One of the most ancient and celebrated religious buildings of Goa, this magnificent 16th century monument, constructed by the Roman Catholics under the Portuguese rule, is the largest church in Asia. The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria on whose feast day in 1510 Alfonso Albuquerque defeated the Muslim army and took possession of the city of Goa. Hence it is also known as St. Catherine's' Cathedral and is bigger than any of the churches in Portugal itself.

The Cathedral was commissioned by the Portuguese Viceroy, Redondo to be "a grandiose church worthy of the wealth, power and fame of the Portuguese who dominated the seas from the Atlantic to the Pacific". The construction of this imposing edifice began in 1562 during the reign of King Dom Sebastião (1557-78) and substantially completed by 1619.It was consecrated in 1640.

The church is 250 ft in length and 181 ft in breath. The frontispiece stands 115 ft high. The building is Portuguese-Gothic in style with a Tuscan exterior and Corinthian interior. The exterior of the cathedral is notable for its plainness of style whereas, its vaulted interior overwhelms the visitors by sheer grandeur.

Cathedral’s tower houses a famous bell, the largest in Goa and one of the best in the world, often referred to as 'Golden Bell' on account of its rich tone. The main altar is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, and old paintings on either side of it depict scenes from her life and martyrdom.
On the right of the nave, is the screened Chapel of the Cross of Miracles. A vision of Christ is said to have appeared in 1919 on this huge, plain, cross. Towering above the main altar is the huge gilded reredos. Scenes from the life of St Catherine, to whom the cathedral is dedicated, are carved on its six main panels. A chamber on the left contains the baptismal font made in 1532. St Francis Xavier is said to have baptized thousands of Goan converts using this font.

Visited by millions from all over the world, the church is regarded as a pilgrimage by people of all religions. It is the most indispensable tourist attraction in Goa and a trip to Goa is considered to be incomplete without paying a visit to Se Cathedral.

The Sheesh Mahal or the ‘Palace of Mirrors’ in Patiala (Punjab) was built by Maharaja Narinder Singh (1845-1862) behind the main Moti Bagh Palace. The Palace was built in a forest with terraces, gardens, fountains and an artificial lake. The lake has two watchtowers in the north and the south, and is connected to the Banasar Ghar, a repository for stuffed animals. The Sheesh Mahal, which was a residential palace, has a suspension bridge that is a copy of the Lakshman Jhoola at Rishikesh.

Maharaja Narinder Singh was known to be a great patron of art and literature. He engaged great painters from Kangra and Rajasthan to paint the walls of the Sheesh Mahal with a variety of images pertaining to literature, mythology and legends. Their works depict the vision in the poetry of Keshav, Surdas and Bihari. The paintings also portray Raga-Ragni, Nayak-Nayika and Bara-masa in Rajasthani style. The walls and ceilings of the Sheesh Mahal are rich in floral designs and its interior is a kaleidoscope of images and multi-coloured lights. Amongst the Sheesh Mahal's most highly recommended displays are a series of Kangra-style miniatures depicting the Geet Govind, an epic poem by Jaidev. The Sheesh Mahal draws its name from the exquisitely designed glass and mirrorwork, which covers an entire section of the palace.

The Sheesh Mahal also consists of a museum, which displays fine objects of Tibetan art, particularly the sculpture of different kinds of metals. Ivory carvings of Punjab, royal wooden carved furniture, and a large number of Burmese and Kashmiri carved objects have also been exhibited. One can see huge portraits of the rulers of Patiala adorning the walls of museum hall. The museum’s collection also includes some rare manuscripts. Besides Janamsakhi and Jain manuscripts, the most valuable possession is the Gulistan-Bostan by Sheikh Sadi of Shiraz, which was acquired by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his personal library.

The Medal Gallery set up in the Sheesh Mahal has on display the largest number of medals and decorations in the world, numbering 3,200. These were collected by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh from all over the world. His illustrious son Maharaja Yadvindra Singh gifted this priceless collection to the Punjab Government Museum. The collection contains medals from England, Austria, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Thailand, China, Japan and a host of other countries of Asia and Africa.

Besides medals, there is a rare collection of coins. This numismatic collection presents a vast range from the punch-marked coins to those issued by the princely states in the 19th century. These coins characterize the Country's history of trade, commerce, science and metallurgy.

Sikandra, located only 13 km. from the Agra Fort is the last resting place of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Akbar was the greatest of the Mughal emperors and one of the most secular minded royalties of his time. He was the heir to a long tradition of oriental refinement, a great patron of the arts, literature, philosophy and science. A visit to Akbar's monument opens before one, the completeness of Akbar's personality as completely as the Taj Mahal does of Mumtaz Mahal's. Akbar's vast, beautifully carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb is set amidst a lush garden. Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for it. Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction of this pyramidal tomb in 1613. The tomb stands in the center of a vast garden, which is enclosed by high walls on all sides. In the middles of each enclosing wall is a monumental gateway. The whole garden is divided into four equal quarters on the conventional charbhag plan. Each quarter is separated by a high terrace or raised path with a narrow shallow water channel running at the center. Each terrace has in the center, a tank with fountains. A broad paved causeway leads to the tomb, which has five storeys and is in the shape of a truncated pyramid. The main tomb has a unique square design which is unparalleled by all other Mughal buildings.

Konark Sun Temple, located in the eastern State of Orissa near the sacred city of Puri, is dedicated to the sun God or Surya. It is a monumental representation of the sun God Surya's chariot; its 24 wheels are decorated with symbolic designs and it is led by a team of six horses. It is a masterpiece of Orissa's medieval architecture and one of India's most famous Brahman sanctuaries.

The Konark temple is widely known not only for its architectural grandeur but also for the intricacy and profusion of sculptural work. It marks the highest point of achievement of Kalinga architecture depicting the grace, the joy and the rhythm of life all its wondrous variety.

The temple declared a world heritage by UNESCO was built in AD 1250, during the reign of the Eastern Ganga King Narasimhadeva-I (AD 1238-64). There are two rows of 12 wheels on each side of the Konark sun temple. Some say the wheels represent the 24 hours in a day and others say the 12 months. The seven horses are said to symbolize the seven days of the week. Sailors once called this Sun Temple of Konarak, the Black Pagoda because it was supposed to draw ships into the shore and cause shipwrecks.

Sheer poetry in marble. Majesty and magnificence, unrivalled, the Taj Mahal is the only one of its kind across the world. The monumental labour of love of a great ruler for his beloved queen. The ultimate realisation of Emperor Shahjahan's dream. One of the wonders of the world. From 1631 AD, it took 22 years in its making. An estimated 20,000 people worked to complete the enchanting mausoleum, on the banks of the Yamuna. For a breathtaking beautiful view of the Taj Mahal, one has to see it by moonlight.

History
The construction of this marble masterpiece is credited to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who erected this mausoleum in memory of his beloved wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in AH 1040 (AD 1630). Her last wish to her husband was "to build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before". Thus emperor Shah Jahan set about building this fairytale like marvel. The construction of Taj Mahal was started in AD 1632 and completed at the end of 1648 AD. For seventeen years, twenty thousand workmen are said to be employed on it daily, for their accommodation a small town, named after the deceased empress-'Mumtazabad, now known as Taj Ganj, was built adjacent to it. Amanat Khan Shirazi was the calligrapher of Taj Mahal, his name occurs at the end of an inscription on one of the gates of the Taj. Poet Ghyasuddin had designed the verses on the tombstone, while Ismail Khan Afridi of Turkey was the dome maker. Muhammad Hanif was the superintendent of Masons. The designer of Taj Mahal was Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. The central dome is 187 feet high at the centre. Red sandstone was brought from Fatehpur Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka, Coal and Cornelian from Arabia and diamonds from Panna. In all 28 kind of rare, semi precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal. The chief building material, the white marble was brought from the quarries of Makrana, in distt. Nagaur, Rajasthan.

Victoria Memorial is one of the famous and beautiful monuments of Kolkata. It was built between 1906 and 1921 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 25-year reign in India. After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the British government gathered the reins of control of the country directly, and in 1876 the British parliament made Victoria the Empress of India. Her reign ended with her death in 1901.

The Victoria Memorial is possibly the most awesome reminder of the Raj to be found in India. This huge white-marble museum, made from Makrana marbles from Rajasthan, is filled with a vast collection of remnants from the period of British Empire rule in India. The forms in the museum like the great dome, clustered with four subsidiary, octagonal domed chattris, the high portals, the terrace and the domed corner towers speak of a splendid richness in architecture. The Memorial is situated on 64 acres of land with the building covering 338 ft by 228ft.

Lord Curzon, who was then the Viceroy of India, placed the question of setting up a ‘stately’ memorial for Queen Victoria, on her death in January 1901 to the public. The princes and people of India responded generously to his appeal for funds and Lord Curzon derived the total cost of construction of this monument amounting to one crore, five lakhs of rupees (Rs. 1,05,00,000) from their voluntary subscriptions. The Prince of Wales, King George V, laid the foundation stone on January 4, 1906 and it was formally opened to the public in 1921.

The Victoria Memorial is a landmark in the history of Indian architecture and the credit for that justly goes to Lord Curzon who chose persons like Sir William Emerson, President of the British Institute of Architects, to design and plan the building and entrust the construction work to the very famous Messrs. Martin & Co. of Calcutta.

This grandiloquent structure presently houses a museum of British India memorabilia like a large collection of oil paintings and water colours by famous European artists like Charles D'oyly, Johann Zoffany, William Hadges, William Simpson, Tilly Kettle, Thomas Hickey, Bultzar Solvyns, Thomas Hickey,Emily Eden and others. Besides these, the Memorial also houses the largest collection in the world of the paintings by the Daniells.

The Royal Gallery is a storehouse of oil paintings of Queen Victoria receiving the sacrament at her coronation in the Westminster Abbey in June 1838; her marriage with Prince Albert (1840), the christening of the Prince of Wales, the marriage of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) with Princess Alexandra and others.

The Memorial’s grandeur at a height of 200 feet (184 ft up to the base of the figure of Victory, which is again16 ft high) is accentuated by the serenity that engulfs you in its corridors. The groups of figures above the north porch represent Motherhood, Prudence and Learning. Surrounding the main dome are figures of Art, Architecture, Justice, Charity etc.

The vastness and splendour of Victoria Memorial can be comprehended from the fact that it has been divided into different divisions like the garden, library and others for maintenance and also houses a host of valuable articles like the dagger of Tipu Sultan, a cannon used in the battle of Plassey, rare books that date back to 1870, valuable manuscripts like the Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazal, rare postage stamps and Western paintings to entice the visitors to this awesome monument.