The station here was established on the railway map in December 1898 and connects various parts of West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and other north eastern states of India. During the time of Indian Independence, this area enjoyed a lot of importance in the railway network. After Independence, this railway station was also instrumental in the construction of the Haldia Port.

Kharagpur has another first to its credit – the country’s first Indian Institute of Technology was started in this city.

Five broad topics for this year’s activities are Care and access to collections and documents; Museums’ history; Forgotten memory; The link between memory, community and identity, including family identity. The International Museum Day is celebrated differently in various countries. Some museums have organised large-scale programmes, activities, competitions, seminars, events and fairs.

In India, in a country that boasts scores of museums and archeologically important buildings, there will be many programmes. The Archaeological Survey of India, Mattanchery Palace Museum, will celebrate the day with lectures and history talks. Renowned historians and scholars will interact with students of history and the public. The ASI will also open the new ticket counter at the Archaeological Museum in Mattanchery on that day. International Museum Day has been celebrated since 1977, around 18 May.

Built in 1503 as a wood-and-brick structure, it is the first European church in India. Initiative has been taken by The International Forum for Cultural Heritage Tradition (IFCHAT) to persuade the UNSESO and other world organisations to declare the St Francis church as a heritage structure.

Conferring the status of the National Heritage Animal for the elephant was one of the important recommendations of the 12-member Elephant Task Force. After their report was received by the Union Ministry for forestry on August 31, the status was conferred on the animal on October 13.

This is a major boost to the welfare of elephants in the state as well as for tourism. A bulk of the tourists visiting Kerala make it a point to trek in the hill stations and nearby sanctuaries, where elephants are a majority.

Devotees of Lord Ganesh would’ve fasted for 11 days, observing many rituals and doing charity before confluencing with others at today’s immersion.

This ancient seat of learning, located in Bihar, offered a vast number of subjects in the Buddhist tradition: Sanskrit, medicine, public health and economics. Once a Bill is passed in the Parliament, the work will commence to build the new university.

About an estimated $500 million will be required to build the new facility, and another $500 million for improving the surrounding infrastructure. The governments of Singapore and India have already given some financial commitments.

The successful building of the university will be a global reminder of the nation’s history as a centre of learning and culture. It will also attract more tourists to the area.

The reprinted dictionary is available for perusal at the St Mary’s Basilica in Bangalore. It will be in the markets by next month. The dictionary is the second one compiled by the priests of The Paris Foreign Mission Society. The first one, Dictionarium Canarense-Latinum, was compiled by Jean-Marie Auguste Bouteloup in 1855. The two were discovered in the archives of the oldest church in Bangalore, the St Mary’s Basilica.

The mission society had set up in Bangalore, and Father Bouteloup was in charge of it. He has additionally authored over 13 books in Kannada.

As the whole old city is painted pink, it is difficult to distinguish between shops, medical stores, restaurants and bus stops. But what keeps the shopping areas unique are the colourful wares displayed outside them. The roads leading to most bazaars here are crowded, with about four lanes of traffic on one side, coupled with loads of hawkers, handcarts, two-wheelers and pedestrians. Foreigners visiting the bazaars should have some prior experience in shopping on Indian streets otherwise it’ll be almost a nightmare!

The sweet shops are awesome – the soft smells wafting outta the bakeries beckon you from metres away and once there, you wouldn’t wanna leave! There’s peeni, besan laddoos, kaju kathlis and jalebis. The lassi and chaats are refreshingly tasty; the Rajasthani sweets come in kilo-count boxes; the savouries and fries should be had there itself, for the best tastes.

What to pick up: Textiles are what most tourists buy in Jaipur. Though they are priced double of what they’ll cost you in Delhi’s Dilli Haat or Janpath, most of us still buy from Jaipur only for the variety and the idea that it is more authentic here. You can get shawls, stoles, skirts, kurtas, saris, and more. Jewellery is a good option. Lots and lots of trinkets can be bought from Jaipur’s bazaars. The inlaid stone work, for which Rajasthan is famous, can be found in most jewellery shops and curio shops. Wooden toys, souvenirs, terracotta wares, red sandstone sculptures are interesting gift items to take back.

Jaipur is one of the cities in the Golden Triangle – others being Delhi and Agra – and the tour is incomplete without visiting the other two. Each bazaar is connected with the other by small, pucca roads. People teem in the shops quite in the morning itself. Tourists, too, end up here by early forenoon to start bargaining and shopping.

Sometimes just looking around at life in the bazaars, and not buying anything, can turn out to be absolutely delightful. Like all Indian cities, the sounds and sights are more than enough to fill your senses.

Indians won the overall title as well, at the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championships today. The other champions at the stage are Asian champion Suranjoy Singh (52kg), South Asian Games gold medalist Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian silver medalist Jai Bhagwan (60kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg).

Leaving the city, you can also stop at the Khadakvasla Lake, sip chai and eat corn cobs and masala mangoes from roadside stalls and stop to take photos or to just breathe the fresh air. There are stone masonry works along the tree-lined roads. You can find stone turrets, too, on the way.

Now, the history of the fort. It belonged to the Mughals, and was called Kondhana in their times. Maratha warrior Shivaji had had an eye on this strategic fort for quite some time, when Tanaji Malusare, a general in his army, expressed a wish to capture it. Yashwanti, Shivaji’s pet monitor lizard was sent up the fort’s wall, at midnight. And as they have a dreadful grip it allowed the soldiers to climb the wall using a rope tied to its back.

But Tanaji died before the complete capture of the fort, and Shivaji named it after him. Shivaji’s words were: “the fort has come but the lion (Sinha) has gone.” And thus naming it Sinhagarh Fort. Near the fort is a manmade water tank Dev Taka, that used to meet the water needs of the fort’s residents for many centuries.

An interesting thing about this tourist highlight is the presence of several shacks nearby that sell genuine Maharashtrian food. You can relish bhakris (local jowar rotis), kanda bhajjis (onion fritters) and bhaingan bharit (spicy aubergine paste) at these ‘homemade’ food stalls.

India’s Constitution – the largest in the world – came into force on this day. The seeds of a Republic were sowed at the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress on 31 December 1929. Pt Jawarhar Lal Nehru presided over it, and the members of the meeting pledged to mark January 26 as ‘Independence Day’. The session led to the Civil Disobedience Movement. It was in order to honour this day that India’s Republic Day is now observed on 26 January.

The country has made great strides in the 60 years of it being a sovereign secular Republic. The parade, floats and celebrations can be watched live on television. You can even send Republic day greetings online, watch specific videos as well as download patriotic songs and wallpapers from government web sites.

The town of Konark is also known as Konaditya and Arkakshetra. The Sun Temple was built in 1278 CE by Narasimha Deva, of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The Temple is called the Black Pagoda as it is built in black granite, and is a UNESCO world Heritage Site.

The temple resembles a gigantic solar chariot: it has with twelve pairs of exquisitely-ornamented wheels dragged by seven sculpted horses. Certain areas of the temple and its premises were under sand and mould, before it was restored. Parts of the Dancing Hall and the Hall of Offering still stand. The erotic sculptures and carvings remind you of the Khajuraho temple of Madhya Pradesh.

The Mayadevi Temple, which is to the west of the main temple, has a sanctum and a Jagamohana (porch). Mayadevi is believed to be one of the wives of Lord Surya. This temple predates the main temple. The brick Vaishnava Temple, uncovered in 1956, had images of Balarama and two parsvadevatas of Varaha and Trivikrama. They are now displayed in the Archaeological Museum at Konark. This temple is dated to circa 11th century A.D.

Tourists can also attend the Konark dance festival, held every December, in an open-air theatre near the Sun Temple. The fest, which is a centre for dancers of Kathak, Chau, Odissi and Bharatanatyam, also has a crafts mela.

Puri is 33km away. There are buses and taxis from Puri to Konark. Frequent buses also connect it to Orissa’s capital Bhubaneshwar.

The weaver’s settlement that was taken over in 1612 by the Dutch East India Company and had a fort built around it, encloses the ruins of a weaver’s work area, their settlement, a granary and an elephant mount.

The Archaeological Survey of India has unearthed many items from the premises of the 400-year-old fort, which was identified as late as 1991. A dyeing wall for muslin cloth, remnants of things used by the Dutch – wine bottles, smoking pipes and ovens – and floor tiles were among the lot. The area also has a laid-out drainage system and a low well.

The city of Sadras was named Rajanarayanan Pattinam, after a Sambuvarayar chief – they were a Chola feudatory. The Vijayanagara kings called it Sadiravasagan Pattinam, which later changed to Sadurangapattinam, and subsequently, Sadirai. No prizes for saying that the British anglicised the name to Sadras! As a port, it flourished in trade, and the main product here was muslin cloth. A weaver’s town, the Dutch found it much useful in their trade, almost 200 years before the English invasion. And blame the English for destroying the fort – they razed it in 1818.

The famous Battle of Sadras, between the British and the French, was fought here in February 1782. You can see a Dutch cemetery for soldiers, within the fort. There are two cannons outside one of the gates, a reminder of the fort’s and the city’s past.

There are many routes taken by the traders – some called cinnamon route, others known by the pepper route, incense route, and still others, silk route. The main centres can be identified as Roman cities –> Turkey –> Egypt –> Arabia –> Africa –> Muziris and Cochin in India –> Ceylon –> Indonesia and Java –> China –> Philippines and then Japan.

Spices that were traded were pepper, ginger, cinnamon, clove and turmeric. Traders also did business in silk, textiles and ebony. As the traders moved from one continent to another, their language and culture, too, moved to different parts of the world. Subsequently, along with the spices being made available in countries that never grew them, the language and culture of these travellers was also transferred.

Cochin port, with its strategic location in the Indian Ocean and its ever-welcoming culture, was an important trade centre on the Spice Route. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the Arabs and the British have all traded with Kerala. The abundant range of spices and its availability always assured Kerala of its consistent trade relations with the Middle East, Europe and Eastern Asia.

The exhibition which started on October 30 was organized on the occasion of the Basel Mission’s 175 years in India. The Mission started its ministry in Mangalore in 1884. They established many health care and educational institutions in the region. The first hospital at Udupi and in South Canara was built by them in 1923.

In the year 1841, the first printing press of the region was established at Balmatta. Books were printed in Kannada, German, Tulu, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, English, Sanskrit, and Konkani. Basel missionary Herman Frederick Mogling published Mangalura Samachara, supposed to be the first Kannada newspaper. The Mission also started a weaving factory at Balmatta in 1844, tile factories at Jeppu in 1865, at Kudroli in 1882 and at Malpe in 1886.

A few of the photographs are of the Basel Mission Press that started using Linotype printing machine. Mangalore’s growth from a humble port to a city known for its education and health care facilities were also shown. Some 800-odd books on science and religion, ones in Kannada and Tulu published by the Basel Mission Press and a collection of newspapers and magazines were also on display.

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, too, celebrate their birthdays on the same day. Karnataka was formed in 1973 and Andhra Pradesh in 1953. Parts of Andhra used to belong to the erstwhile Madras State. In 1956, Hyderabad and Telengana regions were added to form the present state.

The Voyager Trophy Boat Race which took shape after the holidayers’s request to watch a boat race similar to the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, will take place on November 4, from 9 30 a.m. to 11 30 a.m. Alappuzha District Tourism Promotion Council, which is co-organising the race, plans to rope in artistes of traditional Kerala art forms and percussion events.

Every year thousands of Malayalees and tourists gather in the months of July, August and September to watch a hoard of big and small boat races on the Vembanad Lake and the Punnamada Lake.

Pazhassi Raja refused to collect tax. After an unsuccessful attempt by the British to assassinate him at his own palace, Pazhassi Raja fled to the Wayanad forests. There, he gathered support from the Kurichiya tribals and Nair landlords in and around the Banasura Hill. He formed a guerrilla army to face the British. At one time, he had helped the British to defeat Tipu, but now, to fight against the British, he used Tipu’s help! After successfully leading many battles, Pazhassi Raja was killed in november 1805.

The Pazhassi Tomb in Mananthavady in Wayanad attracts a lot tourists and history students. An underground museum exhibits articles that belonged to the Raja. The tomb and the underground museum were conceived and designed by Eugene Pandala, the architect and a Board member of Banasura Hill Resort.

A Malayalam movie of the same name has just been released all over India. It will be dubbed in almost all Indian languages and he movie will be screened in theatres abroad, too. It stars Mammooty, Manoj K. Jayan, Padmapriya and Sarath Kumar. This historical film will bring Pazhassi Raja’s life and sacrifice into the limelight; something which has been neglected till now. His contributions to Indian Independence will receive due appreciation once people all over the world watches the movie.

Some communities celebrate Diwali as a five-day affair. Pujas are offered to Goddesses Kali and Laxmi on the auspicious day. People often get together in their ancestral homes and visit their families. Loved ones buy each new clothes and utensils.

Diwali, now, has been much commercialised. Sales of firecrackers, lamps,oil, sweets, puja items and the like skyrocket during these times. This year Diwali falls on October 17. People from all walks of life celebrate this festival. Nepalis, too, celebrate this festival. An interesting feature of festivals celebrated in India is that any festival, irrespective of its religious significance it is celebrated across most religions. Just as you will find a Christmas Tree in the house of a non-Christian, during Christmas, so will you find lighted lamps in various households during Diwali.

Take a closer look at the structure and you’ll see that a variety of building styles have been incorporated into its architecture. The exteriors were built in Tuscan style while the altar stands in Corinthian glory. The entrance of the church was built in Manuline style. Floral designs, carved pillars and painted insides speak volumes of its décor.

Eight Fransiscan friars built a church dedicated to the Holy Ghost in 1521, on land given by the local authorities then. It was demolished in 1661 and the current church built in the same place. The convent nearby, which was closed down during Portuguese rule now houses an archeological museum. It contains paintings, sculpture and murals from Goan Hindu Temples. You can also find paintings of Goan governors of the pre-Portuguese era and the life-size statue of Portuguese poet Luiz Vaz de Camoes.

You’ll find two statues of St Francis and one each of Jesus on the Cross and St Michael in the church compound. An interesting sight is the statue of Our Lady of Miracles brought here from Jaffna in Srilanka. This lime and laterite church is a must-visit for those touring Goa.