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COVER STORY<br />
abundance. Owing to its favourable<br />
location this land fostered trade and<br />
established contacts with Egypt,<br />
Assyria, Greeks, Romans and the<br />
Chinese.<br />
Watered by an astounding<br />
number of 44 rivers, Kerala has<br />
unique geographical features that<br />
made it one of the most sought after<br />
tourist destinations in India. The<br />
state is gifted with greenery, hill<br />
s t a t i o n s , b e a c h e s , w i l d l i f e<br />
backwaters, historic monuments,<br />
spices, cultural diversity and many<br />
more. Besides all these, the state<br />
thrills visitors with its magical<br />
festivals, enchanting art forms and<br />
more over her unique exotic cuisine.<br />
The tourist places here are<br />
countless and so the state has a variety<br />
of holiday options to offer. Besides<br />
well known destinations including<br />
Munnar, Kovalam, Fort Kochi,<br />
Thekkady, Athirappilly - Vazhachal,<br />
Kumarakom etc, there also several<br />
lesser known beautiful places as well.<br />
The state also has some of the best and<br />
most picturesque beaches in India -<br />
Kovalam and Varkala, a little south of<br />
the Capital Thiruvnanathapuram. The<br />
palm - fringed backwaters along the<br />
coastline are a special attraction.<br />
The Silent Valley National Park<br />
and the Periyar National Park are<br />
most famous places. Popular temples<br />
and religious places are Guruvayur<br />
Srikrishna, Sabrimala, Dakhina<br />
Mookambika, Cheraman Juma<br />
Masjid and Amrithapuri.<br />
18<br />
<strong>Pravasi</strong> <strong>Today</strong> ✦ November <strong>2007</strong><br />
BODHGAYA<br />
The way of enlightenment!<br />
"Bodh Gaya is the place where<br />
G a u t a m a B u d d h a a t t a i n e d<br />
u n s u r p a s s e d , s u p r e m e<br />
Enlightenment. It is a place which<br />
should be visited or seen by a person<br />
of devotion and which would cause<br />
awareness and apprehension of the<br />
nature of impermanence".<br />
The historical place at which the<br />
Enlightenment of Gautama took<br />
Travelling is world's<br />
most popular hobby.<br />
And travelling to the<br />
most beautiful part of<br />
the globe enthralls<br />
people to the core and<br />
they are spell bound by<br />
the serene ecstasy of the<br />
nature. We are ready<br />
for a journey to the<br />
most sought after places<br />
in India-liked by many<br />
for diverse reasons.<br />
place became a place of pilgrimage.<br />
A b o u t 2 5 0 y e a r s a f t e r t h e<br />
Enlightenment, the Buddhist<br />
Emperor, Ashoka visited the site and<br />
is considered the founder of the<br />
Mahabodhi Temple. According to the<br />
tradition, Ashoka establishing a<br />
monastery, erected a diamond throne<br />
shrine at this spot with a canopy<br />
supported by four pillars over a stone<br />
representation of the Vajrasana, the<br />
Seat of Enlightenment.<br />
Animesh Lochan Chaitya: It is<br />
believed that the Buddha spent one<br />
week here looking towards the great<br />
Bodhi tree out of gratitude, without<br />
twinkling his eyes. The present Bodhi<br />
Tree is probably the fifth succession<br />
of the original tree under which the<br />
Buddha had attained enlightenment.<br />
The Buddha spent one week in<br />
Ratnagarh where it is believed that<br />
five colors came out of his body.<br />
Barabar Caves is an important<br />
archaeological site. The caves carved<br />
out from solid rocks bear details of the<br />
life of the Buddha. The interior of<br />
these caves is chiseled to a wonderful<br />
polish. The carvings in the caves<br />
reflect the skill with which these<br />
caves were carved out. These caves<br />
were built in the 3rd century and are<br />
fine examples of the skill which the<br />
Indian mansion had attained at that<br />
time. These caves of Mauryan period<br />
are rightly considered to be the origin<br />
of Indian cave architecture. It was<br />
here in these caves where the Buddha<br />
had meditated for some time and<br />
concluded that the ultimate<br />
knowledge can not be attained<br />
through mortification of the flesh.<br />
Sun Temple is a famous temple<br />
of the Sun God at Deo and has a<br />
beautiful architecture similar to the<br />
Konark Temple in Orissa. This place<br />
is famous for the 'Chhat' festival<br />
which is held in the month of<br />
October-November.<br />
Pretshila Hill adds to the beauty<br />
of Gaya. It is about 10 kms from the<br />
Ramshila hill. Just below the hill is<br />
the Brahma Kund. After taking bath<br />
in this pond people go for the 'Pind<br />
Dan' which involves performance of<br />
religious rites and offering donations<br />
and charity for the peace of souls of<br />
one's parents and ancestors. On top of<br />
the hill the Queen of Indore, Ahilya<br />
Bai, built a temple in 1787popularly<br />
known as Ahilya Bai Temple. This
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