Photo Travelogue :
Sometimes, some places are so near, yet, it takes a life-time to discover them. The Gandhi Mandap in Sarania Hills is one such place. It was always there, not far from my native house, but it was only last year i.e 2018 that I actually visited it. Thank God that I did, because, I discovered a gem of a place. And I fell in love with it immediately. Nestled right in the centre of the city, it is yet so far away from it. Its a hill, and once you start climbing it, leaving the maddening crowd and pollution behind - its just magic, atleast for me. I have been there many times since, just to take walks, breath in fresh air and simply unwind. Its the place where - main khud se milne jaati hoon.
The hill is filled with tall tress, so, one can't see the road that goes up the hill from down below, but you can catch glimpses of the city through the tress from top, and, as you go up. Its not crowded - just some odd couples coothie-cooing in some corners, or youngsters biking up and down the hill in speed, trying to show off a bit - only, there's no one to see their stunts! There have been visitors to the gandhi museum up there, but negligible. Only, since the largest and tallest flag was hoisted there last year, the footsteps to the place has increased, along with some stalls selling chips, momos. The number had increased to 9 from the initial 2. Join me as I take you along to the top...
view from chandmari flyover...
the trekking route...
the sign at the base; that's one way distance, both ways is 4.45km, an 80minutes trek!
the road starts going up, leaving some dwellings behind...and its just all green...
( the road has street-lights and railing along the way, making it very safe, even after dark )
lots of turns...one can see the forests below from the railings...
midway, there's an ancient shiva temple carved out of the rock...
and the road continues uphill, one doesn't feel tired but refreshed instead...
come across a place to sit...and ticket counter at the entrance - currently, its free...
the white temple-type building at the top inside the compound is the gandhi mandap museum...
storing many memorabilia connected to M.K.Gandhi and that freedom-movement era...
there's a statue of Gandhi at the centre...
panoramic views of guwahati city from inside the mandap, from its tallest view point...
( one can see river Brahmaputra, Saraighat bridge over it, Umananda island, Nabagraha temple )
an ancient kali mandir situated right outside the gate ( on right side )...
coming back...
visitors come mostly in vehicles, but, I simply love walking it...up and down...
guwahati city...
views of guwahati city from various heights while going up the hill...
setting sun...
the 4th tallest tricolur of India...
Gandhi Mandap is a Museum constructed in memory of "Father of the Nation" Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It is one of Guwahati's vantage points with vehicle access only. Gandhiji visited Saranya hills ( which is of 0.34 sqkm, one of the eight reserve forests and 15 hills of guwahati ) in 1921/1946, thus, this was made in his memory. It was inaugurated by Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1970. The statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Gandhi Mandap, showing him walking over a heap of human skeletons, is the only one of its kind. It was sculpted by Ramkinkar Baij, the legendary sculptor of West Bengal.
The 9,600 sq ft flag was hoisted by the Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal under the Rs 2.91-crore ( which includes operation and maintenance for a period of one year ) Guwahati Smart City Project. The flag hoisted on October 2, 2018 was torn after 48 days on impact of wind and air-pressure, needing its replacement with another flag on November 17, 2018. However, barely after a week, the replaced flag had also been torn. It is one of the tallest National Flags in the country at 319.5-foot mast made of galvanized steel. It is ranked fourth highest in the country after Attari Border which is 360 feet and Pimpri Chinchwad Bhakti Shakti Chawk, Pune which is 351 feet. The tip of pole is about 300metres from base of the hill, which makes the hill around 665ft. ( wiki ).
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/countrys-tallest-national-flag-from-the-average-city-elevation-installed-in-guwahati/articleshow/66043494.cms?from=mdr
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/guwahati-sports-indias-tallest-national-flag/article25104617.ece
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/319-5-feet-tall-national-flag-hoisted-on-gandhi-jayanti-118100200642_1.html
Address : Ulubari, Sarania Hills, Guwahati 781007
Stay tuned for all my road, rail, flight, cruise & walk trips.
( Images - ©Mine. All rights reserved. )
Our Rating Scale is : 1 to 5 = ◕◕◕◕◕ - It was Awesome!
No comments:
Post a Comment