Bombay to Colombo (Ceylon)
THROUGH SOUTHERN INDIA VIA POONA, HYDERABAD, MADRAS, BANGALORE, SERINGAPATAM, OOTACAMUND, TRICHINOPOLY, TANJORE, KUMBAKONAM, CHIDAMBARAM, MADURA AND TUTICORIN.
| 1st day 2d |
Poona (four hours by rail from Bombay). The journey is one of the most beautiful in India. A stop should be made en route at Kalyan Junction for the purpose of visiting the temple at Ambar- nath, which is an unspoiled specimen of Hindu architecture. Poona is a handsome city of 130,- 000 population. It is the headquarters of the Bombay army and the summer capital of the presidency. |
| 3d day 4th 5th |
Hyderabad (about eighteen hours by rail from Poona) is the capital of the Nizam, the most $ important of the independent princes of India. It is a modern city, the center of attraction being the famous Char Minar, or College of Four Minarets, and the Nizam's Palace. The bazaars of Hyderabad are extremely picturesque and are generally thronged with natives from all parts of India. Golconda is a seven-mile drive from Hyderabad. The village was proverbially famous for its diamonds, which, however, were merely cut and polished here, being generally found near the southern frontier of the nizam's dominions. The Tombs of the Kings and the Citadel are the principal attractions of Golconda. A very interesting excursion can be made from Hyderabad to Warangal, about a hundred miles distant, where inside the fort are some wonderful gateways, or arches; and six miles farther on is the " Thousand-pillared Temple " of Hanamcondah, one of the most remarkable in India. |
| 6th day 7th 8th 9th |
Madras (twenty-three hours from Hyderabad) , the third city of British India, capital of the presidency and headquarters of the Madras army. At Mahabalipuram, about thirty-five miles by carriage and boat from Madras, are the Seven Pagodas, presenting a series of architectural wonders from 200 B.C. to recent times. This is one of the most interesting places in all India to the archaeologist. |
| 10th day 11th |
Bangalore (twelve hours by rail from Madras), in Mysore, is one of the most delightful of Indian cities and one of the healthiest for Europeans. It is a first-class British cantonment, with a Residency, public offices, Central College, barracks, parade-grounds, race-course, the Maharajah's Palace and a public park. The jail is one of the finest in the peninsula. |
| 12th day 13th |
Mysore (seven hours by rail from Bangalore). At Maddur station, half-way between Bangalore and Mysore, the traveler should stop off to visit the celebrated Falls of the Cauvery at Shiva- samudram, which are unrivaled in all India for their romantic beauty. They are thirty miles distant from the station. Seringapatam, the old capital of Tippoo Sahib, in Mysore, is situated on an island in the River Cauvery. Tip- poo's Tomb is at the lower end of the island, and the inscription states that he died a martyr to Islam. |
| 14th day | Return from Mysore to Bangalore (eight hours by rail). |
| 15th day 16th 17th |
Ootacamund (reached in about twenty-four / hours by rail from Bangalore to Coonoor, thence by road twelve miles) is a popular sanitarium in the Nilgiri Hills. It lies 7,228 feet above sea- level, and is cradled in an amphitheater of lovely hills, the loftiest being Dodabetta, 8,760 feet high. The hill tribes of the Nilgiris are among the most primitive of the races of India. |
| 18th day 19th |
Trichinopoly (fourteen hours by rail from Coonoor) is a military cantonment with several native villages. Inside the fort is the Rock, rising abruptly to a height of 273 feet, surmounted by a small temple. About two miles from the Rock is the town of Seringham, in which are the grand Temple of Vishnu and the Hall of a Thousand Pillars, and a short distance farther on, a temple dedicated to Shiva. |
| 20th day | Tanjore (two hours by rail from Trichinopoly) . The great Pagoda in the little Fort is considered the most remarkable of all the temples in southern India, and is in a good state of preservation. In the outer enclosure is the wonderful shrine of Kartikkeya, the son of Shiva. The Palace of the Rajah is a vast edifice of no great architectural merit, but within it there is a priceless collection of Sanscrit manuscripts. In Schwartz's Church is a fine group of marble figures by Flaxman, representing the death of the aged missionary. |
| 21st day | Kumbakonam (one hour by rail from Tan- jore) is celebrated among the Hindus for its learning, and has been termed the Cambridge of India. There is a very beautiful Gopura, and the Tank is one of the handsomest in India, its banks being studded with small but picturesque temples and pagodas |
| 22d day | Chidambaram (two hours by rail from Kumbakonam), once the capital of the Chola kingdom. Has a magnificent group of temples ( within an enclosure covering 32 acres) which belong to a peculiar sect of Brahmans, numbering some 250 families, who marry only among themselves. The Hall of a Thousand Pillars looks like a forest of granite columns, all monoliths twenty-five feet high. The Pillyar Temple contains the largest belly-god in India. The sanctuary is an ugly copper-roofed enclosure, with an image of Shiva, dancing, in the interior. The Shivagange.or Golden Tank, 1 50 feet square, is particularly handsome, each of its sides consisting of a spacious flight of steps. |
| 23d day 24th |
Madura (twelve hours by rail from Chidam- baram). The great Pagoda, or Temple of Shiva, is a superbly decorated structure of fabulous cost. The old Palace of Tirumala Nayak, used as public offices, is one of the finest public build- ings in southern India. The popular drive is around the Teppa Kulam, or Tank, which has a temple in the center. |
| 25th day | Tuticorin, five hours by rail from Madura. |
| 26th day | Colombo (Ceylon), twelve hours by steamer from Tuticorin. |
