Ghumakkar's Diary

Mystic, yoga, ghats – is it only what you saw when visited Varanasi? One certainly plans a lot, both spiritually and economically before visiting the one of World’s Oldest living city, but what if one has just a few hours in hands and one wants to visit just a few places that most have missed? Graffiti at Rajendra Prasad Ghat Just a few hours and three places in Banaras aka Benaras. First, being a long-forgotten architectural marvel built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, in the series of Astronomical Observatories or Jantar Mantar across the country. Taken care by Archaeological Survey of India, Jantar Mantar of Banaras is situated at Rajendra Prasad Ghat , just adjacent to famous Dashaswamedh Ghat . This monument not only provides an opportunity to observe the old instruments ( yantras ) but also give a splendid look of the Ghats. This monument can be easily reached by Varanasi Railway station by auto-rickshaw that would put you on grounded roller coaster ride for abou...

Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II , Founder King of the Jaipur city, established five Yantra Mantra  ( the instrument and formula )  or Jantar Mantar in five cities of West Central India between 1727 and 1734 at Jaipur , Delhi, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi . Most famous being the ones at Jaipur and Delhi; very few people know about the other three and fewer have even visited them. Graffiti at Rajendra Prasad Ghat I came to know about Varanasi’s own Jantar Mantar few years ago, when wandering at Ghat we noticed a building near the vegetable market at Rajendra Prasad Ghat .  This Ghat is next to the famous Dashaswamedh Ghat of the city. The building is locally known as Man Mahal or Man Mandir ( 25.307699, 83.010807 ), and the adjacent ghat as man Mandir Ghat.. As per ASI, it was erected by the Maharaja Man Singh of Amber in around 1600 AD. Later Maharaja Savai Jai Sigh II (1699-1743 AD) constructed the observatory on the terrace of the palace. This observatory is ...