Junagarh Museum Bikaner

Rao Jodha King of Jodhpur sitting in his royal throne noticed his eldest son Bika whispering something to his uncle. Rao Jodha casually remarked whether they were conspiring for a kingdom? Bika said yes & Rao Jodha agreed to provide him assistance and legitimise his new venture on certain T & C. Prince Bika agreed to that he would not look back or attack on Jodhpur.

In 1465 Rao Bika & his uncle Rawat Kandhal marched off from Jodhpur with 500 soldiers & 100 horsemen to establish new kingdom towards Deshnoke in Jangaldesh. Eventually in 1485 he built a small fort called Rati Ghati. By 1488 city of Bikaner started coming up. After about hundred years Junagarh Fort was constructed in the city. This Fort now houses a well kept museum having a large number of exhibits related to the royal families of Bikaner. 

The Fort is in middle of Bikaner & unlike most forts it is not on a hill but on plain ground. Entry is by tickets & guides are also available. A small restaurant & sale counter offers good souvenirs. Afternoons are hot in Bikaner take care. Some snaps from the museum:

War plane Haviland shot down in WW 1 was gifted by British Govt to Maharaja General Ganga Singh as war trophy. Maharaja Ganga Singh led Bikaner State Forces in the war. It was brought to India in 1920 and was restored in 1985 by local craftsman under the direction of Maharaja Dr Karni Singh. On display in Vikram Vilas Darbar Hall Junagarh Fort

Huge Dubar Hall

Rifles used by the royality with decorated wooden butts having intricate ivory work

Variety of arrows with different types of heads

A special exhibit. Maharaja Ganga Singh while dining with British officers could not enjoy the soup with a normal spoon as it disturbed his carefully cultivated handlebar moustache. He ordered a special spoon to be made. This special silver spoon was made that had it's upper portion covered by two thirds. With this spoon soup could be had without disturbing the moustache. In 1937 he became a General with exceptionally distinguished career.   

Houda for the royals which was used while riding on elephants 

Palki or Palenquin for the queen 

Palki for the royals 

Palki with purdah

Toy store. Those were the wooden toys for the royal kids to play with 

That's how they dressed up & wore jewellary

Royal two wheeler 

Sandalwood bed for the king on display in Phool Mahal. Folklore is that Rao Ranmal grandfather of Rao Bika was drugged, tied up with his turban to the bed & murdered. Rao Bika had got the bed made which was lower & bit shorter so that his feet hung on the edge. This would have enabled him to come on his feet quickly & fight back. No such thing however happened to him   

Rao Bika who was eledest son of Rao Jodha king of Jodhpur, established city & kingdom of Bikaner in a barren area called Jangledesh in 1488. He died in 1504. Over  a period of time Bikaner has became fourth largest city of Rajasthan  

Charminar Hyderabad

Charminar is famous landmark of Hyderabad. Foundation of the Charminar was laid down in the year 1589 by Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah who was fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Shah is said to have prayed here for eradication of cholera which was taking heavy toll of population in the area. Charminar is at the intersection of roads leading to Golconda & Machilipatanam. Both were important trading centers of that era. 

Construction of Charminar was completed in 1592. Around Charminar the city of Hyderabad was developed as capital city in place of Golconda. An interesting folklore says that Shah built the place in memory of Bhagmati whom he met here. Later after conversion Bhagmati became his queen though history guys do not agree with this theory. As at present ASI looks after this monument.
Some snaps: 

Charminar is a square building each side being 20 mtr long & having high arches. Second floor has a mosque 

Lovely high arches in Indo-Islamic style. Persian architect Mir Momin Astarwadi  had an important role in design & construction. The monument is made of granite, lime stone, mortar & pulverised marble. Pulverised marble used in thick plaster gives a smooth & shiny touch 

Clocks were installed on four sides in 1889 

Each Minar is 160 feet high and has two balconies & a dome on the top 

Surrounding area of Charminar is full of small shops & restaurants. On holidays the place is overcrowded  

'Fill this city of mine with people as, 
You filled the river with fish O Lord'
said Qutb Shah in his couplet while laying the foundation of Charminar 

Chowmahalla Palace Hyderabad

Chowmahalla had been the official residence of Nizams of Hyderabad State and still is of descendants. Originally the spread of the area was 45 acres which has been reduced to 12 acres over time. The place is close to Charminar in old city. The construction work was started in 1750 by Salabat Jung and completed by 1869 during the period of Nizam Asif Jah V.

The name Chowmahalla means Chow = चार or four, and mahalla = महल or palace. There are four palaces here - Afzal Palace, Aftab Palace, Mahtab Mahal & Tahniyat Mahal. All of them are elegant with unique fusion of many architectural styles. 

Northern side has Bara Imam with long row of rooms facing fountain. It had been administrative wing. Opposite side had guest rooms. Some vintage cars & jeeps used by Nizams are also on display here. After careful restoration the place was opened for public in 2005. A part of the complex is used for organising functions.

Entry is by tickets, parking available, guide available. Need half a day to see all of the complex. Remains crowded during holidays. Some snaps:

1. Part of the complex getting spruced up

2. Minarets & designs on wall

3. Row of rooms forming adminstrative wing 

4. Fountain the middle

5. Field Gun

6. Another field gun

7. Beautiful style

8. Clock Tower 

9. Khilwat Clock. It is wound up once a week

10. Rolls Royace Silver Ghost 1912

11, Napier 1906 

12. Vintage Jeeps

13. On 15 Mar 2010 UNESCO had given Merit award for cultural heritage conservation which was received by Princess Esra former wife of Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur  

14. Way to Tahniyat Palace & vintage cars