protesting and criticizing what they called ‘the appeasement of Christians and missionaries (while being hard on Hindus)’ by the current Indian government.

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.) 

|     

FRI

Comment

FRI

August 2008, Dehradun.

Upon reaching Dehradun on Independence Day, through my brother’s help (he is in the Indian army), we managed to find accommodation in the impressive Indian Military Academy (IMA) which is an elite military training college that trains officers for the Indian army as well as some officers from ‘friendly’ nations. IMA has been functioning since the days of the Raj and so still retains some traditions from that era. Eating in the Officer’s Mess is quite an experience with stuffed Ibis heads and Tiger skins staring back at you (in fact I had to puchase a set of formal clothes just for eating in the mess as entry into it is not possible while dressed casually).

Unfortunately, photography is not permitted on the IMA campus due to security reasons. But right next door to the IMA is the FRI (Forest Research Institute), another impressive building from the Raj era. As can be seen above it is a mix of a different architectural styles and the whole complex is nicely framed by the mountains behind it.

(To read this mini-travelogue in sequence from the beginning please go here.)

|