Strewn across almost every state in India are historical sites. Remnants of a glorious empire perhaps. A serene Buddhist shrine. Or a temple. A monument to commemorate a famous victory. Or perhaps a monument to commemorate love, to commemorate death. Historical sites are can be architectural wonders, they can be educational and informative, they can be a study in arts and aesthetics. But most importantly, they are time machines. They are portals to the past. They can take us back in time and and space and situate us in the middle of history itself. It helps us to focus again on our own locations in the scheme of time- where we stood, and how far we have come.
The single point agenda of travelling to specific historical sites is more apparently travelling through history. In India, there are almost too many places to see, too many cities to visit, too many tales to hear. The five places that make it to my list do so for no great historical reason. They are on my list because they are personal favourites. They are my summer holidays, my Puja vacation, my go-to topic for an essay once school re-opened. I learned more history by travelling to these places than I ever did in any classroom.
Ajanta images (paintings) taken from www.indian-heritage.org
