“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”- Saint Augustine


We, the third year BBA students, were taken for an excursion to Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. There were nine students who were accompanied by two faculty members namely, Mr. Shomik Saha and Miss Rumi Paul Choudhary. On January 25, 2018 the students boarded the Guwahati Secunderabad Express from New Jalpaiguri station at 1:30 pm. The group reached Hyderabad – the City of Pearls, on January 27, at 6:00 am. After an hour´s drive the group reached Fab M Hotel, near to Hyderabad International Convention Centre. Post lunch we visited the Salar Jung Museum- an art museum located at Darushifa on the southern bank of Musi River. It has a collection of sculptures, paintings, carvings, textiles, etc from Japan, China, Nepal, Persia and many other countries of the world. The next destination was Charminar, a monument and mosque, constructed in 1591. It is a historical place with the mosque on top floor for over 400 years and is also famous for its surrounding market. The next stop was Golkonda Fort. It is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad. The region is known for the mines that have produced some of the world’s famous gems including Kohinoor, the Hope Diamond, Nassak Diamond and the Noor-ul-Ain. Moving to evoke God’s blessings upon each one of us, we reached Birla Mandir, a Hindu temple, built on a 280 feet high hillock called Naubath Pahad on a 13 acres plot.
On January 28, our full day was dedicated to Ramoji Film City. With 2000 acres, it is the largest integrated film city and the largest studio complex in the world. The film city was also certified by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest Film Studio complex. It was set up in 1996, by the legendary Telugu Film producer Ramoji Rao. The tour in the city includes several familiar locations such as police station, a government building, a mansion and a vegetable market as well as replicas of Indian tourist sites such as Taj Mahal, Brindawan Gardens, etc. An eco-park is also located within the film city. We were lucky to witness the last day of winter carnival in the Film city. The show displayed various cultures of our country through their dance followed by a winter carnival procession similar to that of Disneyland procession.
The next day we first visited NTR Garden, where we enjoyed boat cruise on the Hussain Sagar Lake. The NTR Memorial is built in the memory of Late Shri NT Rama Rao, the most popular chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Our next visit was to Karachi Bakery. It is one of the popular bakeries in Hyderabad for its fruit biscuits, dilkush and plum cakes. At 9:30pm we left for Hyderabad, our next destination.
We reached Visakhapatnam on January 30, at 8:00 am. Our first visit was to the Shri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam, a South Indian Hindu temple. It is dedicated to one of the Hindu trinity deities Vishnu. Then we moved towards Vuda Park located near Ramakrishna Mission Beach. Our next visit was the City Central Park. This park has the first musical fountain of Andhra Pradesh. We also visited Kailash Giri Park. Then we visited Vishaka Museum which contains the historical treasures and artifacts of the Kalingandhra region. We also visited Andhra University, established in 1926. Then we went to see the INS Kurusura Submarine Museum. INS Kurusura (S20) was the fifth Kalavari class diesel electric submarine of the Indian navy. After decommissioning, she was preserved as a museum piece for public on Ramakrishna Beach. It has the distinction of being one of the very few submarine museums to retain originality. We then visited the TU 142 M Aircraft Museum. This is the first such museum in the country with a walk through for visitors. It comprises the museum complex, TU flight simulator, an audio visual room and souvenir shop.
On January 31 we started our day by visiting the essential attraction of Visakhapatnam, the beaches. We first visited Yarada beach and were mesmerized by the scenic beauty of the place. We then visited Ramanaidu Studios Vizag built on the top of Rishikonda hills serving as an enticing bird’s eye view on the Bay of Bengal. We then visited Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex near Bheemlipatnam. The hill is about 128 metres above sea level. It provides an insight into the process of transoceanic diffusion of India culture, especially Buddhism. We then visited GITAM (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management), an institute of higher education. It was established in 1980 at Vizag. It was the first private engineering institute in Andhra Pradesh to receive university status. Then we moved towards Rushikonda Beach on the coast of Bay of Bengal. The beach is maintained by the state tourism board, APTDC. Next we visited the Fishing Harbor. Then we headed towards Ramakrishna Mission Beach, which is one of the most popular beach parks.
On February 1, we boarded a train at 6:30 am from Visakhapatnam Station to Borra Caves. The caves, one of the largest in the country at an elevation of about 705 m distinctly exhibit a variety of Stele ranging in size and irregular shaped stalactites and stalagmites. The caves are basically karstic limestone structure extending a depth of 80 m and are considered the deepest caves in India. We then moved towards Araku Valley, a hill station. It is a valley in the Eastern Ghats inhabited by different tribes. It is surrounded by the thick forest of the Eastern Ghat mountain range. The tribal museum is dedicated to the area’s numerous indigenous tribes known for their traditional Dhimsa dance and showcases traditional handcrafts.
The last day in Visakhapatnam was spent by visiting the local markets namely Jagdamba market and Poorna market. We also visited CMR mall the largest mall of the place. We left Visakhapatnam at 7:15pm by train. We reached NJP on February 3 at 10:00pm. Towards home we then moved with abundant memories to be cherished for lifetime.