A journey to explore the heritage of India

India has always been a place of mergence; it has been a place where there is so much cultural vastness. It shows on India’s structures too which have an impact of typical Indian style, Mughal style and European style.

Some unique monuments

Agra Red Fort is a massive fort built by red sandstone. It is also a place which comes under UNESCO world heritage site. Built in a total area of 94 acre, this fort has been recognised as one of the finest works of Indian structural heritage. It is often known as ‘’ sister of taj mahal ’’ as it is situated very close to the taj mahal. It was also the home to the Kohinoor diamond which the British finally seized on their invasion. The great Mughal emperor Akbar had made Agra the capital of his empire and Agra Red Fort his palace.

Ajanta Caves are the caves of Buddhist depictions. These caves have Buddhist inscriptions on them and tell a lot about Buddhist religion. They are situated in the city of Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. These are very ancient caves and have depictions on them which are very old and go back to 2^nd century BC. There are two types of caves, one which were built in around 2^nd century BC and the other which were built in around 600 BC. This also comes under UNESCO world heritage site. These caves depict the story of Buddha. Ajanta Caves are often termed as one of the finest work of Buddhist art.

Ellora Caves are the caves depicting Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist art. These are situated in Aurangabad. These caves are famous for their depiction of Indian rock cut architecture. These caves are a group of temples and out of 34 caves 17 belong to Buddhist inscriptions, 12 to Hindu and 5 to Jain. They came into the existence in the period of Rashtakuta dynasty. These caves also depict the religious harmony among the people of India. These were excavated in the excavation of Chandrani hills. These caves have been protected and restored by the archaeological survey of India.

Fatehpur Sikri is a mughal fort built by the great mughal emperor Akbar who was the grandson of Babur who had established the Mughal Empire. This was also made the capital by Akbar from Agra. Fatehpur Sikri is a small city on the outskirts of Agra. It has a number of fascinating buildings of mughal era. This place originally belonged to Sikriwals from whom Akbar annexed it after a series of attacks. The last Rajput ruler before mughal annexation was Maharana Sangram Singh. Akbar named it as Fatehpur because it is derived from ‘fateh’ which means victory.

Restoration and protection of monuments

There is a very important need of protecting and restoring these monuments as they define our culture and the richness of it. They depict all the times which India has faced throughout its past and they make of the colourful history that India holds. Though the government has made quite a number of efforts to restore them but more efforts are required as they hold a special place in our history.