Taj Mahal Facts

Any person, visiting or planning to visit the Taj Mahal, is interested to know more about the Taj Mahal. There are many queries and questions about the Taj Mahal- who built the Taj, why was it built, when can I visit…in fact, there is no end to such queries. This section on the "Taj Mahal facts" is intended to provide you a quick knowledge about this great monument of love. Read on to get some quick information about Taj Mahal and Agra…

Year of Construction: 1631

Completed In: 1653

Time Taken: 22 years

Built By: Shah Jahan Dedicated to: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan

Location: Agra (Uttar Pradesh)

Building Type: Islamic tomb

Architecture: Islamic

Cost of Construction: 32 crore rupees

Number of workers: 20,000

Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World

A UNESCO World Heritage site

Timings: 6:00 am to 7:30 pm (Friday closed)

Fee: Rs 970 (Foreigners)

Rs 20 (Indians, during daytime)

Rs 110 (Indians, during sunrise and sunset)

In the following lines, we have mentioned some more Taj Mahal trivia:

1.Before his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan was popularly known as Prince Khurram.
2.Shah Jahan fell in love with the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum and married her, making her his third wife.
3.Arjumand Bano Begum christened by Shah Jahan as Mumtaz Mahal, meaning the "chosen one".
4.Shah Jahan lost Mumtaz Mahal when she got giving birth to their 14h child.
5.It is believed that in her last breath Mumtaz secured a promise from Shah Jahan that he would construct the most beautiful monument in the her memory.
6.For the transportation of the construction materials, more than 1,000 elephants were made use of.
8.As many as 28 different varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj with exquisite inlay work.

How to Reach Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, an embodiment of love and romance, is located in the city of Agra that lies approximately 204 km to the south of Delhi. If you are planning a trip to explore the beauty of this splendid monument then the very first question that comes in your mind is- how to reach the Taj Mahal. We have devoted this section on discussing various ways of traveling to the Taj Mahal in India.

By Air

The fastest way of reaching Taj Mahal, Agra is by air. The city of Taj, Agra, has its own airport that is around 7 km from the city center. Indian Airlines operates flights to Agra on a daily basis.

By Rail

There is a good network of trains connecting Agra with the rest of the country. Apart from the main railway station of Agra Cantonment, there are other two stations also, that of Raja-ki-Mundi and Agra Fort. The main trains connecting Agra with Delhi are Palace on Wheels, Shatabdi, Rajdhani, and Taj Express.

By Road

There are regular bus services from Agra to a number of important cities. The main bus stand of Idgah has a number of buses running for Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Fatehpur-Sikri, etc.

Local Transportation

After reaching the city also, you need some sort of local transport to reach Taj Mahal. You can easily get taxi, tempo, auto-rickshaw and cycle rickshaw in the city that will take you to your destination. Prepaid taxis are also available if you want to visit the various places near the city. For the adventurous kind, there are bicycles that can be hired on hourly basis from different parts of the city. Since, diesel and petrol vehicle are not permitted in the Taj Mahal area, you can find battery-operated buses, horse-driven tongas, rickshaws and other pollution-free vehicles there.

Taj Mahal, India

Location: On the banks of river Yamuna in Agra

Year of Construction: 1631-1653

Built By: Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan

Spread Over: 42 acres

Significance: One of the Seven Wonders of the World

Taj Mahal of India - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. The thoughts that come into the mind while watching the Taj Mahal of Agra is not just its phenomenal beauty, but the immense love which was the reason behind its construction. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, with whom he fell in love at the first sight. The very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance leaves one mesmerized. Standing majestically on the banks of River Yamuna, the Taj Mahal is synonymous with love and romance. It is believed that the name "Taj Mahal" was derived from the name of Shah Jahan wife Mumtaz Mahal and means "Crown Palace". The purity of the white marble, the exquisite ornamentation, precious gemstones used and its picturesque location, all make Taj Mahal travel gain a place amongst the most popular ones. However, unless and until, one knows the love story behind the Tajmahal of India, it will come up as just a beautiful building. But, the love behind this outstanding monument is what has given a

NASA Budget Too Slim to Reach Moon by 2020

A White House panel charged with reviewing NASA's exploration plans has dropped any hope of sending astronauts directly to Mars and found the space agency's budget too slim to accomplish its goal of returning humans to the moon by 2020.
After more than six hours of public deliberation on Wednesday, the 10-member committee overseeing the Review for U.S. Human Space Flight Plans decided not to include a plan to send astronauts straight to Mars - called Mars Direct - on its list of options to be considered by President Barack Obama because of its daunting challenges and cost.
"We think Mars Direct is a mission that we're really not prepared to take on technically or financially, and it would likely not succeed," said the committee's chairman Norman Augustine, a former Lockheed Martin CEO, late Wednesday after the televised meeting in Washington, D.C. "I really want to emphasize that we're not giving up on Mars at all."
A manned Mars mission is the ultimate goal, but shifting all of NASA's focus on getting there as soon as possible is not feasible, he added.
The committee is expected to present its initial report to NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden and White House science adviser John Holdren on Friday and file a final version for President Obama's review by the end of the month.
Funding woes
Augustine's committee is reviewing NASA's plan to retire its aging space shuttle fleet and replace it with a capsule-based Orion spacecraft as part of a larger effort to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. But NASA's current budget for human spaceflight through 2020 is not enough to cover the costs of achieving its baseline lunar goal, let alone other alternative options, the committee found.
"This budget is just simply not friendly to exploration," said committee member Sally Ride, a former astronaut and the first American woman in space. "It's very difficult to find an exploration scenario that actually fits within this very restrictive budget guidance that we've been given."
NASA has a budget of about $80 billion for human spaceflight through 2020, about $28 billion less than projected when it first chose the Orion spacecraft and its Ares rockets to succeed the space shuttle fleet. Orion spacecraft are not expected to begin operational flights until 2015, the committee said.
Augustine said that NASA's exploration budget has been cut repeatedly since announcing the new space exploration plan in 2005, hindering its progress. Technical and other delays have also led to the current shortfall, he added. Still he and his committee were surprised none of their options fit in NASA's current budget.
"I did think that one of the current options would fit under the present funding budget," he said. "I thought it might be quite a while before you really got into space and do those exciting things that we were talking about ... I guess I should have realized that it wasn't possible."
Narrowing options
Last week, the committee culled a list of 3,000 options for human spaceflight down to about seven different scenarios.
On Wednesday, committee members refined that list down to four general scenarios that include more funding. They include building Orion spacecraft for eventual manned mission to the moon, as well as options for sending astronauts farther out into deep space to visit near-Earth asteroids or the stable Lagrange points around Earth by the mid- to late-2020s or 2030.
"We very much like the deep space option," Augustine said, adding that his committee is not endorsing one option over another. "It's a doable, viable option."
Only one of the four scenarios includes NASA's planned Ares I rocket, the booster designed to launch Orion capsules into space. Some included extending the International Space Station's lifetime beyond 2016 to 2020.
The committee strongly favored encouraging commercial vehicles for launching astronauts into orbit and suggested setting $2.5 billion aside between 2011 and 2014 to spur development in those spacecraft. It also included options that included spacecraft more heavily derived from current space shuttles, as well as current unmanned heavy-lift rockets like the Delta 4 Heavy and variants of NASA's giant Ares V rocket envisioned to launch lunar landers into orbit.
The potential for in-orbit refueling was cited as a key technological goal for some committee members. But adequate funding is key if NASA is to tackle an innovative, inspiring program that can capture the attention of the American public, committee members said.

The TTD board has decided to cancel the special darshan tickets

The TTD board (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam), the richest temple committee in the world, has decided to cancel the special darshan tickets. The committee has passed a resolution about the above on 15 September 2009. This may provide more convenience for common devotees to visit Lord Sri Venkateshwara of Tirumala Tirupati. It will be good news for common people who want to visit the temple during Brahmotsavam 2009, which starts on 21st September.

Express news:
For providing more convenience and time for darshan to common pilgrims in the temple of Lord Venkateswara on Tirumala, the Board of Trustees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has cancelled AAD and Cellar darshan tickets as well as the Rs 50 Sudharshan tickets. A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the TTD Board of Trustees meeting convened here today under the chairmanship of DK Audikesavulu Naidu. Briefing mediapersons about the resolutions of the TTD Board of Trustees, Audikesavulu said that it was decided to permanently wind up the system of AAD (Archan Anantara Darshan), Cellar and Sudharshan tickets and in their place introduce a Rs 300 ‘Shigra Darshan’ (quick darshan) ticket. Shigra Darshan tickets will be issued at Viakuntam Queue Complex and there will be a parallel line to the free ticket line. Both the lines will merge at the Vendi Vakili. The exact date of the implementation of the new system will be announced shortly.

general knowledge 2009

1) Who is the author of the book ” Sahibs Who Loved India” ?
a) Jagdish
b) Khushwant Singh
c) Chetan Bhagat
d) Nadeem Aslam
2) Who received the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development ?
a) Mohamed ElBradei
b) Wen Jiabo
c) Taro Aso
d) Nicholas Sarkhosay
3) Which country will be setting up a world Biggest Telescope ?
a) Japan
b) France
c) China
d) India
4) At which place was G-20 Summit held?
a) Washington
b) New York
c) Chicago
d) Los Angeles
5) ” Lisbon Treaty ” is the treaty accepted / adopted by the members of which of the following organizations recently?
a) NATO
b) SAARC
c) European Union
d) NSG
6) Beri-Beri is the deficiency disease caused by the vitamin
a) B1
b) B5
c) A
d) C
7) Who has been appointed as President of Zambia?
a) Dawada Kairaba
b) Isatov Njle
c) Levy
d) Rupia Banda
8) Who is the Pepsico Chief ?
a) Indira Nooyi
b) Indira Mukerjee
c) Kiran Mazumdar
d) Deepa Mirza
9) “Fehmida Mizza” is a woman speaker of National Assembly of
a) Indonesia
b) Iran
c) Pakistan
d) Afghanistan
10) Who is called the “Grand Old Man Of India”?
a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Dadabhai Naoroji
c) Gokhale
d) Tilak
11) Cabinet Mission came to India in which year?
a) 1942
b) 1932
c) 1916
d) 1946
12) Which five year plan has the objective ” Garibi Hatao” ?
a) first
b) fifth
c) seventh
d) eigth
13) Which river is declared as ” national river” ?
a) Ganga
b) Yamuna
c) Cauveri
d) Krishna
14) “No country for old men” is a
a) book
b) film
c) Drama
d) Poem
15) Hathigumbha inscription belongs to
a)Ashoka
b)Kharavela
c)Harsha
d)Sasaka
16) He thought that his mother was not happy ……him
a) in
b) since
c) with
d) for
17) Do you really agree
(A) /that he has blamed us
(B)/ for the dispute, especially you and I
(C)/ No error
(D) ?
18) “ ENDEAVOUR” find the synonym
a) fail
b) success
c) attempt
d) try again
19) “ FABULOUS” find the antonym
a) rich
b) luxury
c) prudence
d) poor
20) The soldiers fought courageously …. The enemy troops
a) against
b) with
c) to
d) for
Answers ( 1-B, 2-A, 3-C, 4-A, 5-C, 6-A, 7-D, 8-A, 9-C,10-B, 11-D, 12-B, 13-A, 14-B, 15-B, 16-C, 17-C, 18-C, 19-C, 20-B)

h1n1 symptoms

Latest Numbers There are a total of 3074 confirmed cases of Pandemic Influenza (H1N1) 09 swine flu, up from 3067 yesterday. These are people who have returned a positive laboratory test for pandemic influenza (H1N1) 09. The actual number of cases of Pandemic Influenza (H1N1) 09 will be significantly higher, as only a small proportion of people with symptoms are being tested. This is because for most people, it's a mild illness and they will recover readily at home without needing medical treatment.
The number of deaths from Pandemic Influenza (H1N1) 09 swine flu is 15. Please note these 15 deaths reported by the Ministry are deaths from swine flu, where swine flu was a primary cause of death. Other deaths are being investigated by the Coroner's office. Australian Situation
For the number of confirmed cases in Australia, go to the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing website at: http://www.healthemergency.gov.au/internet/healthemergency/publishing.nsf/Content/updates
International Update from the World Health Organization
The WHO reports that transmission of the pandemic influenza (H1N1) 09 virus is declining globally, especially in temperate regions of the southern hemisphere (with the exception of South Africa). The virus continues to spread in the northern hemisphere, although areas first affected by the virus are seeing less activity. Tropical areas are seeing a peak in pandemic influenza cases at a time when the usual seasonal influenza peaks would occur. The WHO warns of the risk of further spread in highly populated areas as community spread begins in Asia and Africa.
The H1N1 virus is now the dominant influenza strain is most parts of the world, and is expected to remain so during the coming northern hemisphere influenza season.
The World Health Organization is no longer issuing tables showing the numbers of confirmed cases for all countries.