|
Sun bathed beaches, the roaring waves splashing against the sturdy rocks in enduring rhythm in harmony with the swaying palms, pleasant climate, historic monuments, excellent art and craft , irresistible cuisine and hospitable
people. This is Goa, endowed with all that makes any destination a heaven for the tourists. While in Goa you would enjoy staying with Taj Exotica, a property of Taj Group of hotels. The sheer architectural grandeur of Taj Exotica, a luxury holiday resort is breathtaking. The resort is ideally located on Benaulim Beach just four km from Madgaon in Goa (India). Spread over 55 acres of land, the resort offers various accommodation options.
 The resort has standard rooms with private sit outs and presidential villas with balconies to suites with plunge pools.
There are 140 rooms which include 2 Presidential Villa Suits with private plunge pool. 92 Deluxe Villa Rooms, 8 Luxury Rooms, 34 Deluxe Rooms and 2 Luxury Suites.
All rooms offer unrestricted view of the Arabian Sea.
 The hotel has a
Mediterranean restaurant 'Miguel Arcanjo', Goan specialty restaurant
'Allegria', and oriental cuisine restaurant 'Li Bai'. It has a beautiful tea lounge, a lounge bar and a multi-cuisine coffee shop.
For a delectable meal, head towards the Miguel Arcanjo, where a creamy Mozzarella is melting over some succulent Parma ham This Mediterranean
Restaurant is feast to the taste buds and senses alike. Try the smoked chicken topping the traditional Paella and you
realize that the cooking is nothing short of inspired. 'Allegria' the Goan
speciality restaurant has typical local flavour. The restaurant has a
great ambience with mosaic flooring, timber furniture, portraits and grand
chandeliers. The Oriental cuisine restaurant with a contemporary twist,
the accent being black and white art depicting Chinese life along the
walls of restaurant
 The resort has a banquet hall equipped with state-of-the-art conferencing and audiovisual facilities. There is a pre-function rooms, private dinning rooms and a business centre. There are diverse recreational options for the guests. There is tennis, beach volleyball, badminton and a mini golf course. For health freaks, the resort is well equipped with fitness centre that offers herbal massages beside spa facilities. Yoga classes are arranged on request.
Taj Exotica is Goa's Premium Property. The conference and meeting facilities at Taj Exotica are the best in Goa. With the comprehensive business facilities, excellent accommodation, finest restaurants and bars at Taj Exotica, the resort offers legendary Taj tradition of hospitality and service to business and leisure traveller.
If you are planning to visit India, you should not miss Goa. And it is
Taj Exotica here that makes your stay memorable.
For further information contact:
Mr.Helmut Meckelburg, General Manager Taj Exotica,Goa
(India)Ph.091-832-771234, Fax:091-832-738916,
091-832-771515
Email:
exoticabc.goa@tajhotels.com
(Ms.
Arti Lall is a freelance travel journalist)
Nagarjunakonda - Fame in Frozen Frames
By: IVATURI RADHIKA
 Two millenniums ago, when most of the present civilizations
had not gradicious ladies of the Ikshvatku royalty donated handsomely and built a monastery-cum-university, which catered to the scholarstic needs of the people that came from all corners of the world. The seat of this site of learning is today's Nagarjuna Konda.
The name Nagarjunakonda is of recent origin. It is named after Acharya Nagarjuna the founder and father of Mahayana Budhism. the inscriptions of 3rd and 4th Century show that this valley was known as Vijayapuri, the capital of Ishvaku dynasty which ruled some 1700 years ago. It was also the centre of Buddhist learning. Today in its place flourishes Nagarjunasagar a modern township.
Nagarjunakonda is constructed in order to prevent the excavated Buddhist ruins from getting submerged in the Nagarjuna Sagar Lake. Nagarjuna Sagar is a reservoir of Nagarjuna Sagar dam. Nagarjunakonda is at the centre of this reservoir. One can reach this beautiful island by a launch. The journey by the launch is very pleasing, while travelling on it one can enjoy the scenic beauty of Nagarjuna Sagar lake and other small islands. There are several places of tourist interest in and around Nagarjunakonda: the Buddhist museum. That hours the Mahachaitya which contained the carkets laden with the relies of Buddha. The famous colossal of Buddha and ruins of Buddhist University monasteries to name a few.
The island museum of Nagarjunakonda is built in the shape of Buddhist Vihara in order to retain the Buddhist charm. In the museum starting from the entrance there is a museum key plan, near to that there is a hall in the rear which contains models of some excavated sites. Then there is a key gallery in which jewellery, heads, coins, sculptured slabs, moon-stone or semi-circular door-step are displayed. After passing through the key gallery there is the main gallery which contains the ornamented stone slabs on which Jataka tales are carved. Next to them there are small and medium sized sculptures, lintels of lime stone, stucco and terracotta figurines all typical of Ikshvaku period. At the end of the gallery there are Brahmanical duties, a few images, inscriptions and medieval sculptures. Finally, on the floor of the hall there is a model of the submerged valley.
After visiting the museum one can also visit the ruins of Buddhist University monasteries, where there are dormitories: in a three-tier hierarchy arranged according to the seniority of the monk. Even the drainage system here is unique in the special clay used for the pipelines. Aswamidha: Sacrificial altar dating back to the early historic period, arena, royal baths and nine stupas built of bricks. Which were laid out on a wheel shaped ground plan. Most of the monasteries were built by the charity of the royal ladies of Ikshvaku kingdom. This shows that the women of that period were holding a high status in the society.
In the island museum there is the world famous monolithic status of Buddha in standing posture which expresses the peace and pious even in its dilapidated condition. The monuments of Nagarjuna Konda have been retrieved and preserved for posterity by the Archaeological Survey of India. The scholars compare the technological achievement and feat a testimony to human ingenuity, at par with that of Abu Simbel, of Egypt.
Close to Nagarjunakonda there is another island called Anupu which has been reconstructed to preserve the ruins of the Buddhist University. Anupu is 4km away from the right bank of the reservoir. Here there is a 3rd dutury vihara and amphitheater, known for its fine acoustics.
The Department of Tourism Government of Andhra Pradesh is playing a key role in the development of tourism in and around Nagarjunakonda. There is an increase in the number of A.P.T.D.C. Hi-tech coaches, cabs and Launches to facilitate tourists. A.P.T.D.C. is also operating Government Hotels to accommodate people coming from far off places. Department of tourism Andhra Pradesh has also employed trained guides to educate tourist.
|
