India - Gujarat - Sudarshan Setu Bridge

The Sudarshan Setu bridge, a major engineering marve is a cable-stayed bridge in India that connects the Bet Dwarka island in the Gulf of Kutch to Okha. It has a total length of 2,320 meters (7,612 ft) and was inaugurated on February 25, 2024. The bridge is also expected to improve connectivity between the mainland and the island and make it easier for people to travel to and from Bet Dwarka.

Sent by Amit from Gujarat, India.

The construction of the bridge was approved by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the bridge on 7 October 2017. It was constructed at the cost of ₹979 crore (US$120 million).

The bridge serves about 8500 people living on the island as well as about two million pilgrims visiting the temples there. It was inaugurated on 25 February 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sudarshan Setu is a cable-stayed bridge, with cables in a fan arrangement, built using concrete pylons. The deck is made of composite steel-reinforced concrete with two carriageways. The total width of the bridge is 27.2 metres (89 ft), with two lanes in each direction and a 2.5 metres (8 ft)-wide footpath on each side. The solar panels atop footpath shade have capacity of 1 MW.

With a total length of 2,320 metres (7,612 ft), the cable bridge has a 900 metres (2,953 ft) long central cable section, making it the longest cable stayed bridge in India. It has three spans with 500 metre-long main span, the longest in India. The other 3 spans on either sides have length of 100 metres (328 ft) and 2 span 50 metres (164 ft) each. The approaches bridge on Okha and Beyt Dwarka sides have length of 770 metres (2,526 ft) and 650 metres (2,133 ft) respectively. Two A-shaped curved pylons supporting the bridge are 129.985 metres (426 ft) tall and radius of 300 metres (984 ft) leaning in backspan up to 22 metres (72 ft) from center of pylon. The total length of the road is 2.8 kilometres (9,186 ft) (read more).

India - Gujarat - Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park

Champaner-Pavadagh Archaeological Park is situated in Panchmahal district in Gujarat, India. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 as a cultural site. There is a concentration of largely unexcavated archaelogical , historic and living cultural heritage properties cradled in an impressive landscape which includes prehistoric (chalcolithic) sites, a hill fotress of an early Hindu capital and remains of the 16th-century capital of the state of Gujarat. Lila Gumbaz ki Masjid, Champaner is one of the 114 monuments forming part of the park. The Masjid, built on a high plinth, has a frontage with an arched entrance at the centre flanked by two lateral arches.

Sent by Murali from Bengaluru, India.

Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, located in the Panchmahal District of Gujarat State in north-western India, features a concentration of archaeological, historical, and living cultural heritage properties cradled in an impressive landscape. Focused on Pavagadh Hill, a volcanic formation that rises 800 m above the surrounding plains, the property includes the remains of settlements dating from the prehistoric to medieval periods, the latter represented by a hill-fortress of an early (14th-century) Hindu capital and the remains of an Islamic state capital founded in the 15th century. The large property, comprised of 12 separate areas, contains the remains of fortifications, palaces, religious buildings, residential precincts, and water-retaining installations, as well as the living village of Champaner.

This area was conquered in the 13th century by the Khichi Chauhan Rajputs, who built their first settlement on top of Pavagadh Hill and fortification walls along the plateau below the hill. The earliest built remains from this period include temples, and amongst the important vestiges are water-retention systems. The Turkish rulers of Gujarat conquered the hill-fortress in 1484. With Sultan Mehmud Begda’s decision to make this his capital, the most important historic phase of this site began. The settlement of Champaner at the foot of the hill was rebuilt and remained the capital of Gujarat until 1536, when it was abandoned.

Except for the structural remains of the main buildings and forts, most parts of the capital city remain buried and unexcavated, though the planning and integration of the essential features of a city – royal estates, utilities, religious edifices, and spaces – can be seen and interpreted. Champaner-Pavagadh’s 14th-century temples and water-retaining installations, together with the later capital city’s religious, military, and agricultural structures, represent both Hindu and Muslim architecture. Champaner’s importance as a capital and residence of a sultan are best illustrated in the Great Mosque (Jama Masjid), which became a model for later mosque architecture in India. At Champaner, the land, the people, and the built heritage are each components of a complex, and dynamic process. The Brahmanical temple of Kalika Mata (the guardian goddess of the hill) atop Pavagadh Hill is an important living shrine, attracting a large number of pilgrims from Gujarat and other parts of the country throughout the year (read more).

India - Jodia Pava

JODIA PAVA : A truly masterful instrument, the jodia pava is a pair of flutes, the nar and the mada, which are fashioned from the wood of the karad tree, that are played simultaneously. The nar plays a simple and consistent drone while the mada provides the melody. This instrument was traditionally played by Maldharis in the grasslands, and is now often used to accompany Kachchhi and Sindhi folk songs.

The first ever postcard received from India. Sent by Palak from Surat in India.