BTS Ep - 1 Delhi to Patna to Rajgir | Nalanda University story ,Famous Silao ka khaja | Bihar Tour
Hello friends ! Welcome to Harish Bali Travels It's 6:30 morning Terminal 3 Delhi See how much crowd is at the airport.. ..at 6:30 A.M. We.. ..are going to Patna Our flight is at 8:20 A.M. We'd have reached here by 6:00 A.M.
We're late by half an hour Lets go inside, I will tell you... After reaching Patna... what all places we'll visit.. what is our tour plan? For last 6 years, this is the first time.. that I am doing 4 days tour I've never done such a small tour I had shortage of time That's why I'm going just for 4 days..otherwise..
You know..it's always for 8 to 10 days 15 days..20 days.. We tend to travel anywhere In the breakfast, We're having omlette When you pre-book your flight, they give a choice- veg or non-veg? But, in Vistara, You can change your choice..
right at that moment. they are OK with this. In other airlines, if you pre-order veg Biryani then you have to eat same veg-Biryani you can't change that.. that's why I like Vistara Airlines little more but, the ticket is bit costly This thing is wonderful at Patna Airport Once you get off an aircraft... Straight to you is located 'Arrival' We're doing this tour...
in collaboration with Bihar Tourism We're now at Old Secretariat To meet the Secretary Tourism I have with me Mr. Abhay Singh Hello Namaskar I reached here 5 to 7 minutes ago I had been excited for many years to visit Bihar. In fact, I'd booked my ticket 2 years ago But, due to COVID.. I got to cancel it COVID 3rd wave, 4th wave had returned Thank You Harish Ji To come into collaboration with.. Bihar Tourism See, first of all, we need to understand.. We've a very rich cultural heritage in the Bihar State And we've presence of every religion If you see..
From point of view of Buddhist Tourism Lord Buddha hailed from this place.. who became Buddha from Siddhartha Lord Mahavira got his enlightenment here In addition to that, Two revered Gurus from Jainism who lived here who spent their whole lives here And who got enlightenment here If we go on with that continuation This is a seat for Sikh Tourism where our 10th revered Guru He was born here He remained associated to this place And then, he established Sikhism to another pinnacle Therefore, I feel.. from the point of view, Religious Tourism from the point of view, Cultural Tourism Nalanda has been our part If we see Pataliputra That served as Capital of India, once, So, this is a very rich cultural heritage which is a part of Bihar's history And Bihar Tourism wants to project it on a large scale You'd like as you see it Fantastic So nice of you Thank You Both places you've selected.. Both places are wonderful Just as this place important for Hindus, so is it for the Buddhists also As we get little deeper into it, this place is equally venerable for Jains Because they also got enlightenment here Very nice... Lets know something about Eco-Tourism Sir, shed some light on it Eco-circuit is growing fast We've Valmiki Tiger Reserve As per the latest statistics, 52 Tigers are there, at present.
And, Jungle Safari is also available It is a center of attraction for people Thank you so much sir It's nice talking to you Our plan is, from here on, we... Firstly, we'll visit Rajgir We'll stay there for tonight Tomorrow night as well Day after tomorrow, we will.. leave to Gaya So, this way, Rajgir & Gaya will be our main destinations ..during this tour While returning, if I got half-a-day spare in Patna That half day, I will spend in Patna Right I'll join you all after half an hour For this half an hour, we reflect over & discuss our itinerary then we will join you Before heading to Rajgir, we thought, to behold Marine Drive In evening, here are..
many street food vendors There's not much hustle-bustle as of now. But somebody told me, during evening, place is full of hustle-bustle Straight to us, you see, Ganga River. We know, Haridwar, Prayagraj, Banaras Patna, through this route, Ganga drains into Bay of Bengal Rail Bridge, above it, Road Bridge Rajgir is around 100 KMs from here Going non-stop will take .. around 3.25 to 3.5 hours
Though, we will make stopovers To eat famous Silao Ka Khaja Lets stroll leisurely for 5 to 7 minutes Then we will go straight directionally on the way to Rajgir We've reached Daniawan I'm seeing two joints for Lunch One is Maharani Hotel Other is Jai Jawan Jai Kisan I've ordered two dishes for Lunch Prawns and Fish Curry Prawns are of little size With a lot of oil I have checked inside They've 4 to 5 varieties of fish This place is famous for eating fresh fish Nearby pond is the source, ,too many, from where they get the fish prepare them in mustard oil This is the background of this place Those who come here, they eat rice & fish in Lunch or Dinner Overall taste is nice Here, taste of Chicken Curry is also nice But, fish curry is tastier We thought to take a chance Nalanda ruins, if we reached on time will then visit today or if not then, we will return to it It's 4:15 P.M We'll reach ruins by 10 to 15 minutes One more interesting thing I want to share.. What do I do while travelling? I've notes of such kind that count to 15 to 20 pages These notes I prepare before any tour Then get their printouts And they are always at hand It has a minimum of...
5 to 6 pages information that I captured from variety of sources mentioned in my notes I am talking about ruins Ah.. I tend to revise the information So that, when I do Guided Tour I should know my talking points This is what I am telling to you.. Because you might sometimes think.. ..how I'm able to talk so historically These notes are the secret behind it All said Without any guided tour there is no enjoyment visiting a monument because guides make you understand better.. ..as it is their everyday job You understand things in a better way I really wish, as we reached the place, we'd meet a good guide Entry is closed at 5 P.M.
Though we'll reach within 15 minutes As we're just 3 to 4 KMs behind And, lets see.. what kind of experience we get I am telling in advance This is world's oldest residential university which we're going to visit By this, you can figure out.. We're visiting ruins of the.. most ancient Indian University We've reached Nalanda ruins We need to get inside from here Rs. 40/- per person is entry ticket
this has been written outside as well We've come inside with entry ticket When you come here.. You can ask about guide at entry ticket counter You get guide very easily As we entered, we met.. our one subscriber.. Ravi Ji is with us So Thank you Bali Ji Very nice.. It's nice meeting you He told us, he knows about ruins as well So, I will show you around with information Lets go With your assistance.. We'll see Nalanda ruins Where should we start from? Nalanda is a world famous place To explore this place, people come..
here from all over the globe This place was one of the best learning hubs in the world As per our ancient historical knowledge Nalanda is deemed one of the best.. universities in the world And, it is believed that.. this was world's only university where students from across globe would get education at free of cost This university was founded... approximately...
in 5th Century After 413 AD One introductory aspect we can share... Nalanda University We're watching its ruins This is world's oldest residential university providing learning & lodging for students that too free of cost Really so? We heard, interview process was tough here related to taking admission here Those students who would come... That time, Hiuen Tsang came He wrote in his diary Here, tough exams were conducted here Only around 10% would pass them while rest 90% would fail Hiuen Tsang's story is very interesting I have been to Varanasi You must have been to Banaras It is said that...
Hiuen Tsang went to Varanasi.. and other parts of India, esp. North Side So, He also mentioned about Varanasi that.. It is oldest living city of the world Banaras Many things he wrote about the then..
culture and education system of India This is 1917 to 1918... Its excavation period is between 1915 to 1937 It means... the main discovery that happened.. that ruins have been here It didn't happen a long time ago Around 100 years back Alexander Cunningham was a British archaeologist who had discovered this place Yes He is known as Father of Archaeology See these old photographs Of 1917, we saw there.. how work was happening in 1924.
What we're seeing right now present ruins at Nalanda It is under World Heritage Site It's spread 1 Km long & 1 Km wide Hmm.. Establishment of this university as per different sources, was done by Kumargupta between 413 to 455 AD It was golden age of Gupta dynasty 200 years later, The expansion of this university was initiated by Kannauj King Harshavardhana Between 606 AD to 647 AD Yes, it's been written here as well And, then again, 200 years later.. Dharampal and Kings of Pal Dynasty Between 800 to 1200 AD It was under patronage of Pal Kings At the end of 1200 AD, came an invader Bakhtiyar Khalji He attacked this university and destroyed it completely It was set to fire As per the book of famous writer.
of that times, Minhaj-i-Siraj, Nalanda's library had been burning for around 3 to 6 months So many books were there Mention of three libraries is also in ..the diary of Hiuen Tsang That time, even he wrote that... library here kept burning for many months Whatever we're seeing sir, everything is very ancient that has been divided as per time zone For instance, we're seeing this cut form dating back to Kumargupta period which served as individual room then Was a separate one room? One room for one student However, its inside capacity... 10 feet long and 10 feet wide The map we're seeing right now.. they were monasteries At present, 11 monasteries are discovered Rest meant for lodging 10,000 students that have been lost Villages have been built upon them To demolish them is very tough It was covered to such a level The photographs we've seen This was covered till there Whom are you talking about? The part which was covered before excavation These hostels seem to be same type The entry is from this side These all were the rooms then As I was telling...
students lodged & studied here only.. This is teacher's platform, below it was of students. It might be subject-wise, sir, Outside we read, what all subjects.. were taught here..
yes.. in their education Subjects included, Theology, Grammar, Logic, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Medicine, Philosophy Maths? Of course, Maths.. Ecology, Environment, Agriculture... Sculpture, Yoga, Meditation, Math and Law You know all orally Ha ha ha...
Well, Was Aryabhata a teacher or student here? Sir, about Aryabhata, no definite books were found He'd a research center near Taregana Aryabhata was a great scholar who invented ZERO He introduced Decimal System and Pi (π) European countries didn't know.. about the usage of ZERO They gathered all information from Nalanda In this context, Aryabhata had a link to it But was he a student or teacher? this information isn't full Bali Ji, what we're seeing right now This is an entrance to a monastery On its both sides are situated statues of Lord Buddha Yes And, there was a big gate, This black shade is the evidence.. ..of being burnt in fire And... It seems to be divided into 3 parts One part is right below where we stand Constructed by the Gupta dynasty From here till that point, See there.. Rock.. It was of Harshavardhana period Above it belongs to Pal Dynasty Ok As you told us before This is living room of the students What we saw on the map displayed outside Yes This one and...
It seems to be 10*10 by dimensions As per my understanding this room is enough for one student The wall we're seeing right now.. Does it date back to Harshavardhana period? Yes, around that period It means, how many years back from now? 1200 to 1300 years Of course, 1300 years If we calculate roughly Sir, this wall is approximately.. 6 feet wide It is around 5.5 feet minimum
My height is 5 feet 5 inch Its thickness enabled it to.. survive for such a long time Why this wall was made so wide? What could be the reason? Sir... 5 feet wide wall... What was their thought process? it might be the case, sir, they wanted to lengthen its life Once made, no need for repairing Mean..
it's very rare that .. in one place only... To think about it surprises you that.. 5 feet wide is the wall then inside it lies a student's room 5 feet is well enough Sir, in today's times.. Separation wall is of 2.5 inches
to 10 inches wall only Now, not even 1 feet is fully completed Sir, we are seeing one date... It's been repaired by ASI Whenever it gets wear down ASI gets it repaired as well What we are seeing now this is main monument of Nalanda Everywhere we see it in same design Hmmm This is Nalanda's one of the .. main monuments And, it is believed that.. Lord Buddha's disciple Shariputra.. ..was born here & got Nirvana also Ok Place where you're born & get Nirvana That place is considered very sacred Later on, here, many kings..
got construction done at this place Ok These three staircases seem to be .. ..built by three different kings. Who all? 1st stair, 2nd stair, 3rd stair 5th Century, 7th Century, 9th Century respectively 5th? Lowest one is of 5th Century Next one is of 7th Century Last one is of 9th Century Ravi Ji, as, this is monastery number 7 About which information has .. ...also been written here Yes Like, what you've been telling us till now..
Ah.. Monasteries built over the... ..rooms of earlier ones. The concept you told us.. one on top of another was constructed Yes They've written, there's no well in it Perhaps, that was, written in the last... under unexposed portion of the..
Northern Half Yes Might it be the case? Yes, it might be Well might also be found But when archaeology was excavating.. They try their level best... to unearth all hidden things Naturally So, in today's times... the 11 monasteries at this place We are at 7th number Where is the 8th one? 8th is adjacent to it What we're seeing...1,2,3,4..
they all are put up at entrances of monasteries for the information of the public Got it ! Brother Ravi, thank you ..for giving us your time And showed us ruins very nicely We also met you in person We're drinking tea in a nearby dhaba Upasak Ji, you also work as tour guide Yes, sir Nice I will mention Upasak Ji's number.. in the description of this video. Though, it's not difficult here As you easily get guide here Great! We need to go to Silao to eat Khaja How long will it take to reach Silao? Just 10 to 15 minutes It's near then Yes, sir Is Khaja very famous there? yes, very famous..
Khaja is taken by foreigners as well It's world famous Great! We'll go to Silao Ah.. Then, we will end our day at Rajgir as per our today's plan Take your tea How famous Silao ka Khaja is... You can estimate this by the fact.. this area where we're standing now there'll be around 100 shops that sell Khaja We entered randomly in one shop ..to eat Khaja Brother, give us two types of Khaja One salty, one sweet firstly, give us salty Do you prepare it in urn-shaped oven? Yes, yes, this is the oven Take this salty one Don't you keep a paper plate? No Ah, see this.. Khaja feels very light to touch And I feel, just by.. pressing it lightly would ..
break it to pieces See, so many layers have come up Brother, tell one thing... When you prepare Khaja How many times do you do layering? Layers are uncountable Around 52 times, it is rolled Oh.. 52 times? Yes We keep on rolling it for 52 times You knead fine flour first time Yes Then, what do you put on it? We add masala to it, sir, Which one? Dalda and fine flour masala Ok, you use Dalda yes We then roll it.. And again knead it Again roll, again knead Then it goes into cutting Then again rolling, kneading is done Means, three times we knead it Really? Great ! I enjoyed it By the way, Silao ka Khaja is so famous that... many people recommended ,if I'm on this route, Khaja shouldn't be missed at all And while I am eating it...
What I am feeling... I should order one more salty Khaja Only then should I eat a sweet one Give me one more salty Khaja And... Drink a glass of tea with Khaja combination will be great wonderful See this sweet Khaja I thought Khaja would be too sweet But that isn't the case Sweetness is on lighter side And.. Taste is thrilling It was good to eat salty Khaja first I'm getting proper sweet taste, otherwise... Salty isn't that savory after sweet If you're travelling on this route You'd also not miss Khaja Lets go to Rajgir from here We'll join you after reaching there To stay in Rajgir, we...
looked for accommodation in Veerayatan I've seen the room from inside Basically, it is a Dharamshala Also, we can call it Ashram They've rooms in various categories Room which we chose for ourselves Its tariff is Rs. 2500 plus GST For dinner, we came at Pandu Pokhar Accommodation facility is also available here I will get to know about room tarrif As of now... What is Pandu Pokhar? Information is written in both Hindi & English Reading it over helped us learn that... There is a belief that...
King Pandu dating to Mahabharta times You know about King Pandu When he attacked this place... for his horses.. .this place was used as stable Due to hoofs of those horses creating long deep tracks when rainwater accumulated there... And, moving this way..
a little pond was formed that is known as Pandu Pokhar today Right... What all fun activities are done inside? They have written on board Though fun activities are not easily understood just by reading If possible, we'll come .. again tomorrow morning Because we are coming to see the pond Then we will see it properly Look at the surroundings At this time, we are at Rajgir Ah.. It's around 8:45 PM Since it's 8:45 PM, Activity level is very less There's not much noise Environment is peaceful Lets go inside to have our Dinner We've ordered two things for Dinner Dal and Matar Paneer The scene is.. If you want to do..
Lunch or Dinner here.. I'm especially talking about Dinner You need to get entry ticket by 7 PM That costs Rs. 100/- Since we got late Came to know about this at the gate Upon requesting, we got entry for Dinner Otherwise, coming late is not allowed Means, 7 to 7:30 PM is the last time And, the good thing is... They provided us with Tawa Chapati For food to get ready.. ..it takes around 40 to 45 minutes.. But the thing is..
They have offered fresh food Good thing is this. Average taste ! Good thing I told you 2 minutes ago Food is fresh Dal is nice I found Dal tastier than Paneer We do one thing As of now, I bid bye-bye to all of you Tomorrow, we'll be in Rajgir whole day And... Tomorrow's day end will also be in Rajgir Day after tomorrow, we'll go to Gaya This is our planning as of now Our tomorrow's episode, We will shoot for Visa2Explore channel If possible, we'll show you BTS a little Right! Today, I say bye-bye to you here only It's a long day By the time, we reach Veerayatan We'll get more late I want to start early tomorrow So that, we get whole day..
to spend in Rajgir Right ! Bye-bye as of now Thanks for your time
2023-02-24 06:58
