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National Museum of Natural History - This museum has small but wonderful collection of natural heritage of India. This is an attempt to create interest into children about study of natures. The major attraction is the Discovery room. It offers opportunity to handle specimen and create animal model. There is a gallery dedicated to sculptures and paintings. Some paintings belong to international artists.
Day 03 & 04: Delhi: These two days explore the museums of Delhi with the assistance of GeTS Holidays guide, which are as follows:
Air Force Museum - Situated in the historic Red Fort, the museum displays objects that date back to the Mughal era. It inherits a rich collection of memorabilia of Indian Military Aviation and exhibit the history of Indian Air Force.
Crafts Museum - Traditional Indian crafts, wooden carvings, images and metal ware is what you will find here. Even objects from Bastar, West Bengal and Bihar i.e. clay and terracotta pots, toys and images, folk and tribal paintings, jewellery and textiles will pamper your eyes.
Gandhi Museum – This museum dedicated to the Father of the Nation is situated opposite to Raj Ghat. It contains some of his personal belongings. There are five pavilions where you can go through the strikingly beautiful sculptures, photographs and paintings of Gandhiji and aware yourself with the history of the Satyagraha movement as well as the philosophy of 'ahimsa' (non-violence).
Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum - The museum conserves some of the belongings of Indira Gandhi, even the sari she was wearing when she was assassinated.
National Philatelic Museum - Rare Stamps, first day covers, & special cancellations are displayed at this museum. Counter for sale of stamps where you can buy stamps from all over the world.
Red Fort Archaeological Museum - Situated in Mumtaz Mahal, Red Fort. It has a wide collection of rare arte facts from the Mughal period.
National Museum of Natural History - Small but well-assembled collection of India's natural heritage which creates interest in children into the study of flora and fauna. It has a Discovery Room that offers children the opportunity to handle specimens and take part in creative activities such as animal modeling. The gallery has a collection of painting, sculptures and graphics mainly by Indian and to some extent, international modern artists.
Shankar's International Dolls Museum – It has a collection of 6,000 dolls collected from over 85 countries and a third of the collection has been availed from different parts of India.
Nehru Museum - This museum is situated in the Trimurti Bhawan- the official resident of our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This museum is an ideal place to learn about the history and philosophy of our Independent Movement. There are several photographs of Mr. Nehru. One may love to watch the gallery narrating pictorial biography of Jawaharlal Nehru. The building is in colonial style architecture and surrounded by a well-maintained garden.
The Planetarium - It is a great place to learn about the Space Program of India, the ever-ending Universe and to have the view of the Capsule that took Rakesh Sharma to space.
National Philatelic Museum - The Museum has an extensive stamp collection including the first stamp issued in India by the Sindh Dak (1854) and stamps issued before Independence by the rulers of the Princely States.
National Rail Museum - This museum is a must for rail buffs. There are collection of railway coaches and engines. One may watch the engine of the first Indian train. This train was run between Mumbai and Thane in 1853. There is a museum as well having working models. This museum is a source of information on working and history of Indian Railways. The star attraction is the Fairy Queen, world’s oldest working locomotive. The other attraction is unique steam monorail. This steam monorail was operated in erstwhile Patiyala State. This train is still in working condition and you can enjoy a joyride. There is a toy train and boat riding especially for children.
Sangeet Natak Academy - India's premier institution for music ('Sangeet'), dance ('Natak') and the performing arts, Sangeet Natak Academy is more a resource centre than a museum, with a large audio-visual archive.
Sanskriti Museum - The museum comprises of two parts, Sanskriti Museum of Indian Terracotta and Sanskriti Museum of Everyday Art
Tibet House - This is a small museum with personal collection of the Dalai Lama. Dalai Lama brought them when he fled from Tibet after the Chinese aggression. There is a souvenir shop, which offers a variety of handicrafts.
The National Gallery of Modern Art - This museum has collection of paintings and sculptures of 19th and 20th century. There are mainly collections of arts of Indian artists. The star attractions are painting is Raja Ravi Verma and Ravindra Nath Tagore. The museum depicted growth of Indian paintings and displays paintings of various schools.
Costumes of Rajasthan
The heritage tour of Rajasthan is incomplete without knowledge of costumes and ornaments of the Rajasthani people. Rajasthan is deprived of greenery. Perhaps gods have been filling colour in their life through their colourful attire. Costumes in the present are reflection of costumes in the past. Rich cultural heritage of the region and topography both affected the clothing. Social status, economy and profession in which they were engaged also influenced their dressing. The traditional dresses being Potia, Dhoti, Banda, Angrakha, Bugatari, Pachewara, Khol, Dhabla, amongst Hindus; and Burga, Achkan amongst Muslims which are fast changing with Bushirts, Salwars and Skirts, Saris and Pants.
The bandhani art (tie and dye) is traditional art of Rajasthan. It produces a delightful aura of colour. This art is also suited to dry weather of Rajasthan. Kota is also famous for its wonderful cotton sari.
Probably Banzaras are the most colourful people in term of attire as well as ornaments. Women wear colourful ‘Ghaghra-choli’ (a combination of long skirt and blouse). They wear a variety of ornaments likes bangles, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earrings, nose rings etc. They are also known for their piercing arts and tattoos.
For its exquisite designs and delicacy of Rajasthan Jewellery is a rage not only for Indians but also for foreigners.
Cuisines of Rajasthan
Rajasthan means land of princes. So the cuisines of Rajasthan are often ravishing exotic dishes. In the royal kitchen, preparation of dishes was a complex affair that required lots of talents and expertise. Thus cooking developed, as an art. Hereditary category of khansamas emerged, who passed their knowledge as family secret through generations. Some of their skills passed into hand of chefs of branded hotels.The cuisines of Rajasthan are also adapted to warlike nature of medieval Rajasthan and the availability of ingredients. These dishes could survive for many days. . Scarcity of water, fresh green vegetables also had their effect on cooking.
In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use a minimum of water and prefer using milk, buttermilk and clarified butter. A distinct specialty of the Maheshwari cooking is use of dry mango powder as a substitute of tomato and use of asafoetida, to enhance the taste in the absence of garlic and onions.
Generally, Rajasthani curries are a brilliant red however they are not as spicy as they look. Most Rajasthani cuisines use pure ghee (clarified butter) as the medium of cooking. A favourite sweet dish called lapsi is prepared with broken wheat (Dalia) sautéed in ghee and sweetened.
Perhaps the most famous Rajasthani food is a meal of dal, bati and churma (dal is lentils; bati is baked wheat ball; and churma is powdered sweetened cereal). But adventurous can explore a whole venue of varieties. Every region has its specialty like Mawa Kachori from Jodhpur, Alwar ka Mawa, Malpuas from Pushkar, Rasogullas and Bhujiya from Bikaner, Ghevar from Jaipur etc. to name a few.
It’s a common misconception that Rajasthani cuisine is completely vegetarian. There are lots of exotic non-vegetarian dishes. The unique creation of the Maharaja of Salwar is the Junglee maans. Junglee maans was a great favourite among the Maharajas and due to the paucity of exotic ingredients in the camp kitchen; the game brought in from the hunt was simply cooked in pure ghee, salt and plenty of red chilies. However, now this dish has been adapted to ingredients like mutton/lamb, pork or poultry.
Rajasthani curries are often brilliant red in colour. However they are not as spicy as they look. Instead of oil pure ghee is medium of cooking in Rajasthani cuisines. Lapsi is a famous native sweet dish. It is prepared from dalia (wheat flakes) and sugar cooked in deshi ghee.
Rajasthanis are fond of a meal of dal (lentils) bati (wheat) and churma (sweet cereal). But one may explore a whole venue of varieties. Every region has its area of expertise like Mawa Kachori in Jodhpur, Mawa in Alwar, Malpuas in Pushkar, Rasogullas and Bhujiya in Bikaner, Ghevar in Jaipur etc. |
