Famous Towns of India

• Adyar a suburb in Tamil Nadu is the headquarters of the Theosophical Society of India, and the site of the famous Kalakshetra founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale.
   

• Agra is famous for Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Pearl Mosque. Sikandra, the tomb of Akbar, is situated here. It is also a centre of leather industry.
   

• Ajmer has Mayo College and the tomb of Khwaja Muin-ud-Din Chisti, which is a pilgrim centre for Muslims; Pushkar Lake, a place of Hindu pilgrimage, is about 10 miles from here.
   

• Amritsar a border town in the Punjab founded by Guru Ram Das is a sacred place for Sikhs (Golden Temple). It saw the scene of Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in April, 1919. The 400th anniversary of Amristar was celebrated in October 1977.
   

• Auroville is the world's first international town named after Shri Aurobindo Ghosh which has been developed near Pondicherry on a 15 square mile area. It is a self-supporting town with four zones, industrial, residential, cultural and international.
   

• Ajanta near Aurangabad in Maharashtra, is noted for admirable ancient rock-cut temples with fresco paintings. They are 30 in number and are supposed to have been built by Buddhist monks during the reign of the Guptas. The frescoes can be divided into native scenes, portraiture and decoration.
   

• Aurangabad in Maharashtra has the world-famous temples and monastic caves of Ellora and Ajanta; has also the tomb of Aurangzeb and his queen; famous for sarees.
   

• Badrinath in U.P. is a pilgrim centre with a temple near Gangotri glacier, noted for the temple of Vishnu.
   

• Banaras (or Varanasi) in U.P. is a holy place of the Hindus, a seat of Hindu, famous for silk and brocade and wooden toys, brassware, lac bangles and diesel locomotive engines. The Vishwanath temple is famous.
   

• Belur near Kolkata is famous for a monastery founded by Swami Vivekananda, a beautiful temple dedicated to Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. The place is also noted for paper industry. There is another place of the same name in Karnataka which is a famous pilgrim centre known for Channa Keshava Temple.
   

• Bhubaneswar in Orissa is famous for the Lingaraja Temple.
   

• Chennai is the Capital of Tamil Nadu and has a Major port. A fertilizer plant and an oil refinery has been set up here.
   

• Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu is famous for the Nataraja Temple.
   

• Chittorgarh in Rajasthan has a huge ancient fort well-known for its Tower of Victory, built by Rana Kumbha. A cement factory has also been set up here.
   

• Darjeeling in West Bengal is famous for tea, orange and cinchona; a fine hill station, famous for its scenic beauty, it has the Indian Institute of Mountaineering.
   

• Jaipur capital of Rajasthan, is the pink city. A huge historic fort (Amber) is situated here; also famous for Hawa Mahal.
   

• Kedarnath in Uttaranchal is a holy place for the Hindus in Garhwal district.
   

• Kodarma in Jharkhand, famous for mica mining.
   

• Kolar in Karnataka has Goldfields; these mines were nationalised in 1956.
   

• Lothal in Gujarat is Recent archaeological excavations in 1955-56 have established a link with the Indus Valley Civilization.
   

• Madurai in Tamil Nadu is the centre of textile, silk weaving and handloom fabrics. Famous for Meenakshi Temple.
   

• Mathura in U.P. is considered the birth place of Lord Krishna and associated with his early life; Temple of Dwarkadheesh is the sacred temple. An oil refinery has been set up here with Russian assistance.
   

• Mahabalipuram near Chennai is on the sea and contains many relics of Pallava Art. It is famous for its monolithic rock-cut shrines and shore temple.
   

• Nashik in Maharashtra stands on the river Godavari; a place of Hindu pilgrimage; Security Printing Press.
   

• Pandharpur in Maharashtra has a famous temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu; it is also called Dakahina Kashi and is a pilgrim centre.
   

• Panipat (Haryana) Three decisive battles were fought here in 1526, 1556 and 1761. A fertilizer factory has been set up here and also a thermal power plant. Karnal Oil Refinery site has been shifted to Panipat.
   

• Plassey a village on the river Ganga in West Bengal. Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daula in 1757 here, and laid the foundation of British rule in India.
   

• Pokhran (Rajasthan), site of India's two underground nuclear explosions in May 1975 and May 1998.
   

• Puri on the eastern coast of India, is famous for the temple of Jagannath; Rath or Car Festival is held here annually.
   

• Rajgir near Patna, is famous for Jain temples and hot water springs
   

• Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu is a sacred place of the Hindus. It is connected with Sri Rama's invasion of Ceylon, and has a huge temple with long corridors. It is situated on a small island.
   

• Sabarmati, situated near Ahmedabad, is the Site of the famous Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi.
   

• Sanchi in Bhopal is famous for its Buddhist Stupa on the top of a small hill enclosed in the finest and oldest stone railings in India, built by Ashoka in 250 BC. The remains of two chief disciples of Lord Buddha, Sariputta and Maha Mogallana, were re-enshrined here in December, 1952.
   

• Sarnath is in U.P. near Varanasi, it contains Buddhist temples in ruins, holy place for the Buddhists. Lord Buddha preached his first sermon here.
   

• Sevagram is a village near Wardha, where Mahatma Gandhi established his Ashram.
   

• Sikandra in Agra is one of the finest monuments of India. Here Akbar the Great was buried. It is noted for its simplicity.
   

• Srirangam near Tiruchiraplli, in Tamil Nadu, has a temple in South India consecrated to Ranganatha (Vishnu).
   

• Tanjore in Tamil Nadu was the last capital of the Chola dynasty. The place is famous for its great Sri Brihadiswara Temple known throughout the world for its massive architectural excellence.
   

• Triveni at Allahabad is the confluence of the rivers, the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. A holy place for the Hindus.
   

• Udaipur is the most beautiful city in Rajasthan known for its scenic beauty; called the city of lakes; famous for island palaces; a cement factory has been set up here. About forty miles away is Haldighati, scene of a heavy battle between Maharana Pratap and Akbar.
   

• Ujjain is one of the most important cities in ancient India in Madhya Pradesh. It was the capital of king Vikramaditya. It is famous for its temples which are known for their carvings.
   

• Vaishali is the training centre of the Indian Air Force in Mysore, Another place of the same name, situated in Bihar, is famous for archaeological excavation connected with the Lichchavi Kingdom.
   

• Wardha a town in Maharashtra, is a centre of cotton trade, Mahatma Gandhi lived here for several years. Wardha Scheme of Education is associated with it.