PATNA, BIHAR

PATNA

INTRODUCTION

Patna is capital of Bihar state situated in North India, on the bank of Ganges River. It is the hub of a rice-growing region and is an administrative, commercial, and educational centre. There is good transportation by road, rail, and air. Its ancient name was Patliputra. It was an imperial city during the Maurya and Gupta eras. Asoka bulit a large palace there, and some ruins of the period remain. The city was revived during the rule of Afghans and Mughals. In the 18th century the East India Company made Patna a seat of trade.

HOW TO REACH

Patna is easily accessible from all parts of the country. Very well connected by road, rail and air, the city offers convenient and comfortable travelling options to and from other cities of India

BY ROAD

Patna is well connected with all the major cities of Bihar and rest of India. An excellent road network links Patna to major cities and tourists destinations with Bihar. Transportation within city is good in Patna.

BY RAIL

Patna is a major junction of Indian Railways and is linked with all the major and minor cities of India via railway network. The location of Patna on the main line of the Eastern Railway division makes it an important transportation point too. The various cities connected with Patna are Kolkata, Chennai, Varanasi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Delhi and Lucknow.

BY AIR

With the presence of an important airport in the capital city, access to Patna by air is quite easy. Patna has an airport where both government and private airlines regularly operate their domestic flights and connect the city with the important towns of India such as Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Ranchi, Mumbai and Lucknow. The important fights operating from Patna connect Kathmandu city, the capital of Nepal.

ACCOMMODATION

There are several hotels in Patna, which provide accommodation to travellers along with the fulfilment of other needs. Lots of hotels are available here as per visitors requirements. From luxury to small budget hotels all are available with great amenities and excellent services. Visitors coming here by different mode of transportation will never feel difficulty for accommodation as hotels, dharamsalas; lodges are available at every place according to requirement. At the bus stand lots of hotels are available. And outside main railway station all luxury budget accommodation are available, and these hotels are available at the heart of city, making travellers easy to travel the city. People viewing for luxury hotel can easily avail them which provide world class luxury at affordable price with unique hospitality. All type of hotels is available such as deluxe, five, four, three star rated and average budget. Main criteria are that these are at the centre part of city with attractive offers and great hospitality. Daily visitors, Business associates, corporate visits and holiday travellers for all the location of hotels serve the best with major shopping centre, restaurants, cafeteria, corporate office and government office around. Visitors visiting will never feel difficulties in accommodation as people her are very co-operative and helpful.    

  

HISTORY

As per history of Patna, the origin of Patna is described to a mythological King Putraka who created Patna by magic for his queen Patali, literally Trumphet flower, which gives it its ancient name Pataligrama.It is said that in honour of the first child born to the queen, the city was named Pataliputra. Where Putra in Sanskrit stands for son and gram means village. And also it is said that Emerald Buddha was created in Patna by Nagasene.

                                                                                   With the rise of the Mauryan Empire, the place became the seat of power and nerve centre of the sub-continenet.Emperor Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, transformed the wooden capital into a stone construction and brought more prosperity to his kingdom. In the years that followed, the city saw many dynasties ruling the Indian sub-continent from here like Gupta Empire and Pala kings but never reached the glory that it had under the mauryas.

                                                                                Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the sikhs was born in Patna to Teg Bahadur, the ninth guru of the Sikhs, and his wife Gujri. His birth place Harmandir Sahib is a one of the most sacred pilgrimage for sikhs.

                                                                                Patna played a key role in the Indian Independence struggle. Indigo plantation was the most notable movement organised from Patna and the 1942 Quit India Movement. Patna's contribution in the freedom struggle has been immense with outstanding national leaders like Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, the first President of the Constituent Assembly of India Dr. Sachidananad Sinha, Dr. Rajendra prasad, Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Basawon  Singh, Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Sri Krishna  Sinha and many others who worked for India's freedom relentlessly.

GEOGRAPHY

Patna is located on the south bank of the Ganga River. The most amazing character about geography of Patna is its combining of rivers of which the Ganges River is on the pick and then conjoined by Four mighty rivers; Ghagra, Gandak, Punpun and Sone. The Ganga is the most respectable river for city of Patna. River Gandak flows in the North of Patna across the river Ganga, making it unique place having four rivers in its vicinity. Patna is also known for being the largest riverine city in the world. The bridge over the Ganga named Mahatma Gandhi Setu, is 5575m long and is one of the longest (single river) bridges in the world. Patna has a subtropical climate with hot summers from late March to early July, the Monsoon season from late June to late September and a mild winter from November to February. Highest temperature recorded is 55"C and lowest ever is -6"C and annual rainfall is 1000mm.  

CULTURE, PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE

Patna is basically situated in the Magadh region of Bihar, many residents of Patna are natives of one of the four other regions of Bihar -Bhojpur, Mithila, Vajj and Ang, which differ slightly from each other. People are religious and family-oriented, and their lives are deeply rooted in tradition and their inbuilt culture of their forefathers. Although the culture is same among the regions, the dialects spoken are quiet different. Many talented people of Bihar have migrated for better opportunities. Hindi, Magahi, Bhojpuri, Angika and Maithili are main languages spoken by the people of Patna. Traditional snacks and savouries of Patna are Sattu, Litti Chokha, Pua, Tilkut, Dahi Chura, Makhana and Paan, which are enjoyed here a lot as food.

PLACES TO VISIT

As we know that Patna is a historical place, so there are lots of historic buildings to visit and apart from that many temples and buildings are persent.Some of them are listed below

Agam kuan - literally the unfathomable well which is said to date back to the Ashoka period.

Hanuman Mandir - The favourite divinity of the Patnaite. It is situated in front of the Patna Junction. Long windings queues can be seen at the temple on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

State Secretariat Buildings - It is known for its Clock Tower, including the Matyrs Memorial commemorating the seven school and college students who were brutally killed by the armed forces under the command of British Raj in front of the Patna Secretariat during The Quiet India Movement of 1942. 

Patna Museum - It is also called Jadu Ghar. The well-known museum has a fine collection of stone and bronze sculpture and terracotta figures of Hindu and Buddhist artists. It also has the best collection of Buddhist religious paintings on outside part of museum.

Saheed Smarak - It is situated near Bihar Vidhan Sabha. And made in the memory of seven extra ordinary students who attempted to hoist the Indian Flag on The top of Bihar Vidhan Sabha in 1942 during English rule. The six were shot dead by the forces under the command of the colonial government of India, and the seventh one was able to hoist the flag.

Darbhanga House - It is also known as Nav Lakha building. This was built by Maharaja Sir Kameshwar Singh of Darbhanga. This beautiful building on the banks of the Ganges now houses the post graduate departments of Patna University. It houses the Kali Mandir, which has been a place of worship of the goddess Kali.

Gol Ghar - The huge grain storage house known golghar, as it is round house. And tallest of building of Patna, and whole Patna is seen from its roof.

Patna Planetorium - One of the largest Planetariums in Asia attracts large number of domestic as well as foreign tourists. The planetarium has a regular film shows on subjects related to astronomy

Patna Zoo Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udhyan - The zoo attracts lots of visistors as per its wider area and large amount of wild animal present. The toy train also is a centre of attraction.

Kumhrar - The site of the ruins of the Ashoka Patliputra.

Takht Shri Harmandir Saheb - It is constructed by Punjab ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, consecrates the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Jee also known as 'Takht Shri Patna Sahib'.

CONCLUSION

After visiting Patna and spending some time with localite of Patna we come to conclusion that it is a city of joy, happiness, and glory. It is basically a historical place to visit but also it is culturally enriched city and traditionally enjoyable city. People here welcome the visitors with warmth and happiness.