Each instrument is built of local granite and marble and fixed. The largest instrument is Samrat Jantar which is around 90 feet tall. Its shadow is carefully plotted to tell the time of day, accurate to 30 seconds! Its face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. The Hindu chhatri (small domed cupola) on top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of monsoons. The Maharaja built five observatories. There is one in Delhi also.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and was designed by the same king strictly on the rules of Shilpa Shastra (similar to vastu architecture principles) and has many other palaces and art museums.

Considered one of the architectural wonders of the world it took about 50000 artisans about 18 years to build. It occupies an area of about two football fields and is surrounded by an immaculate water garden designed in persian style. It was completed in the year 1648. Later Shah Jahan was put under house arrest when his son Aurangzeb executed all his brothers and usurped the throne, Shah Jahan spent his last days looking at Taj Mahal from his quarters in the Red fort.

Prince Kurram (later called Shah Jahan who became the fifth Mughal emperor) married Arjumand Banu Begam (later called Mumtaz Mahal) in 1612. Even though he had many wives, she was his close confidante and accompanied him on all his militray campaigns. She bore him fourteen children and died during child birth in 1630 only three years after his succession to the throne. A grief stricken Shah Jahan was determined to perpetuate her memory and started the construction of Taj Mahal on the banks of Jamuna river in Agra. It was his vision of a perfect heaven.

It is constructed of pure white marble stone and has intricate and elaborate carvings done by special artisans inlaid with precious stones like Jade, and gold. The tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz are placed on the lower level of the building in a elaborately carved hall.

Historians now believe that Shah Jahan was planning to construct an identical Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of Jamuna river before he was overthrown by his son.

The beauty of Taj Mahal can best be appreciated on a full moon night when it is lit by moonlight. It is perhaps the most visited tourist site in India. It is located in the city of Agra which is near New Delhi. You can reach Agra either by flight, train or tourist buses. Lot of arranged one day tours arranged tours are available.

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The wheel denotes life in continuous motion. Saffron color denotes courage, sacrifice and renunciation, the white denotes purity, and green denotes faith and prosperity. The flag was adopted on 22nd July 1947 by India constituent assembly as the flag of freedom. On January 28, 2002 (after 54 years) an amendement to the constitution enabled any citizen to to hoist the flag. Before this amendment, the citizens could hoist the flag only on certain days.

In 1971, the Indian flag went into space on board Apollo-15. Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharna, wore it on his space suit during the Indo-soviet joint space flight in April 1984.

Black Pepper (Piper Nigrium) originated in the Malabar Coast of Southwest India. It bears pea-sized fruits (peppercorn) which when green are used as green peppercorns. Black pepper is the dried fruit. White pepper is made by removing the dark outer hull and has a milder flavor. Pepper is valued in herbal medicine as a heart and kidney stimulant.

Hyderabad is known for its IT industry high technology parks, where most of the multinational companies like General Electric, Deloitte & Touche, Microsoft, Dell, Intergraph, Motorola, Oracle, Keane, and Baan, etc have set up shop. Satyam one of India’s largest software companies is headquartered here. It is also home for Dr.Reddi;s Laboratories a global Pharmaceutical company (its stock is listed in NYSE). Ramoj film city called India’s Universal Studio is also located here.

Hyderabad is known for pearls, pearl jewelry, silverware, paintings and artifacts, Unique ‘Bidri; style handicraft items, silk, cotton, and handloom clothings.

Hyderabad is also called Bhagyanagar and is the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Some of the famous attractions are:

• Birla Planetarium
• Birla Mandir – a marble temple built on the top of a hill
• CharMinar
• Golconda Fort
• Hussain Sagar – an artifical lake separating the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad

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