Santosh Thakur

I came across this video of Rajgir in Bihar & was intrigued. I vaguely knew of Rajgir, but had never really thought of it as a tourist destination. So I decided to read up a little more about it. It turned out to be a rewarding exploration. Rajgir was the capital of Magadha over 2,500 years ago. The Buddha and Mahavira both spent time here. The city was once surrounded by a massive stone wall, almost 40 kilometres long, built without mortar. Today, it has a spectacular glass skywalk, ropeways, forested hills and ancient monuments. But my reading led me to think more broadly about Bihar itself. Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. Nalanda, one of the ancient world’s greatest centres of learning. Vaishali, associated with one of the earliest republican systems of government. And Pataliputra, capital of Ashoka’s Mauryan Empire. An incredible concentration of history and heritage in one state And yet, outside its important pilgrimage circuits, Bihar seems to receive relatively little attention as a tourist destination. I can’t help feeling that Bihar is sitting on a tourism gold mine. All this reflection prompted by one video of Rajgir. A reminder of how much there still is to explore in our own country… #SundayWanderer