Tag: Varanasi

MS Dhoni determined in setting up a cricket academy in Ranchi.

Source – crictracker.com

While the Indian cricket team keeps scaling new heights each time they take the field in all the formats of the game, veteran MS Dhoni’s speculation on making a comeback is still dominating the news. It remains under a cloud of uncertainty whether the 38-year old will retake the field or the semi-final game against the Kiwis in the World Cup 2019 was his swansong.

However, Dhoni has remained in touch with the sport outside the field as well and is reportedly determined to open an academy in his hometown of Ranchi. The wicketkeeper-batsman is set to fulfill his desire of opening a center of learning in Ranchi where aspiring cricketers can harness their skills to make it big.

As reported by Times Now, Arka sports, an organization of Dhoni’s long-time friend Mihir Diwakar, has been searching for a piece of land and considering all goes as planned, the academy could be fully set up in two years. Besides that, the reports also say that they also have the option of tying up the academy with a local school.

The source was quoted as saying “Aarka Sports, a company of Dhoni’s childhood friend and manager Mihir Diwakar, has been looking for a piece of land to open an academy and if all goes as per plan, we shall see an academy in the city in the next couple of years,”. The Ranchi-born batsman has also established academies in Indore, Delhi, Patna, Bokaro, Nagpur, Varanasi. An academy is also planned to be built in Siliguri.

Ravi Shastri firm on letting MS Dhoni decide on his future

Speaking of Dhoni’s immediate future, coach Ravi Shastri was crystal clear in his words, conceding that the former captain has earned the right to retire from the game as desired. He also criticized the people calling for his retirement and hailed him for what he has achieved for the nation.

Shastri said, “Half the guys commenting on Dhoni can’t even tie their shoelaces. Look at what he’s achieved for the country. Why are people in a hurry to see him off? Maybe, they don’t find enough talking points,” Shastri said. “Let me say this: M.S. Dhoni has earned the right to retire when he wants to. And let this debate end once and for all”.

Why religious tourism could be the next big bet for IndiGo

Source: cnbctv18.com

n 8th of August, IndiGo will launch services to Gaya – an in-significant thing to happen for an airline which has been growing at breakneck speed one may think. But Gaya does not feature in the top 50 airports in India by passengers and neither has it seen a sustained scheduled service in recent past. So what makes one look up to the flights to Gaya? It gives an indication of times to come for IndiGo and its focus on Kolkata as a gateway and connecting to India’s eastern neighbours and beyond.

Amidst the war of words in public and subsequent truce between the promoters of IndiGo , the airline seems to be silently pushing ahead with its renewed network plan with focus on religious tourism. IndiGo has time and again, in the last year, made its international ambitions public. Over 30 percent of its capacity growth in the last quarter has been on international routes. While the airline struggled to expand and maintain the Istanbul operations due to Pakistani airspace closure, the airline has tried making in-roads into markets of Jet Airways as the regulatory authorities initiated a re-allocation of seats to other carriers.

While the plan for flying to Gaya and connecting the city to Varanasi and Kolkata was announced a month ago, further phases of the plan seem to be taking shape – one flight at a time. The airline recently announced flights to Yangoon – the capital of Myanmar. Interestingly, the airline confirmed that the idea is to build a Buddhist circuit and attract traffic but it’s very first such connection is not seamless and would require a long layover at Kolkata both ways to travel between Gaya and Yangoon. The airline followed this with announcing the launch of flights to Hanoi from Kolkata.

Gaya is the gateway to Bodh Gaya — where Gautam Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. The temple complex is a world heritage site and attracts tourists from Japan, Mayanmar, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Japan. Buddhism has four main pilgrimage sites — Lumbini in Nepal, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinagara in India. With the launch of services to Gaya – IndiGo will operate to the nearest airports of all four — Kathmandu, Gaya, Varanasi and Gorakhpur respectively. Interestingly, except for Kathmandu — the other three have direct flights from Kolkata — its regional gateway.

How is it shaping out?

While numbers are hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests a large number of charters landing at Gaya for pilgrimage. Vietjet — the Vietnamese low cost carrier which has shied away from launching operations to India despite multiple announcements operates scheduled charter services to Gaya in pilgrimage season.

IndiGo already operates flights to Thailand from Kolkata and has announced flights to Myanmar, Vietnam and China. The only major market which is not yet announced from Kolkata is flights to Sri lanka. The current network will make Kolkata a transit hub for passengers who conglomerate there before proceeding to Gaya, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Kathmandu.

Even if the airline does not launch services to Kathmandu from Kolkata, the open border between Gorakhpur and Lumbini, Nepal does the trick from tourism perspective, helping IndiGo build the Buddhist circuit.

Will IndiGo benefit?

While Air India and Jet Airways in the past have connected religious sites, hardly any airline in India has tried building a network around religious tourism. Connecting tourism centric places is one thing and a international to domestic connection – completely another.

The numbers will take time to shore up and the airline will have to tweak timings, equipment and operations for time to tell how successful this experiment has been. The prolonged closure of Pakistani airspace seems to have motivated the airline to look-east and reduce the dependence on its hub at New Delhi — which became prone to increased flying times due to the airspace closure.

The de-risking strategy will also help get domestic connections from major metros which are connected to Kolkata with multiple daily flights. The lack of non-stop flights to most of the countries in the east including Myanmar and Vietnam — which are becoming popular with Indian tourist, would see a steady traffic potential of Indian tourists flying IndiGo via Kolkata.

Who benefits?

Kolkata is a level 3 airport by IATA standards. This means that the airport is congested and additional movements may not be possible. However, new destinations get priorities when slots are limited and to add to that IndiGo has built a formidable hub at Kolkata over the years, allowing it to cancel its own flights on domestic sectors to utilise the slots for additional international flights.

With an integrated terminal at Kolkata — the transfer from domestic to international and vice versa is relatively simpler than New Delhi — the airline’s primary hub.

What next?

The results will be known in another year’s time. The airline has the cash to sustain that period, but one doesn’t know if it has the patience to sustain that long. With a growth which is as fast as no other, the airline has pulled the plug on few flights in the past in a short span of time.

Rarely has an airline tried something as innovative as a full circuit on religious tourism and rarely has an airline been in a position to try that. With IndiGo being cash rich at the moment, this could well be the turning time.

May be the blessings of Buddha is what the airline needs to solve its internal issues and maintain its courteous, hassle free and on-time operations.

This holy land of VARANASI

Source: thehansindia.com

Sarnath considered one of the most important sites in the Buddhist Circuit makes the holy city of Varanasi an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhist pilgrims from Asia as well as tourists from all over the world. Located 10kms north east of Varanasi with its name derived from the Sanskrit word “Saranganatha” (Lord of the Deer) was the deer park where Buddha gave his first sermon and where deer roamed around without fear. There are several guides waiting at the entrance of this site to tell visitors about its history, legend and spiritual importance. Just as in Bodh Gaya, a number of countries which have Buddhism as a major religion like Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar have built temples and monasteries in Sarnath and these reflect their architectural styles our guide Ajay Tripathi informs us. This place typically presents an overview of Buddhist architecture. As we were familiar with these styles from Bodh Gaya we were more interested in seeing the viharas, stupas and the archaeological museum which houses the famous Ashokan lion capital.

Seven weeks after he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, Buddha is said to have traveled to Sarnath also known as Mrigadava, Rishipatana and Isapattana which in Pali meant a place where Holy men resided. It was here that the sangha or community of enlightened persons was formed after Buddha enlightened five persons with his teachings of Dharma. The sermon that Buddha gave to these five monks was his first sermon known as “Dhammachakkappavattana Suta” and we got to see the ruins of this stupa known as “Dhamek Stupa” Another important structure here where Buddha is supposed to have spent his first rainy season is the “Mulagandhakuti Vihara”. This was the main temple which had the famous Ashoka pillar in front and the well-known statue of Buddha in the “Dhramachakra Pravartana Mudra” was discovered in its vicinity. It is a long walk as we pass through the ruins of stupas and viharas that related to Buddhas stay here and his various teachings. There is lush green grass and trees all around and there are benches where tourists can sit for a while before they resume their walk.

The Sarnath Archaeological museum is indeed a veritable treasure house with various works of great historical importance preserved with care. It is one of the oldest site museums of the Archaeological Survey if Indi (ASI) and was built in 1910 by John Marshall, the then director general of Archaeology in India. Built entirely in sandstone it is designed like a vihara with a central hall and galleries that are like monastic cells housing historically important finings and several Buddhist antiquities. More than 6, 800 excavations were conducted at Sarnath leading to the discovery of rare antiquities our guide tells us. We walk past a rich collection of sculptures, edifices, parts of ruined structures, and stone carved images of Buddha and Bodhisattva.

The famous Ashokan lion capital here is said to have miraculously survived a 45-foot height drop to the ground from the top of the pillar. It became the national symbol and the national symbol on the Indian flag. A sculpture of four Asiatic lions standing back to back on an elaborate base carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, it was placed by the great Mauryan emperor Ashoka on top of the pillar he built at Sarnath in 250BCE. The four lions are said to symbolise the ‘four noble truths’ of Buddhism. We take more than an hour to see the well preserved artifacts that take us through the life and times of Buddha and his preaching of Dharma. Walking through the galleries one feels a strange peace that is almost meditative.

In the ruins and well preserved statues and findings from the site lies the essence of Buddha. Saranath is a worthwhile trip that brings alive the mystique of Budhha and the peace and love that pervade his teachings. It is both a spiritual sojourn and a historical overview and is a site worth visiting.

Now fly to Varanasi, Gaya Buddhist circuit in India at affordable rates; check IndiGo flight offers

Source: financialexpress.com

From August, you can fly to pilgrim towns of Varanasi and Gaya, Buddhist circuit in affordable rates! IndiGo has announced 12 non-stop daily and weekly flights to boost air connectivity to Varanasi and Gaya. Now you can travel to Gaya Airport or Bodhgaya International Airport (GAY) and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi (VNS) from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata (CCU) and Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport (PAT).

IndiGo flight offers, ticket fares, timings

The 12 non-stop daily and weekly flights will start from August 8. Bookings for these IndiGo flights have opened.

Flight number 6E 7713 will depart from Kolkata on a daily basis at 7 am and will reach Gaya at 8.35 am. The fare of the flight will Rs 1999. Flight number 6E 7714 will leave from Gaya at 9.05 am and arrive in Kolkata at 10.30 am. The ticket price is Rs 1999. This flight won’t be available on Sunday. Flight number 6E 7715 will depart from Kolkata at 11.05 am and will reach Gaya at 12.25 pm. Ticket fare is Rs 1999 and won’t be available on Sunday. There is a weekly flight from Gaya to Varanasi and Varanasi to Gaya. The flight will depart from Gaya at 9.30 am and reach Varanasi at 10.30 am. The fare of the flight is Rs 1499. The direct flight from Varanasi will leave at 11.25 am and reach Gaya at 12.25. The ticket for this flight will cost you Rs 1499. These two flights connecting Gaya and Varanasi will be available only on Sunday.

There are also two daily flights connecting Gaya and Varanasi. One will depart from Gaya at 12.45 pm and will reach Varanasi at 1.45 pm. The return flight from Varanasi will depart at 2.15 pm and will reach Gaya at 3 pm. These fares of these two flights are Rs 1499 per ticket.

Another daily flight from Gaya will take off at 3.20 pm and reach Kolkata at 4.40 pm. Fare of a ticket is fixed at Rs 1999.

A daily flight from Kolkata will leave at 5.25 pm and reach Patna at 7 pm. This flight will cost you Rs 1826. The return flight from Patna will depart at 7.30 pm and reach Kolkata at 9.05 pm. This flight will cost you Rs 1737.

A flight from Kolkata will take off at 9.35 PM and will arrive in Varanasi at 11.35 pm. This flight will cost you Rs 2594. The return flight from Varanasi will depart at 11.55 pm and reach Kolkata at 1.45 am. This flight will cost you Rs 2523.

“As a part of our endeavour to enhance domestic connectivity, our ATR fleet helps us serve regional operations efficiently. We are delighted to have launched these flights on the Buddhist circuit, which not only provide more travel options to customers, but also enable people to come closer to Indian history and spirituality. These flights will also help attract new tourist arrivals from around South East Asia, where IndiGo is adding a number of new routes into Kolkata over the next few months, including services from Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China,” Chief Commercial Officer of IndiGo William Boulter said. “With the introduction of these flights, we will continue to provide the flexibility of choice to our customers with a consistent on-time, affordable, courteous and hassle-free flying experience,” Boulter said.