If I was Matt Harding, a rejoinder

And what if I was Matt Harding, given a choice of Indian destinations only… then what I will choose.

First a peice of information

A few days ago… Red Fort of Delhi was added to the UNESCO world heritage list, so now the UNESCO heritage list for India looks like this

• Agra Fort (1983)
• Ajanta Caves (1983)
• Ellora Caves (1983)
• Taj Mahal (1983)
• Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (1984)
• Sun Temple, Konârak (1984)
• Kaziranga National Park (1985)
• Keoladeo National Park (1985)
• Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (1985)
• Churches and Convents of Goa (1986)
• Fatehpur Sikri (1986)
• Group of Monuments at Hampi (1986)
• Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986)
• Elephanta Caves (1987)
• Great Living Chola Temples (1987, 2004)
• Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (1987)
• Sundarbans National Park (1987)
• Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (1988, 2005)
• Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989)
• Humayun's Tomb, Delhi (1993)
• Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (1993)
• Mountain Railways of India (1999, 2005)
• Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (2002)
• Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003)
• Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (2004)
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004)
• Red Fort Complex (2007)

By now I have visited most of them, barring a few. Would my Matt Harding list be the same, perhaps yes and perhaps no….The answer lies somewhere in between…. But in any case I will make a list of 40 such places

• Jammu and Kashmir- Tsomoriri Lake in Laddakh
• Punjab- Golden Temple
• Himachal Pradesh- Bhakra Nangal Dam near Una
• Uttaranchal- Jageshwar Temple complex near Almora
• Uttar Pradesh- Tajmahal in Agra, Manikarnika Ghat by night in Varanasi
• Bihar- Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya
• Jharkhand- Tata Steel complex in Jamshedpur
• West Bengal- Darjeeling Toy Train system, Shantiniketan University, The bylanes of Kumartuli in Kolkata
• Delhi- Red Fort, Rajpath- somewhere in between North and South Block
• Rajasthan- Golden Fort in Jaisalmer, Mata Karni Devi temple in Bikaner, Ajmer Sharif Dargah
• Madhya Pradesh- Sanchi complex, Mandu Palace in monsoon
• Chattisgarh- Chitrakote waterfall in Bastar
• Gujarat- Reliance Jamnagar refinery complex, Ashoka edict at the foothills of Girnar hill in Junagad
• Maharashtra- Gateway of India in Bombay, Ajanta caves, Kailasa Temple in Ellora
• Karnataka- Jog Falls near Shimoga, Hampi Temple complex, Sravanbelgola, Infosys Complex in Bangalore.
• Goa- Bom Jesus Church
• Kerala- Waterways of Alleypey
• Tamilnadu- Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur, Vivekanand Rocks in Kanya Kumari
• Andhra Pradesh- Araku Valley, Golconda fort near Hyderabad
• Orissa- Chilika Lake
• Pondicherry- Auroville
• Andaman- Cellular Jail in Port Blair
• Sikkim- Rumtek Monastery
• Assam- Majuli Island
• Nagaland- World War cemetery

17 done, 23 to go……….. Come on, this is India- my very own country, I can do it- Idon’t even need my lady luck to smile upon me.

Just an afterthought.... The state with maximum number of entries does not even come in the recallable tourist circuit of India- Karnataka.....so is it the best kept secret of India