Nehru Museum & Planetarium

Nehru Planetarium is the name given to five planetariums in India, named after India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. These are located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune and Bangalore, plus there is a Jawahar Planetarium in Allahabad. Nehru Planetarium in Pune was the first one in Asia, established in 1954. The Nehru Planetarium in New Delhi is situated on the grounds of Teen Murti Bhavan, officially known as ‘Nehru Memorial Museum and Library’, earlier the official residence of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and now a museum in his memory. In 1964, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund was set up to promote his ideas and it undertook to build the Nehru Planetarium with its aim being the promotion of astronomy education. This planetarium, like its namesake in Mumbai, was also inaugurated by Smt. Indira Gandhi on 6 February 1984. One of the major attractions of this place is the Soyuz T-10 which carried India

The area has been divided into Metro Walk – the retail experience, Adventure Island – the amusement park and Lagoon – the artificial lake. In metro walk we have showrooms of various brands offering shoes, apparels, eateries etc. On the other hand the amusement park has many unique and ultra modern rides and attractions. The lake offers a beautiful background to Metro Walk and boating facility to AI visitors. We are proud of the fact that we are the first of our kinds in India and have high regards for customer service, safety of visitors and standards.

Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place, New Delhi, is an ancient (pracheen in Sanskrit) Hindu temple and is claimed to be one of the five temples of Mahabharata  days in Delhi. The idol in the temple, devotionally worshipped as “Sri Hanuman Ji Maharaj” (Great Lord Hanuman), is that of Bala Hanuman namely, Hanuman as a child. The temple, which has a self manifest idol of Hanuman, has an unusual feature fixed in the spire (Viman) in the form of a crescent moon (an Islamic symbol) instead of the Hindu symbol of Aum or Sun that is commonly seen in most Hindu temples. This became particularly important during the Mughal period corroborating this extraordinary depiction. Tthe main foyer of the temple through massive silver plated doors, which are engraved with scenes of the epic Ramayana story. The foyer is ventilated with clerestory windows that are adorned with paintings of Hanuman in the cardinal directions depicting his four aspects. Below each Hanuman painting, the full text of Tulsidas’s Sundar Kand is inscribed on the marble tablets affixed on the walls. The Sanctum Sanctorum, which houses the Hanuman idol, is on the north wall on the right side of the entry foyer (pictured), with the idol facing the southern direction in a small bass Relief carving (pictured). Images of Radha and Krishna, a central triumvirate of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita are also installed to the right of the Hanuman idol on the same wall. As the idol of Hanuman faces the southern direction, devotees can discern only one eye of the idol. The idol depicts a Gada (mace or club) in the left hand with the right hand crossed across the chest showing veneration to the adjacent idol of lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sita. A tapering crown adorns the idol, which has a sacred thread on the right shoulder and is clad in a fashioned dhoti. The height of the temple is reported to be 108 ft (32.9 m).

The National Rail Museum is located at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi. It is a huge attraction because of its compilation of trains, locomotives and carriages. It opened on the 1 February 1977. It is located in over 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land with both indoor and outdoor exhibits. A toy train offers rides around that site on regular days.

The International Dolls Museum is a large collection of dolls in Delhi, India. It was set up by K. Shankar Pillai, a political cartoonist. Housed in the Children’s Book Trust building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, accessed through a separate entrance, a winding staircase, leading up to a foyer. The museum has a floor area of 5,184.5 sq ft. K. Shankar Pillai (1902–1989), noted cartoonist, set up Children’s Book Trust, a pioneering work in the field of children’s literature in India, in 1957. Later, a gift of a doll from a Hungarian diplomat gave Shankar the idea of collecting dolls from countries he visited. He often held exhibitions for poor children, and at one exhibition in Delhi, among the hundreds of visitors were the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru accompanied by his daughter Indira Gandhi. Indira was inspired and together with Shankar set up an international museum for dolls, eventually materializing one November 30, in 1965. The principal collection consists of gifts from Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and many subsequent Prime Ministers, including Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Also several embassies and diplomatic missions in Delhi gifted dolls to the museum. Visiting dignitaries like Madame Tito, Queen Frederika of Greece, the Queen of Thailand, the sister of Shah of Iran, the wives of Presidents of Mexico and Indonesia and many others gifted dolls representing their respective nations. (source:wikipedia)

Jhandewalan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Maa Aadi Shakti (avatar of goddess Durga). The temple is located on Jhandewalan Road on the way to Karol Bagh, Delhi, India. The temple is another famous and respected shrine of the goddess. The temple receives a large number of devotees throughout the year. The name Jhandewalan was given during Shah Jahan’s reign, due to the prayer flags or ‘jhandas’ being offered. It is said that Jhandewalan was once located in a mountain region. When this place was excavated then sanctum of goddess was descended and on this place the temple was established. It is believed that Badri Bhagat, one of the great devotee of Matarani, dreamed of her and she told him about this idol. Thereafter the temple was constructed at the same place. The original idol of Jhandewali Mata Ji is present at ground level. The temple is one of the famous religious site for Hindu’s. Here everyone can come and worship irrespective of the caste and status. The temple is echoed with day and night chanting of the goddess mantras. The devotees are blessed with happiness, peace and good health. Many festivals are celebrated in Jhandewalan Temple. On the occasion of Durga Puja and Navratra, a special Puja is organized. The temple is decorated with flowers and light. The temple’s spiritual environment give peace of mind and heart to the devotees.

Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah (mausoleum) of one of the world’s most famous Sufi saints, Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 – 1325 CE). Situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi, the dargah is visited by thousands of Muslims every week, and sees a fair share of Hindus, Christians and people from other religions. The tombs of poet Amir Khusro and Mughal princess Jehan Ara Begum are also located within the Nizamuddin Dargah complex, and Inayat Khan’s tomb is just around the corner. (source:wikipedia)

Uttara Swami Malai Temple, popularly known as Malai Mandir (literally, Hill Temple), is a Hindu temple complex in New Delhi located on the affluent Palam Marg primarily dedicated to Lord Swaminatha (more commonly known as Lord Murugan), most revered by the religious Hindus of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada community in the city. (source:wikipedia)

Kalkaji Mandir also known as Kalkaji Temple, is a Hindu mandir or temple, dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali. This temple is situated on Kalkaji Mandir (Delhi Metro) in the southern part of Delhi, India, in Kalkaji, a locality that has derived its name from the temple and is located opposite Nehru Place business centre. The temple is accessible by public transport on Kalkaji Mandir (Delhi Metro) and is near Bus Terminus-Nehru Place and Railway Station-Okhla. The general belief is that the image of the Goddess Kalka here is a self-manifested one, and that the shrine dates back to Satya Yuga when the Goddess Kalika had incarnated and killed the demon Raktabija along with other giant demons. (source:wikipedia)