Tour and Travel-India - History To Heritage

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib-Sikh House of Worship-History & facts

by Dr. Hamad RizwiOctober 21, 2021December 23, 20210

The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, of 17^th century AD, is located in New Delhi, India. This is one of the holiest places of worship of Sikhs. The Gurudwara is visited by devotees following the faith of Sikhism from India and abroad.

This place is also a prominent tourist attraction, visited by Indians and foreigners, belonging to all religion and faith. The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib is famous for its history, beautiful architecture, religious ceremonies of Sikhs and also for providing humanitarian services to people in need.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib History:

The Gurudwara Bangla Sahib was initially a bungalow in Delhi, belonged to a king named Raja Jai Singh. King Maharaja Jai Singh was a ruler in 17^th century CE, under the Indian Mughal dynasty, and his capital was at Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan.

There was a widespread of smallpox disease during 17^th century, which had engulfed the larger population of Delhi. The eighth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Harkrishan Singh, in his young age, was requested to visit and heal the people of Delhi.

Consequently, the Guru “the spiritual guide” came to Delhi and stayed at the bungalow of Jai Singh. The Guru helped the ailing people providing aid and water (water with special properties of healing) from a well located near bungalow.

Also read the facts about Qutub Minaret -a tourist should know, a world heritage site in Delhi.

The people of Delhi belonging to all different religions and faiths attended the Guru and began to recover from the smallpox. But, unfortunately, Guru got infected with smallpox and died on 30 March, 1664, while treating and healing the people. He died at a tender age of just before reaching his 8^th years of life.

Following this incident, and due to the stay of the Guru in Delhi in the bungalow, the same was donated to Sikh community by Raja Jai Singh in 1664 AD. Later on, in 1783, the bungalow was renovated and converted into a small shrine by a Sikh General named Baghel Singh. With the passage of time, more additional structures were added to the building. At present, it is one of the beautiful Gurdwaras with grand and lovely view.

Gurudwara Bangla Saheb, Sikh House of Worship — Gurudwara, Sikh Religious Shrine with pond, New Delhi! Courtesy-pixabay, image by sudeshkjain.

Gurdwara Complex:

Spreading on a few acres of land, the complex of Gurdwara Bangla Sahib contains the main building of Gurudwara (main prayer building), a large pond of holy water (sarovar) and a tall flagpole (Nishan Sahib). Apart from this, the complex also houses a large modern kitchen with a big hall to feed people .

The main prayer hall is a beautiful building with big domes polished with gold on top. The beautiful arch of the Gurdwara along with the domes on top of the building, a typical Sikh architecture, reminds us the architecture of Islamic mosque.

Also read about Jama Masjid of Delhi.

Who was Guru Har Krishan Singh Ji:

Guru Harkrishan Singh was the eighth Guru or “Eighth Master” of Sikh religion. Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak Dev Maharaj in 15^th century AD, being the first Guru.

The original name of Guru Har Krishan Singh was Krishan Singh Sodhi. He was born on 7 July 1656 AD, in Rupnagar district of Punjab, India. Link of official Website of Gurdwara Management….

The mother of Guru Har Krishan was Mata Sulakhni, and the father, Guru Har Raj Ji was the seventh Guru of Sikhs. Guru Har Krishan or Guru Hari Krishan Sahib became the youngest Guru at the age of 5, on 7 October, 1661. Hence, the Guru is known as the Bal Guru (Child Guru). The Bal Guru died on 30 March, 1664 aged 8 years, due to infection of smallpox in Delhi, while healing to others.

Religious ceremonies inside Gurdwara:

The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib do not contain any statue or idol of god or goddesses, since Sikhs do not believe in statue or idol worship. Sikhism is a monotheist religion like Islam, believing in one God “Waheguru” (the wondrous enlightener). Sikhs believe that there is only one God, who created everything.

Main entry to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib prayer hall — Gurdwara with Golden Dome, Sikh House of Worship, Gurdwara Bangla Saheb, New Delhi! Courtesy-commons-wikimedia, image by A. Savin

The religious scriptures of Sikhism known as “Guru Granth Sahib” and “Adi Granth”, has been placed in the heart of prayer hall of Gurudwara Bangla Saheb. The holy book is covered with beautifully crafted clothes and a devotee keeps on fanning manually with great respect at a regular intervals. The prayers are also performed from time to time. Devotees including men, women, elders and children, sitting on the carpet floor in the prayer hall, listen to the soothing live music and recitals from Holy Scriptures (Gurbani).

As you exit from the prayer hall, the lovely view of a huge pond provides a feeling of peace in open space. There was a well in past during Guru Har Krishan’s period before the pond. Later on, a tank was constructed over the well by Raja Jai Singh. At present, there exists a much enlarged pond. The water of holy pond, even today, is revered as having healing properties. The water of the same is taken by Sikhs throughout the world back to their homes.

Not far away from the exit gate of Gurudwara complex, “kada Prashad” (offered sweet dessert) is served to devotees and visitors near flagpole. The sweet dessert is revered and eaten with great respect.

Lungar (revered community dining):

The most wonderful part of Gurudwara is the tradition of feeding people (lungar) or community food. Unlimited food is served to people (as much as they could eat) without discriminating the caste, religion, region or gender. Thousands of people eat lunch and dinner (only vegetarian) sitting on carpet, cooked and served daily with love. Mostly, the poor and hungry people come to eat food here. It is really a great service to humanity.

To manage such a big and challenging job to feed thousands of people daily, a huge amount of money and material is required. And it is surprising to note, that this entire fund comes from community’s and individual’s donations voluntarily. The major fund comes in the form of cash and in kind as well, contributed mostly by Sikhs business man, farmers, employees, and commons.

Even the services like cooking food, serving food and cleaning utensils in Bangla Sahib Gurdwara are performed by Sikhs (rich and commons) known as “Karseva” (service through work). This is in the very spirit of Sikhism to serve humanity and human being.

Health Services at Gurudwara Bangla Saheb:

The latest and wonderful addition to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib premises’ is the setting up of a health center in the year 2021. The center provides health care and related services for needy and poor people. The hospital is equipped with latest and modern technology and equipment. The doctors and the diagnostic facility with free medicine services are major reason of high appreciation.

A Sikh is rightly called as “Sardar” (the head or a respected one) due to their unique turban and services to humanity.

Visiting Gurdwara:

A visit to a sacred place like Gurudwara Bangla Sahib as a tourist with friends, family or alone, should must be included in your tour list in Delhi. It provides an opportunity to acquire knowledge and a better understanding of the ceremonies, services, religion and tradition of Sikhs.

Before entering to the shrine, do not forget to remove your shoes and sandals. Cover your head hiding the hair with scarf provided there. There are volunteers to guide you while visiting Gurdwara, please follow their instructions.

Also read the facts about Birla or Laxminarayan Temple in Delhi.

Photography is not allowed inside the prayer hall.

Address:

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Baba Kharak Singh Road, Near Connaught Place, New Delhi, Pin Code-110001, India.

Timing:

Gurdwara Bangla Saheb opens all the days and nights of the year, without any holidays.

The best time to visit Gurdwara Bangla Sahib: 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM.

Parking space (multi-level) is available for vehicles near the Gurdwara Bangla Saheb ji.

Map location:

by Dr. Hamad RizwiOctober 16, 2021December 24, 20210

The National Rail Museum, or simply Rail Museum (Train Museum), located in New Delhi, India, attracts a considerable number of visitors and tourists from all age group. The museum inaugurated on 1 February, 1977, covers an area of 11 acres. It is located in a highly posh area of Chanakyapuri, near Shanti Path.

The area adjacent to the location of Rail Museum is called Shantipath. Shanti Path is a beautiful planned area, known for its high commissions and embassies from all over the world.

Train on Track, Rail Museum, New Delhi — Steam Locomotive parked on track, Antique, Image

The National Rail Museum contains a collection of around 100 real size exhibits covering a history of 150 years of Indian railways. The museum houses some of the rarest heritage exhibits and items. Exclusive exhibits of antique locomotives, coaches and cars, royal saloons are some of the main attraction of museum. Museum draws a large number of visitors from near and far.

Steam Locomotive Image — Beautiful Steam rail engine, clicked in natural day light, Image

The Museum has both indoor and outdoor exhibits, showcasing trains and related items with antiquity. The indoor part of Museum houses around 5 to 6 display galleries. Indoor section, contains pictures and tableau inscribed with information on history and development of railways in India. Apart from pictures, many gadgets related to the operation of rail transport system and communication instruments and signaling system have been placed here to take a look.

Also read the facts about a world heritage site, the Qutub Minar, Delhi, India.

A beautiful indoor theater hall is worth mentioning, where one can enjoy a virtual 3D on screen train rides, covering different parts of India with its scenic beauty. The virtual 3D visual tour covers from narrow, meter and broad gauge, passing through mountains, jungles, plateau, rivers and plains, leaving an unforgettable mark in mind. The theatre of the museum has a seating capacity of 200 individuals.

The outdoor section of museum is most amusing for children and kids, providing the facility of the Toy trains’ ride. The outdoor is wonderful in a sense that it contains real size train’s coaches, cranes, royal saloons including steam, diesel and electric locomotives. It has a wonderful collection of wagons, armored trains, carriages, train cars and coaches developed during times.

Antique Diesel Locomotive, Train Museum — Diesel Locomotive Parked on Rail, Antique, Train Museum, New Delhi! Image by HtoH.

History of National Rail Museum:

Who built rail museum:

The creation of rail transport museum was proposed by Michael Graham Satow, in 1962 after the India’s freedom. Satow was an UK’s engineer and historian, he is well known person in the field of protecting railway heritage in India and UK. The proposal was accepted by the Government of India in 1971.

Foundation Stone of Rail Museum:

The foundation stone to construct the rail museum was laid by the then-President of India, V.V. Giri, on 7 October, 1971. It took six years to complete the museum. The biggest challenge to complete the museum was faced while transporting heavy locomotives, coaches, cranes and other equipment from different parts of India to the museum.

Who inaugurated:

The train museum or rail museum was inaugurated as the “Rail Transport Museum” in 1977 by Kamalapati Tripathi, the then-minister of public transport. The museum was renamed as the “National Rail Museum” in 1995, and it is popularly known as Rail Museum of Delhi. The museum is a state of the art class of Museums.

Antique Steam Locomotive, Museum — Steam Train Engine, Green and Silver Color, Antique, Image

Also read about Nehru Planetarium Tour, Delhi.

Who can visit Rail Museum:

Any one can visit National Rail Museum from India and abroad. The museum is mostly visited by students, teachers, tourists, family, kids and children and by the lovers of antique and heritage.

Main attraction of Rail Museum:

The outdoor gallery is most wonderful with its open large area. The most joyful experience is riding the Toy Train here, for both adults and children. One can take a view of entire museum while taking a round in toy trains.

There are many unique and antique coaches of train and classical engines to see in the outer section of museum. The Patiala Monorail Trainway built in 1907, Morris Fire Engine built in Lancashire of 1914 CE are present in rail museum. All these engines are amazing and reminds us the different stages of development in rail transport.

Steam Locomotive, Train Museum — Picture of Steam locomotive rail, stationed on track, tree in background, with track and train coaches, open area, Rail Museum, Delhi! Image

The electric locomotive of Wilson, once upon a time was running by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway zone, connecting the larger regions, is quite attractive. The Wilson eclectic locomotive engine was among the first of its kind. It was India’s first generation 1,500 V DC powered electric locomotive and was locally known as Khaki.

Also read about Arch of Triumph, Paris, France.

One can see another special electric locomotive/engine model 4006. It was manufactured in UK and imported to India in 1930 AD.

Locomotive Engine, Antique, Rail Museum — Electric Engine Train, Old, Rail Museum, New Delhi! Image

Apart from above mentioned attractions of National Rail Museum of Delhi, Saloon of the Prince of Wales, is spectacular. It was specially built with fine interiors for Prince of Wales, before his visit to India. Saloon of the Maharaja of Indore is also lovely.

The saloon coach of the Maharaja of Mysore is unique and beautiful as it has been designed using teak, gold, ivory, and other materials of precious items.

Train Coach Rail Museum, New Delhi — An antique Rail coach, stationed on railway track in Rail Museum

A visit to National Rail Museum will be an unique experience and amusement as well as to peeping into the history of train transport. It will be a fun to ride toy train with your friends, family and kids.

Rail Museum Address:

National Rail Museum, Near Bhutan Embassy, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, Pin Code-110021, India.

Timing of Rail Museum:

Opening Time – 10:00 AM to 05:00 PM (Monday Closed)

Opens 6 days of a week. (Museum is closed on all Mondays)

Entry ticket of Rail Museum:

Entry tickets are available at the window counter of Museum at entry gate.

(I apologize, for not providing a clear picture of entry fee and other charges due to its many variability and optional charges for different services provided there).

You can carry your camera with you in museum and you can take pictures with lovely background of trains and trees. Photography is allowed in the museum.

How to reach Rail Museum Delhi:

You can reach to museum using auto rickshaw, Delhi metro rail, cab, taxi, DTC bus or by personal transport. Parking is available near rail museum.

Nearest Metro Station:

Dhaula Kuan Metro Station is the nearest metro station at distance of 5 km. From the station, you can take an auto to reach the museum.

Map location Rail Museum:

by Dr. Hamad RizwiOctober 13, 2021December 23, 20210

Sunder Nursery of Delhi, a World Heritage Site.

Sunder Nursery Park is a 16^th century Heritage Park with it’s historical monuments, built by Indian Mughals. This park is known as Sunder Nursery and the park complex is located adjacent to Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, India. During Mughal times, this garden was known as “Azim Bagh”.

During British Raj, Sunder Nursery has been a farm and a garden of experiments to test the sustainability of plants and herbs of different species. The plants and herbs were brought from different part of world and planted here. Due to this reason and presence of Sundarwala Mahal (a palace), this is called Sunder Nursery. With the passage of time, the park containing trees, pond, pool and monuments had become degraded and were left in its own bad condition.

A huge park spreading in an area of about 36 hectares, with its important monuments, in a densely populated city like Delhi, drew the attention of government and the international agencies, to restore and renovate in early years of 21^st century.

Sunder Nursery, New Delhi, Central Park. — Sunder Nursery or Azim Bagh, Central Park, New Delhi, India! Image

Also read the facts about Qutub Minaret, built in 13th century AD in New Delhi, a World Heritage Site.

The challenging work of restoration and development was undertaken by Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) (a prestigious world renowned trust), with the partnership of Central Public Works Department (CPWD) Government of India. Renovation and restoration works of Sunder Nursery was started in 2007.

It took lots of energy and time to restore specially the monuments’ delicate work of painting with high precision. Eventually, it was ready for public, and the heritage park reopened with a new beautiful classical look, inaugurated on 21 February, 2018. After the renovation the park is also known as “Delhi’s Central Park”.

A monument in Sunder Nursery, New Delhi — Mughal Monument of 16th Century, Sunder Nursery, New Delhi, India! Image

Today the garden contains over 300 types of trees of different species, with its water pool, flowers, herbs and historical monuments. There are numbers of monuments in the park complex, 6 out of those, have been listed by the UNESCO World Heritage site. The most beautiful monuments are Sunder Burj, Sunderwala Mahal, Lakkarwala Burj, Chota Bateshewala and tomb of Mirza Muzaffar Hussein, of 16^th century.

Follow the link and watch this short video on YouTube to view the difference before and after restoration and the inauguration of Sunder Nursery.

Main attraction of Sunder Nursery:

There are lots to see, explore and observe here in this park. Hundreds of species of green trees, flowering plants, herbs, bushes, lush green well maintained grass on ground, open space and sky views are the general features of a park. But, what make this park particular and unique are it’s water pool and water channels with fountains, artificial water lake and most importantly beautiful monuments with spectacular designs, architecture and historicity.

Fountain, Azim Bagh. — Beautiful Fountain in Azim Bagh or Sunder Nursery, New Delhi! Image

This beautiful park has been recently awarded with Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation by UNESCO, in the year 2020.

You can find different families of birds like mynah, crow, bulbul, eagle and the most amazing Indian peacocks in this park. There are insects and animals like ants of many kinds, lizards, squirrels, rabbit, and chameleons. Apart from this, honey bee sucking the nectar from flowers to make sweet honey, and other bees, fly and colorful butterflies can be seen in garden.

Another unique attraction is the “Farmers’ Market” organized on every Sunday in a temporary clothed sheds and tents in the premises of Sunder Nursery. The Farmers’ Market opens from 08:00 AM to 01:00 PM and this is special market in the sense that the sellers sell their own organic products in small scale. These sellers are from Delhi, and also come from other states of India as well.

Also read about the tour of Garden of Five Senses in Delhi.

The majority of buyers come from the rich and health conscious class of people, mostly from embassies bureaucracy and others in Delhi. One can buy the products like cold pressed mustard oil, sesame and groundnut oil and tasty homemade pickles of lemon, chili, ginger, raw mango, mixed, garlic and other things. Organic spices and herbs, ghee, natural honey, vegetables and other kitchen ingredients are available in Sunday market. You can also taste some hot, fresh and tasty Indian snacks available in the market.

Sunder Nursery Park — Central Park of Delhi, Azim Bagh or Sunder Nursery, New Delhi! Image

A heritage park like Sunder Nursery is preferred and mostly visited by school going students and teachers, and by Indian and foreign tourists, families and couples. The beautifully laid pathways with red sandstone and concrete lead us to different parts of the park. The pathways adds the color and beauty to the surface landscape. There are seating arrangements of beautifully designed wood and metal benches, where you can sit and think.

You can also make your child enjoy swinging on swings, hanging from huge trees. There is also a small shop selling the snacks like popcorn, chips, ice-cream, water bottle, coffee and tea.

There is a small nursery space and a greenhouse dedicated to portable decorative plants and flowers. You can buy some plants and take to your house.

Timing:

Opening Time: 07:00 AM to 07:00 PM

Park opens all 7 days of a week, except on National Holidays.

Address Sunder Nursery:

Bharat Scouts and Guides Marg, Opposite Humayun’s Tomb Park, Near Sabz Burj, Nizamuddin, National Zoological Park, Sundar Nagar, New Delhi-110013

Entry Tickets:

Rs. 40 for adult and Rs. 20 for child and Rs. 20 for senior citizens. Kids below 5 years of age are free to enter in the garden.

Ticket for foreign tourist Rs. 200.

Entry tickets are available at the counter at the entry gate of park with payment in cash and via card/UPI.

Parking space is available near the garden with parking charges.

For more information on Parking and Entry charges log in to official site of Sunder Nursery link.

How to reach Sunder Nursery:

You can reach hiring auto rickshaw/taxi/cab or by a bus or metro rail.

Nearest Metro Station Sunder Nursery:

Hazrat Nizamuddin Metro Station is the nearest one.

Map Location:

by Dr. Hamad RizwiOctober 7, 2021December 23, 20210

Dolls Museum of Delhi or Shankar’s International Doll Museum.

There are many museums in the world displaying and showcasing the antique items from bigger to smaller in sizes. But as far as dolls museums are concerned, there are very few world renowned museums that can be counted on our finger tips. The Toy Museum of Dublin in Ireland, the Doll Museum of Warwick in England and Doll Museum of Delhi are worth mentioning.

Delhi’s Doll museum is known as “Shankar’s International Doll Museum” and also called “International Dolls Museum” of Delhi. This is an internationally renowned and attracts visitors from India and all over the world. The museum is visited by kids, students, parents, teachers and tourists. Liked by people from all age groups, it has huge collection of Dolls from all over the world.

History of Delhi’s Doll Museum:

Shankar’s International Doll Museum of Delhi has more than 6500 diverse collection from different countries of the world today. Delhi Doll Museum has been awarded with an international first prize namely “Golden Peacock Feather” in 1980 at the Dolls Biennial function held at Cracow, in Poland.

The museum was founded by K. Shankar Pillai, a journalist and a famous political cartoonist. He had opportunities to visit many countries being a journalist. At many a times, he was accompanied with Jawaharlal Nehru during his foreign visits. Pillai had a hobby to collect dolls.

In early 1950s he was gifted Hungarian doll by the then Hungarian Ambassador to India. This was a big encouraging moment in Pilla’s life and it induced him an idea to make bigger collection of dolls. From now onwards, where ever he traveled, in India or abroad, he spared some time to visit the places where he could get some dolls.

Several embassies and diplomatic missions in Delhi were also contacted and they gifted doll to him. The other visiting dignitaries to India also contributed in the mission. He was mostly helped by Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India while collecting dolls. The visiting dignitaries from different countries like Queen Fredericka of Greece, Madame Tito and from countries like Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Iran and from many other countries, gifted him the dolls.

Founder of Delhi Doll Museum:

Shankar Pillai (1902-1989) was the founder of Doll Museum of Delhi, thus this museum is known as Shankar’s International Doll Museum. He liked children a lot and often he held exhibitions for students and poor children.

During one of his exhibitions in Delhi, Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi, was present among other visitors. Indira Gandhi inspired and encouraged Pillai to set up a museum for dolls.

With the support of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, finally a museum was setup by Pillai and inaugurated on 30 November, 1965.

Biography-K. Shankar Pillai:

His full name was Kesava Shankar Pillai, popularly known K. Shankar Pillai or simply Shankar. He was born on 31 July, 1902, at a place called Kayamkulam, located in the state of Kerala.

He had deep interest in cartoon making, sketching and journalism since his childhood. After completing his basic education from Kerala, he went to Bombay to pursue his higher education and he finally settled in New Delhi with his family.

Shankar Pillai worked in many renowned journals and newspapers published in India during those days. He was a successful political cartoonist and reached to the high level of cartooning and journalism. He is known as the “father of political cartooning” in India. He also started a journal named “Shankar’s Weekly” and was the editor of same.

Shankar Pillai had great passion for children’s education. He setup Children’s Book Trust in Delhi, in 1957. The Children’s Book Trust is the first of its kind in the field of children’s literature in India.

Shankar Pillai was honored with India’s second highest civilian award the “Padma Vibhushan” in 1976. This award was conferred to him by the Government of India in recognition of Pillai’s extraordinary contributions to children’s education, cartooning and doll museum. Shankar Pillai died on 26 December 1989.

Also read about Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi.

Who inaugurated?

The Shankar’s International Doll Museum was inaugurated by the then President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, on 30 November, 1965. Unfortunately, Jawaharlal Nehru, the great patron of museum, had died before the completion of the Doll Museum. At the time of inauguration, the museum had about 500 dolls in number.

Also read about Garden of Five Senses. A park in Delhi.

Main attraction of Doll Museum:

There are many attractive dolls and items in the museum from India and abroad. The Kathakali dance form with costumes from South India and some beautiful tribal art dolls from central and eastern part of India are worth viewing.

You may find Boys and Girls Festival dolls from Japan that is very interesting. Apart from this the replica of some Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom movements and replica Dolls of the Queen’s collection of United Kingdom, Mayploe Dance from Hungary, dolls in beautiful frock and Indian women’s dolls in traditional saris, are quite interesting.

Other interesting dolls are Samurai and Kabuki dolls from Japan, dancers’ dolls from Spain, dolls of Orchestra of Women from Thailand, Kandy Pehara from Sri Lanka, which will make you amazed.

Starting from merely 500 dolls, including the doll collections and gifts from Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, and others, this museum has become world famous, with more than 6500 dolls today.

Doll Museum Delhi! Image Courtesy via wikimedia creative commons share alike 4.0, by Buete.

Museum and doll Collection from countries:

Shankar’s International Doll Museum has a collection of dolls from more than 80 countries. This is one of the world’s famous museums of dolls.

The Museum has been divided into two equal halves from inside and it is situated on the first floor of CBT building. Both the sections have glass cases and wooden racks mounted on the walls to place the dolls and items of exhibition.

One section displays the dolls from Europe, Americas, U.S.A, Australia, New Zealand, and England and from other countries of Latin America and Africa. Other section, displays the dolls and items from Asian countries, Far East, Gulf, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Middle East and India.

Apart from Doll Museum of Delhi, there are some minor doll museum in India as well. One of those museums is in the city of Rajkot, in the state of Gujarat, known as Rotary Dolls Museum. The Rotary Doll Museum, with a collection of around 1400 dolls from all over the world, is quite famous among locals.

A museum like Shankar’s International Doll Museum can be an addition to your tour list, in Delhi. The Delhi’s Doll Museum is located in the same building of Children’s Book Trust (CBT) on first floor, at Nehru House, New Delhi. The museum has a big housed area to accommodate large number of people.

Also read about Qutub Minar, Delhi.

Address:

Shankar’s International Doll Museum, Children’s Book Trust Building, Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Near Ram Charan Agrwal Chowk, New Delhi-110002.

Timing of Doll Museum:

Opening Time: Opens in the morning at 10:00 AM

Closing Time: Closes at 06:00 PM (there is no lunch break)

The ticket counter closes at 05:30 PM.

Note: The Museum is closed on Monday and other gazetted Indian holidays.

How to reach Doll museum:

Due to its prime location in Delhi city, the museum is highly connected through private/public road transport. You can hire an auto/cab/taxi or use public transport like bus or metro rail.

Nearest Metro Station:

There are four Metro Stations, all located on a distance of 1 kilometer to the museum.
(1) ITO Metro Station, Violet Line (2) Pragati Maidan Metro Station, Blue Line (3) Mandi House Metro Station, Blue Line and (4) Delhi Gate Metro Station Violet Line.

by Dr. Hamad RizwiOctober 5, 2021December 23, 20210

Laxminarayan Temple or Birla Temple, New Delhi, India.

India has been a country of all major religious believes since its past. Almost all the religions have its specific places of worship and prayers. Temple is one of such religious places where Hindus go to worship and pray frequently. There are numbers of famous temples in India. The Laxminarayan temple of Delhi is one of them.

Laxminarayan Temple is also known as Sri Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Birla Temple and Birla Mandir. The Laxminarayan temple was the biggest and the most beautiful Hindu temple in Delhi until completion of the Akshardham Temple on the bank of river Yamuna in 2005. The Laxminarayan Temple built in 20^th century is one of the most visited temples of Delhi by local devotees and tourists from all over India and abroad.

During the festivals of Janmashtami and Diwali, Laxminarayan temple turns into a major attracting center, visited by large numbers of devotees.

The Laxminarayan Temple was the first biggest temple covering an area of 3 hectares (7.5 acres) including a park with sculptures. This is located near Connaught Place, New Delhi, in India. The main temple building has 3 floors from its base, accommodating the shrines of idols on its high plinth of first floor. The highest shikhara (peak) of the temple above the sanctum sanctorum is 49 meter (160 feet) high. This temple is one of major tourist attraction of Delhi.

Who built Laxminarayan Temple of Delhi:

The Laxminarayan Temple was funded and built by an industrialist and his son. His name was Baldeo Das Birla and his son was Jugal Kishore Birla. B. D. Birla was a rich industrialist and he was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi suggested him to build temples in different Indian cities, accessible to all castes.

The Laxminarayan Temple was first of its series to start from Delhi. Since this temple was supported by Birla, it is also famous as “Birla Temple” Delhi.

Also read about Qutub Minar, a 13th century beautiful world heritage site, located in New Delhi.

Who was architect of Laxminarayan temple:

Sris Chandra Chatterjee was the architect of Lakshminarayan Temple. He invited and employed around one hundred skilled artisans from Benares city to build and carve the temple. The Laxminarayan Temple is in northern or “Nagara Style of temple architecture”. The Nagara Style of temple architecture was mostly used during 5^th and 6^th century AD in India.

The foundation stone of the temple was laid by Jat Maharaja Udaybhanu Singh in 1933. The carvings and icons of temple were carried on under the guidance of Acharya Bishvanath Shastri. Some of the walls inside the temple are adorned with carvings depicting scenes from religious text of Hindus from Ramayana and Mahabharata.

On the exterior, the garbhagriha (central shrine) is crowned by a tower-like shikhara (peak). On the outer wall of temple, you can see many carvings including the symbol of “Swastika”. Many foreign tourists get confused with Hitler’s Nazi symbol, used on his flag. Hitler defamed swastika using a sign, as same as swastika.

Laxminarayan Temple, New Delhi, India — Birla Temple, New Delhi, India! Image taken in 2019 AD, Image HtoH.

When was Laxminarayan Temple built:

The making of Laxminarayan temple started in 1933 AD, and it was completed in the year 1939. It took 7 years of hard work to complete the Birla Mandir in Delhi.

Who inaugurated the temple:

The Laxminarayan temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was well aware of the Indian society. There were practices of caste system within Hindus, in which people of lower social strata of the same were believed to be impure. And they were discriminated in society, and they were not permitted to enter in a temple.

Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated the Birla Temple of Delhi in 1939, on the condition that people of all castes will be allowed the temple, without any discrimination.

Also read about the facts about Jama Masjid (Mosque), Delhi, India.

Idols of gods and goddesses in Laxminarayan Temple:

This temple is dedicated to Laxmi Devi (goddess of prosperity) and Narayan Bhagwan (the preserver), their idols are housed in central shrine of temple thus, called LaxmiNarayan Mandir. Apart from idols of LaxmiNarayan, the Darshana or a view of other famous Hindu gods and goddesses can be taken here in this temple.

The statues (Murtis) of gods and goddesses like Durga Devi, Shankar or Shiva Bhagwan, Devi Parvati, Krishna Bhagwan, Shri Rama, Sita Devi, Laxmana Ji, Hanuman Ji and Bhagwan Ganesha, are other beautiful attractions of the temple. All these idols are beautifully carved out into white marble brought from the state of Rajasthan.

The Laxminarayan temple houses a Geeta Bhawan Hall, where religious discourse is organized from time to time. The Geeta Bhawan is located in northern part of the temple and it is dedicated to Krishna.

You may like to also read about the history and architecture of Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France.

Useful information while visiting temple:

Temple is the revered and respected place of worship. Therefore, you need to remove your shoes and sandals before entering the temple. For foreign tourist, there is a room on ground floor, where you can remove and keep your shoes or sandals.

Since mobiles, cameras and photography are not allowed in the temple. There are some locker facility that you can use to keep your camera and mobile safe. There is no entry charge to visit the temple.

As you enter the temple after stepping up stair, there is a big metallic bell hanging from ceiling of a gate over head. The devotees generally ring this bell before entering the main shrine.

During a visit in the temple, tourists are required to maintain silence and peace. If you like, you can ask a priest sitting near idols of gods, to put a red color dot on your forehead. It is believed to be a symbol of good luck. Priests of the temple are generally Brahmins dressed in orange color.

You can see some devotees carrying fresh flowers, coconut and some sweets in a small basket in their hands. These are the items of offerings to gods and goddesses, offered with great respect in the temple shrines.

I will recommend this site for those tourist, specially foreigners, who have never been to a Hindu temple. You can see the most famous and beautifully carved idols of gods and goddesses here. This can be a good place of visit on a tour in Delhi city.

Also read about India Gate of Delhi, India. An arched gate.

Address:

Shri Laxminarayan Mandir, Mandir Marg, Near Gole Market, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India.

Timing:

Opening Time Laxminarayan Temple 05:00 AM (Early Morning)
Closing Time Laxminarayan Temple 09:00 PM.
Temple opens on all days of a year.

Note: Temple is closed at lunch time from 01:30 PM to 02:30 PM daily.

How to reach:

The temple is quite accessible by road and Delhi Metro Rail, due to its location in central Delhi. You can reach to temple by hiring an auto/cab/taxi or by public transport like bus or metro rail.