Jaipur
 

Ludhiana is the largest city of the state of Punjab, India. From being a small village named Meer Hota to its becoming Lodiana and then Ludhiana, Ludhiana has witnessed several rules of different kingdoms. From first century to the fourth one the region was under the rule of Yodhas. Thereafter it came under the rule of Samudragupta. The original Ludhianavis who are credited for founding Ludhiana came here late in 9th century. In the reign of Lodi the people around Ludhiana were being harassed by the Baluchis. Then the people appealed to Siknadar Lodi to help them out. In the reply to their appeal Sikander sent two officers named Yusuf khan and Nihang Khan. Nihang remained at a village named Meer Hota as Naib. He started to call the village Lodiana. Later his grandson Jalal Khan built Lodhi fort there. After that two sons of Jalal Khan divided the region around the fort among themselves. Later on Lodi dynasty was over thrown by Mughal in 16th century. The Mughal founded their strong government at Sirhind and attached Ludhiana to it as Paragana.

After the decline of Mughal, Ludhiana was ruled by several kingdoms. The Rais of Rajkot who were having considerable land around Ludhiana in lease from Mughal emperor ruled Ludhiana until 1809 Ranjit Singh of Sikh kingdom captured the region and stripped the Rais of all their possessions. Later on Ludhiana came under the control of British Empire in India. British continued to rule it until 1947 when India got freedom from the colonial rule. Many leaders of the Indian freedom movement came from Ludhiana.  

Ludhiana, the only Industrial city in Northern India, stands on the G.T Rd from Delhi to Amritsar. Distance of Amritsar from Ludhiana is 136 kms.

Kullu Valley

 Kullu is a famous tourist destination in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Earlier known as Kullantipeetha, the town of Kullu has its several references in Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Hindu scriptures. Kullu is regarded as the oldest state valley after Kashmir and Kangra valley. According to Mythology Manu landed at a place in the Kullu region and lived there the next some days. That particular place of his abode is presently known as Manali which is believed to be come from the name Manualaya which literally means the home of Manu.

Kullu valley was once a significant place for Buddhist. It once contained a Buddhist Stupa built by Ashoka. The region also was home to twenty Buddhist monasteries with more than one thousand monks. There were also some fifteen Hindu temples which suggest that the people of both communities were coexisting there peacefully.

Prior to the rule of British the region was under the control of Pal dynasty who revered the goddess Hidimba. Presently the goddess is worshipped as the main deity of the region. It was in 1846 that the region was annexed to British kingdom. British continued to rule the region until India got independence in 1947. After the independence Kullu earlier was the subdivision of Kangra district. In the year 1963 Kullu was made a separate district. Kullu was earlier in Punjab state and it was in the year 1966 that Kullu was included in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Kalaripayattu

Culture of Kolhapur

The Khajuraho group of monuments is based in Chattarpur district of Madhya Pradesh state of India. Considered in the list of seven wonders of India they are in the World Heritage Sites announced by UNESCO. From the initial about 60 temples built during 10Th to 12Thcentury AD, now only about 25 temples remain in a respectable fashion and hence can be appreciated.  The explicit sexual matter has not been depicted inside the temples but it finds the place on the exteriors of the temple walls. Also only 10% of the carvings show sexual scenes other sculptures depict everyday life of the common peoples of those times, like women putting on makeup, Potters, Musicians, Farmers and other peoples. All these carvings are at some distances from the Temple deities.
 The temples are now nicely decorated in parkland landscape. It has a public park type look with mowed grass, rose beds and ornamental trees, earlier it was in a state of neglect with landscape setting as a semi desert and scrub. Every evening professional light and sound show is held in the lawns of the temple complex, both in English and Hindi language, of one hour each, the show gives the history, Philosophy and the art of sculpting these temples.The Khajuraho dance festival is held every year in the month of February / March. The programmers arrange top Indian classical dance and music shows. Many Indian as well as Foreign tourists visit Khajuraho then, and appreciate the Indian arts in the backdrop of Chitragupta or Vishwanath Temples. Recently The Archaeological Survey of India has discovered a site which is coming up as the largest underground temple in Khujraho. The digging of the site has begun and will take a couple of years to complete.

Khajuraho is an Indian town in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh state. It is located about 620 Kms south east of New Delhi. Khajuraho is one of the most important tourist destinations in India and a definite must have in your tour itinerary to Madhya Pradesh. The natives of Khajuraho are Bargujar Rajputs called as Bundelas or Chandelas. Chandelas lived here from 10TH to 12TH century their capital was at Kalinjar. The temples of Khajuraho about 80 in numbers were built in 200 years from 950 to 1150 AD. The natives knew about the temples but did not share the secret with others. They tried to keep the temples as best as they could keep but forests took the toll and about 55 temples have been lost. An English man learnt about these temples in 19Th century by then all the monuments had been lost. A British engineer T.S.Burt was the first engineer to explore the site. Later General Alexander Cunningham was appointed by Archaeological Survey of India for excavation and restoration of these temples. These temples are constructed in sand stone and have been named World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Khajuraho is well connected with Kanpur and Lucknow and few more cities of Madhya Pradesh.