Correction to Varanasi , Day 19

Correction to yesterdays itinerary...I am mixing my days up. We did not go to the Archeological museum on day 19, but on day 20. We did however go to the Temple of Mother India. Ned is going to do the write up on this.

We visited the Bharat Mata (Mother India) temple.  It was built in 1936.  The centerpiece of the temple is a VERY cool detailed relief map of entire British India (including what is now Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar) and extending over Tibet, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and some other bits.

 

The vertical scale is about 15 times the plan scale so you get a very clear picture of the topography and how it shaped the history.  For instance you can see why all the invaders came over the Khyber pass.  There is NO other way.

 

Although Mother India is essentially a Hindu concept, it was intended as a rallying point for all faiths and sects in the struggle for Indian independence.  Mohandas Gandhi inaugurated it.