Cities And Towns In India

"Early one morning in October, 2008, as the temple prepared to hold its biggest annual festival, Padmanabhan accompanied the two commissioners into a storage area behind the sanctum sanctorum. Confirming Padmanabhan’s suspicions, they found doors to six kallaras. They unlocked and entered the two kallaras containing the festival ornaments, which were later dubbed Vaults C and D. Inside, they found dazzling objects, including a golden bow and arrow, umbrellas made with gold rods, and a golden throne for the deity embedded with hundreds of precious gems. The items were probably worth millions of dollars."

"For centuries, the royal family’s management of the temple received little scrutiny. Nobody challenged the arrangement until 2007, when Padmanabhan brought a lawsuit against the temple administration, on behalf of two devotees. In the lawsuit, Padmanabhan alleged that a series of kallaras—treasure vaults—existed beneath the temple, and that they were being looted. Based on his research, Padmanabhan believed that there were at least six kallaras beneath the temple."

"Padmanabhan believed that these riches were still hidden in the basement, uncounted and unguarded. Like many observant Hindus, Padmanabhan believes that a temple’s deity—in this case, the supreme god Vishnu—resides within the temple’s walls."

"...the treasure discovered in a temple in southern India. Nobody knew for certain what was hidden beneath the ancient Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple... But a lawyer named Ananda Padmanabhan had a hunch. According to legend, treasure was sealed in the temple vaults."

"There is a statue of Vishnu at the 2000 yaer old Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the heart of the city. This temple is located within the walls, or fort that encircles the town, and is the only temple in the state with a huge gopura which was so much part of the temple architecture in Tamil Nadu. This is an interesting temple but quite muted by Tamil Nadu standards and I think the six metre long reclining figure of Vishnu is probably the most striking aspect."

"One is struck by the beauty and charm of the temple architecture - harmonious conglomeration of both Kerala and Tamil styles of architecture."

"Padmanabha Swamy temple located inside the East Fort, this Vaishnava temple is very famous attracting devotees from all parts. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu sleeping on Anantha, the serpent king, this temple is a rare blend of Dravidian architecture and the Kerala style."

"The kingdom of Travancore was dedicated by Marthanda Varma to his deity Sri. Padmanabha (Lord Vishnu) and from then on the rulers of Travancore ruled the kingdom as the servants of Sri. Padmanabha (Padmnabhadasan)."

"Trivandrum is one of the nine Roman Catholic (Latin Catholic) dioceses of Kerala."

"I have fallen in love with the women of Kerala. I have been looking around for the last 10 minutes and have not spotted any colour. All of you are wearing white and it is spotlessly clean. I respect you and admire you."

"Thiruvananthapuram’s industries include mineral processing, sugar milling, textiles, and handicrafts. Rice and coconut cultivation and coastal fishing are economically important. It is a rail terminus and road hub and has an airport and a harbour."

"The city’s former name, Trivandrum, was given by the British and is a contraction of Thiruvananthapuram, its ancient name that was adopted again in the early 21st century. It is the site of the University of Kerala (1937) and its affiliated colleges and technical schools. It also has a museum, zoological gardens, an observatory, and an art gallery."

"The Travancore royal family took a different approach to ruling its territories and managing the properties of the State. The king served as Padmanabha Dasa — [who] ruled on behalf of god and swore allegiance only to god. In 1949, Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Rama Varma came close to refusing the post of Rajpramukh because he could not “give oath to the Indian government"."

"Raja Ravi Varma, another member of the Travancore royal family and renowned painter, spent an important part of his lifetime in Trivandrum. While he painted many gods and even printed them as oleographs, he never painted Padmanabha or the temple."

"Those two ancestors - Swati Thirunal and Raja Ravi Varma - gave music and art, divinity and humanity respectively."

"The accession of Swati Thirunal ushered in an epoch of cultural progress and economic prosperity. The beginning of English education was made in 1834 by opening an English school at Thiruvananthapuram. In 1836, an observatory and a charity hospital were established."

"That above all, the friendship existing between the English East India Company and Travancore should be maintained at any risk and that full confidence should always be placed in the support and aid of honorable association."

"|Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma was the first maharaja to usher in [this] concept of Padmanabha Dasa in the 18th century."

"Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel [1741]. He captured the Dutch Admiral who was later on appointed as the Senior Admiral it was he who modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery."

"The history of modern Travancore begins with Marthanda Varma who inherited the Kingdom of Venad and expanded Travancore by conquering kingdoms Attingal, Kollam, Kayamkulam, Kottarakara, Kottayam, Changanassery, Meenachil, Poonjar and Ambalapuzha."

"The ruler Ravi Varma (1721-29) entered into a formal treaty with the English East India Company with the aim of strengthening his position in the fight against these noble elements and other hostile elements. He also entered into a treaty with the Nayaks of Madurai with the same object. On his death in 1729 Marthanda Varma who was to become famous in history as “the Maker of Modern Travancore”"

"Towards the end of 12th century, Kersal became a full fledged feudal society with its peculiar socio-religious institutions, customs and usages. The spread of Christianity and Islam added many divisions in the society, though Trivandrum as such has never been under a foreign ruler."

"The history of Trivandrum or rather Travancore comes with the Sangam age which comprised the first five centuries of the Christian era. There was no caste distinction in the earlier period. Hinduism was the religion and Sri Padmanabha Temple marked the religious symbol of the people."

"Trivandrum, has been in commercial contact with many countries from ancient times. The people were of the Dravidic origin."

"Trivandrum was the capital of the Princely State of Travancore, which was ruled by Hindu Kings and Queens, and it continues to be the state capital of the present day Kerala"

"Thiruvananthapuram, which got this name from Anantha, the serpent king of Hindu mythology... traditional buildings and monuments stand as great examples of culture and overwhelming splendor."

"Kerala's capital Tiruvanathapuram or Trivandrum which is infinitely easier to say and write was named after the Serpent God Anantha, on whom Lord Vishnu reclines."

"The southern most district and the capital of Kerala, God’s own country, one who visits Thiruvananthapuram, visits heaven experiencing the ecstasy of being here."

"My home was the Dome of Islam. It was the qibla for kings of the seven climes. Delhi is the twin of pure paradise, a prototype of the heavenly throne on an earthly scroll."

"It is now almost a cliché that the Partition transformed Delhi from a Mughal to a Punjabi city. The bitter experiences of the refugees at the hands of Islamists in Pakistan encouraged them to support right-wing Hindu parties ... Trouble began in September (1947) after the arrival of refugees from Pakistan who were determined on revenge and driving Muslims out of properties which they could then occupy. Gandhi in his prayer meetings in Birla House denounced the 'crooked and ungentlemanly' squeezing out of Muslims who left for Pakistan. Despite these exhortations, two-thirds of the city's Muslims were to abandon India's capital eventually."

"They grouped into nativities - Bengalis, Biharis, Bandladeshis, South Indians, Northeasterners, Kashmiri Pandits and Punjabis - or sought refuge in professional identities. They were Delhiites because geography and the pursuit of common goals made them so and not because the city offered a unifying identity. Delhi now belonged to everyone who lived in it, but no one belonged to Delhi. The original Delhiites too were missing from public life - they preferred the city of memory."

"That's Delhi. When life gets too much for you all you need to do is to spend an hour at Nigambodh Ghat, watch the dead being put to flames and hear their kin wail for them. Then come home and down a couple of pegs of whisky. In Delhi, death and drink make life worth living."

"In Delhi one could manage a drink and dine off other people all 365 days...Delhi had over a hundred embassies, High Commissions and legations. Diplomats in Delhi did not have much work to do. Most of their energies were directed to wining and dining officials of the External Affairs and other ministries of the Government of India, cultivating non-official locals, and celebrating their independence days."

"As you go from New Delhi to Old Delhi suddenly, the streets are narrower. Suddenly, there are bicycle-rickshaws instead of cars. Suddenly, there are more people. Suddenly, everything is different."

"Delhi does not have legislations and policies which recognise the city’s values. The state government has not been able to identify the unique elements and outstanding universal values yet."

"The soil and climate in Delhi are also not favourable for anthrax."

"It was a big challenge for me when I decided to start with the Sufi night. It took a while for the crowd to understand the music that was being played at the club since Delhi's crowd is more used to listening to hip-hop and Bollywood music, but the introduction of Sufi music definitely brought in a change."

"Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has betrayed the people of Delhi."

"Once through this ruined city did I pass I espied a lonely bird on a bough and asked What knowest thou of this wilderness? It replied: 'I can sum it up in two words: ‘Alas, Alas!”"

"Partition was a total catastrophe for Delhi. Those who were left behind are in misery. Those who were uprooted are in misery. The Peace of Delhi is gone. Now it is all gone."

"Chandni Chowk is the street--an imperial avenue under Shah Jahan's reign--extends from the Red Fort. The name often is applied to connecting alleys and streets. It's jammed with makeshift shops, markets, rickshaws, carts drawn by horses and oxen, cows, goats and pedestrians."

"Lord Lytton (1876-80) organised the Delhi Durbar in 1877 to entitle Queen Victoria Kaiser-i-Hind ...Delhi was made capital in place of Calcutta in 1912; Coronation Durbar of King George (V) and Queen Marry was held at Delhi in 1911."

"Modern Delhi began with the slow revival of the city under British domination. During the ‘Delhi Renaissance’, approximately 1830 to the outbreak of uprising of 1857, Delhi exhibited the beginnings of a cultural ferment; Western technology and idea entered the city and supported each other."

"The period from 1724, to Nadir Shah’s invasion in 1739 was one of rapid internal decay of the empire, but one of outer brilliance for Delhi as far as its cultural life was concerned. The phase of 1740 to 1760 was period of growing anarchy."

"In its long history Delhi has been on several occasions the victim of military occupation accompanied by pillage and rapine, and these occasions have sometimes altered the course of the city’s fortunes, both materially and culturally. One such occasion was its capture by Qutubuddin Aibak on behalf of Sultan Muizud-Din Muhammad-ibn-Sam of Ghur in 1192 or 1193. Others, much later, were Nader Shah’s capture of the city in 1739, followed by its occupation by Ahamd Shah Durrani, the British in 1803, and the destruction which accompanied the uprising of 1857 and its suppression."

"Delhi--created at the end of the 12th Century from the ruins of seven ancient cities--is a microcosm of all India. The city of 13 million people is the nation's capital and cultural heart. New Delhi is home to grand hotels, fashionable homes, spacious parks and broad promenades. Old Delhi is compact, crowded and chaotic."

"The Delhi area has an incredibly long and eventful ancient past, beginning thousands of years ago in the stone age and merging at the other end into the medieval period when the Rajputs made way for Delhi Sultans in the twelfth century."

"A Paradise, that's Delhi Humpty Dumpty, hocus pocus, hurly burly If there is a paradise on earth, it is Delhi Full of people, overflowing Markets onto the road going Full of fumes, full of gases Full of ultra modern asses Full of shining, made-up faces Full of heart and cancer cases Car and truck and motorcycle Full of vehicle on the vehicle Full of jolting, full of stoking Full of lanes and bylanes choking Full of housing haywire going Full of sewage into Jamuna flowing Full of callous indifference breeding Full of pastures fast receding Full of power, and still power crisis Full of smoothly rising prices Full of girth and grime and mirth Our Delhi is a paradise on earth."

"I asked my soul: What is Delhi? She replied:The world is the body and Delhi is life."

"Although constructed of destroyed Hindu temples, the Mosques at Old Delhi and Ajmer once and for all set the fashion to be followed by later mosques in Muslim India…"