India’s first floating Post office is on Dal Lake, Srinagar

India’s first floating Post office is on Dal Lake in Srinagar, the first of its kind in the country. It was inaugurated by  Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah on August 22'2011.

This innovation by India Post is the star attraction for the tourists visiting the lake. Besides offering normal services, the place will also have a philately museum and a shop that will sell postage stamps and other products. It functions from 10 am to 6 pm on all days including Sundays during the tourist season.

 This Post office provide a unique and tourist-friendly service to the people of Kashmir and to tourists from across the world.  The special feature of this post office is that letters posted from here carry a special design which have the picturesque sceneries of Dal Lake and Srinagar city. These pictures reaches wherever these letters posted and promotes Kashmir as a tourist destination across the world. 

I don’t claim the information to be my own. The information is compiled from different sources

World's Highest ATM in Sikkim

On December 12, 2003, UTI Bank inaugurated its ATM at Thegu, near the Nathu-la Pass in Sikkim, which is at 13,200 feet above sea level. That makes it an ATM at the highest location in India. NCR Corporation provided the technology to build this heat-generating ATM, which is capable of handling rough weather and sub-zero temperatures. The ATM caters to Indian army personnel -- especially of the 63rd Mountain Brigade, which has its headquarters there and tourists.

                                                                          I don’t claim the information to be my own. The information is compiled from different sources

Rashtrapati Bhavan

The splendour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is multi-dimensional. It is a vast mansion and its architecture is breathtaking.

The present day Rashtrapati Bhavan was the erstwhile residence of the British Viceroy. Its architect was Edwin Landseer Lutyens. The decision to build a residence in New Delhi for the British Viceroy was taken after it was decided in the Delhi Durbar of 1911 that the capital of India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in the same year.

That 'empire in stone' and the perpetual Durbar was transformed to be the permanent institution of democracy on 26th January 1950 when Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India and occupied this building to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of India. It was from that day that this building was renamed as Rashtrapati Bhavan - the President's House.

It is interesting to note that the building which was scheduled to be completed in four years took seventeen years and on the eighteenth year of its completion India became independent. 

This vast mansion has got four floors and 340 rooms. With a floor area of 200, 000 square feet it is built by using 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone. Hardly any steel has gone into the construction of the building. 

One of the most notable parts of the house is massive dome in the middle of the building. This is where the Durbar Hall is located. This is where all of the main functions that the President handles take place. The dome is built with copper and features some accents that involves both British and Hindu ideas.

                         

      Durbar Hall                      Durbar Hall               Marble Hall (Right Gallery)     Marble Hall (Centre)

                         

Marble Hall (Left Gallery)            Museum                        North Drawing Room             Ashoka Hall

                                       

                       Banquet Hall                      Jaipur Column                Yellow Drawing Room

President house is most appealing attraction to visit when in Delhi. This mansion features many beautiful rooms and massive gardens. 


There are many things that can happen throughout the year. People can see the changing of presidential bodyguards on Saturday morning here.    


The Mughal Gardens are open to the public in the month of February-March and specific dates, times are announces every year. This is the royal garden area that people can enjoy viewing. It is home to many decorative fountains and walls. A tropical theme is used for most of the plants in the area. 

I don’t claim the information to be my own. The information is compiled from http://presidentofindia.nic.in and other web sources.

Evolution of India's National Flag

It is really amazing to see the various changes that our National Flag went through since its first inception. It was discovered or recognised during our national struggle for freedom. The evolution of the Indian National Flag sailed through many vicissitudes to arrive at what it is today. Some of the historical milestones in the evolution of our National Flag involve the following: 

1906 - First Flag

• Also called Calcutta Flag or Lotus Flag
• The flag was first hoisted on 7 August 1906 at Parsee Bagan Square in Calcutta.
• This flag was composed of three colors - Green, Yellow and Red with the word - Vande Matram ( वन्दे मातरम् ) inscribed in centre.
• The red strip at the top had eight white lotuses embossed on it in a row. On the yellow strip the words Vande Mataram were inscribed in deep blue in Devanagari characters. The green strip had a white sun on the left and a white crescent and star on the right.

1907 - Second Flag

• In 1907, the second form of Indian flag was hoisted in Paris by Madam Cama and her group of revolutionaries. 
• Except for a few changes, the flag was similar to the first one.  
• This flag was also exhibited at a socialist conference in Berlin.

1917 - Third Flag

• The third flag went up in 1917 when our political struggle had taken a definite turn. Dr. Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak hoisted it during the Home rule movement.
• This was the most colorful version of the Indian flag.
• This flag had five red and four green horizontal strips arranged alternately, with seven stars in the saptarishi configuration super-imposed on them. In the left-hand top corner (the pole end) was the Union Jack. There was also a white crescent and star in one corner. 
• The presence of the Union Jack, however made the flag generally unacceptable.

1921 - Fourth Flag

• During the session of the All India Congress Committee which met at Bezwada in 1921 (now Vijayawada) an Andhra youth prepared a flag and took it to Gandhiji.
• The red and green color in the flag represents two communities – Hindus and Muslims. As per Gandhiji’s suggestion, a white strip was included which indicated other religions and communities and a spinning wheel which portrays the progress of India.
• This was the flag approved by Gandhi in 1921. 
• This flag was not formally adopted by the Indian National Congress, but nevertheless widely used.

1931 - Fifth Flag

• The year 1931 was a landmark in the history of the flag. A resolution was passed adopting a tricolor flag as our national flag. 
• The three colors include saffron, white and green with Mahatma Gandhi’s spinning wheel or charkha in the center.

Flag of August 15 1947 - The present flag of India

• Our National Flag, which was born on July 22, 1947 with Nehruji's words, "Now I present to you not only the Resolution, but the Flag itself". 
• This flag was first hoisted at the Council House on August 15, 1947
•  In the national flag of India the top band is of Saffron color, indicating the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The last band is green in color shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. 
• This Dharma Chakra depicted the “wheel of the law” in the Sarnath Lion Capital made by the 3rd-century BC Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. The chakra intends to show that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.

I don’t claim the information to be my own. The information is compiled from the various website.

Kotilingeshawara - World's Largest Shiva Lingam

Kotilingeshwara is the principal deity of the Kotilingeshwara temple. This temple lies in the Kammasandra village in the district of Kolar in Karnataka state. It is about five kilometers from Kolar Gold Fields and about 6 Kilometers from Aalamaram. This place has the distinction of having one of the largest Shivalinga in the world. Over 2 Lakh divotees visit the temple on Maha Shivratri every year.

The main attraction of this peaceful retreat, which is surrounded by plush greenery, is a huge Shivalinga. Measuring 108 ft (33 m), this shivalinga is tallest of its kind in the world and accompanying it is a 35 ft (11 m) tall Basava, surrounded by lakhs of small shivalingas spread over an area of 15 acres (61,000 m2). So far, around 90 lakh shivalingas have been installed. The entire project involves the installation of one crore shivalingas of various sizes, hence the name ‘Kotilingeshwara’.

The credit for constructing the Kotilingeshwara temple rests with Swamy Sambha Shivamurthy. The temple can be visited from early morning till about 9 PM at night.

It is said that Lord Rama after defeating Ravana travelled from Dhanuskodi to Rameshwaram and installed the Linga. This was a noble way to providing moksha to those who perished. Lord Rama offered his prayers to this Linga and prayed for people who laid their lives down in the battle. It is said that in the Kali Yuga, the Kotilingeshwara temple has been built for instilling the same culture of peace, divinity and prosperity.

The Devotees can offer their prayers to Lord Kotilingeshwara by installing Lingas. The price for the Lingas depends on the size of the Linga to be installed. These informations will be available with the Executive Officer of the temple. The Lingas will be installed in the name of the devotee. One can find the names of the devotees carved on the Lingas installed and prayers will be offered every day for the well being of the donors.

Antilia - World's Most Expensive Home

The Antilia is a more than $1 billion family home in South Mumbai, built for India’s richest man (and Forbes’ fourth richest man) Mukesh Ambani - the billionaire Chairman of Reliance Industries, his wife, three children and his mother. Antilia is named after the mythical island in the Atlantic, Antillia.

The Antilia house which unveiled its first renderings just over two-years ago has become a frightening reality, egregiously boasting 27 stories at 568 feet high, with a total area of over 398,000 square feet of living space. There is around 600 full-time staff to maintain the residence, which was reported in the Indian Media to be the most expensive home in the world.

The Antilia building is situated on a 4,532 square metres (48,780 sq ft) plot at Altamount Road, Cumballa Hill, South Mumbai. The Antilia is the product of a partnership between architecture firms Perkins+Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates. The building has taken nearly three years to complete. Antilia's shape is based on Vaastu and differs in that no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used.

Atop six stories of parking lots having the capacity of 160 vehicles, Antilia's living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges. The home contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, a swimming pool, a ballroom, guestrooms and a 50-seater cinema as well. Three helicopter pads have been installed on the roof.

It has been described as the "Taj Mahal of 21st century India".

World's Largest Family

Did you know that the world's largest family resides in India?

Residing in a 100-room four story mansion outside of Baktawang in Mizoram, Ziona Chana is married to 39 women with whom he has 94 children, 14-daughters-in-law, and 33 grandchildren.

Mr Chana told that he feels like God's special child. He's given him so many people to look after.

'I consider myself a lucky man to be the husband of 39 women and head of the world's largest family.'

The family is organised with almost military discipline, with the oldest wife Zathiangi organising her fellow partners to perform household chores such as cleaning, washing and preparing meals.

There is also a rota system when it comes to who shares Ziona’s double bed – the other 38 wives have to make do with the communal dormitories. Chana keeps the youngest women near to his bedroom with the older members of the family sleeping further away

It takes 30 chickens, one "giant" pig, 55 lbs of rice and 88 lbs of potatoes for every meal cooked for the entire family. The family grows its own crops and keeps its own livestock.

Coincidentally, Mr Chana is also head of a sect that allows members to take as many wives as he wants. 

One of his sons insisted that Mr Chana, whose grandfather also had many wives, marries the poor women from the village so he can look after them. 

Shaan - e - Bhopal : World's First Broad Gauge Rail Coach Restaurent

World's first Broad gauge Rail Coach Restaurant ISO 9001-2000 Certified Restaurant & Bar. Its actually a railway coach converted into a restaurant. You have the railway platform, which is also a part of the restaurant. Good food, great surroundings.
Shaan - e - Bhopal Express is a train running between Bhopal & New Delhi and the restaurant is located inside Hotel Lake View Ashok premises, Shamla Hills. It is in the shape of a train compartment with windows on one side having screens depicting as if you are on a moving train with sound effects to the same. The decor is interesting, windows have LCD screens running a video of a train journey from Bhopal.
Overall is a place worth a visit.