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Cultural Riches The treasures of Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh

But these places were dotted in all possible ends of the world. For those who have the spirit of this couple, and yet can’t think of crossing beyond India, there is an option now. They can find their inspiration in “100 Wonders of India – The finest treasures of civilisation and nature”, a book filled with marvellous pictures and apt descriptions of 100 places and armed with the power to prompt one to take the travel bag out.

Recently published by Roli Books, this glossy coffee-table book running into 210 pages, is divided into two sections, man-made and natural wonders.

Though many of its ‘wonders’ (such as the Taj Mahal, Hawa Mahal, etc.) have a repeat value, as Nirad Grover, its writer, puts it: “They cannot be ignored”. And yet, it has certain places that one has barely heard of.

For instance, Bishanpur’s (West Bengal) terracotta temples, the uncared for art galleries in Shekhawati (Rajasthan)etc. It also features the toy train run by Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that climbs 1,750 metres without a single tunnel taking the traveller on an 88-km journey across the eastern Himalayas at an average speed of 10 km per hour. The book’s natural wonders make for more interesting reading as they come straight from “people’s choice list”, says Nirad. It includes places such as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Namdapha National Park that lies in the tri-junction of India, Myanmar and China, and is said to be one of the last forest frontiers of the world, and tribes such as the Todas in the Nilgiris.

It is interesting to note that if the book at many places is an example of armchair writing, on the other, it also makes history interesting for those who always hated it. Spectacular pictures of monuments, quick, short and crisp notes on them that don’t go beyond one page, a road map, accommodation facilities and a few words on some nearby places worth visiting, add to the spice one looks for in such tomes.

Says Nirad: “In the course of compiling the book, I met several people from different states, and asked their preferences of places they would like to visit. A few of them were those I had never heard of, so I included them in the book. At the same time, it was necessary to include both secular and religious sites, and then further divide them according to categories such as buildings, museums, palaces, ocean, forests, etc.”

Nirad took six months to complete the book, but it may take you barely an hour to finish it.

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