Page 200 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

198  CENTR AL INDIA

i Dudhwa o Rampur
National Park Rampur district. 310 km (193 miles)
Lakhimpur-Kheri district. 220 km (137 NW of Lucknow. * 2,335,819. £ @
miles) N of Lucknow. Entry point: Palia. ∑ rampur.nic.in/home4new.asp
£ @ n For bookings, contact Field
Director, Dudhwa, (05872) 252 106. Earlier a stronghold of the Afghan
Rohilla chieftains (highlanders
Open 15 Nov–15 Jun. & Extra charges
for photography. Jeeps available.  from Peshawar), Rampur became
∑ dudhwatigerreserve.com a princely state under the
British. It was ruled by a dynasty
Located close to the border of Muslim nawabs, who were
with Nepal, Dudhwa National great connoisseurs of the arts.
Park covers some 680 sq km They drew hundreds of scholars
(263 sq miles) of densely and artists to their court, whose
wooded plains. Its forests have books and paintings became
some of the finest specimens part of the state collection.
of sal trees in India. In 1977, They also established a famous Rampur knives and daggers, a
Dudhwa was recognized as a gharana (school) of classical local speciality
Tiger Reserve, mainly due to music. The Hamid Manzil, built
the efforts of Billy Arjan Singh, by Nawab Hamid Ali Khan Peshawar), which pepper the
a legendary environmentalist. Bahadur, who came to the Urdu that is spoken here.
Arjan Singh is best known for throne in 1896, now houses the
the tigress, Tara, whom he renowned Raza Library, which P Raza Library
hand-reared and returned to has a collection of almost 5,000 Tel (0592) 232 5045/5346.
the wild in 1978. Mughal miniatures, over 60,000 Open 10am–5pm daily. Closed Fri &
Today, the park has more than books, numerous rare public hols. ∑ razalibrary.gov.in
30 tigers. The park is also well manuscripts, and portraits
known for its herds of swamp dating from the 16th to 18th Environs
deer (Cervus duvauceli). Better centuries. It is open to the The town of Moradabad,
known as barasingha (literally, public daily, except lying around 37 km (23
12-antlered), these deer find Fridays. Hamid Ali Khan miles) west of Rampur,
their ideal habitat in the grassy was also responsible is a small 17th-century
wetlands in the southern reaches for renovating many settle ment, best
of the park. of Rampur’s palaces, known for its brass
Other species include including the and metalware
leopards, sloth bears and a sprawling palace and industries. The town’s
small herd of rhinos, brought fort complex to the fort and mosque are
here from Assam and Nepal, northwest of the town. almost hidden by the
in an attempt to re-introduce Rampur is a maze of many tenements
the species into Dudhwa. The bazaars and was once Nawab Hamid Ali and bazaars.
park is also home to nearly known for its fine cotton of Rampur
400 species of birds, among khes (damask). Traces of
them swamp partidges, lesser its Rohilla warrior ancestry are p Aligarh
floricans and hornbills. The visible in the famous daggers, Aligarh district. 371 km (231 miles)
park’s lakes attract waterfowl always on sale, and in the touches NW of Lucknow. * 3,673,889. £ @
such as fishing eagles and ibis. of Pashto (the native tongue of _ Numaish (Feb). ∑ amu.ac.in
Historically important because
of its location in an agriculturally
rich region, Aligarh was a Rajput
stronghold from the end of the
12th century onwards, until it
was wrested by the Mughals. Its
fort, which dates to 1524, fell to
the British under Lord Lake in
1803. British presence influenced
many of its foremost citizens,
such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
who founded the Aligarh
Muslim University in 1875, for
which the town is most famous
today. The sprawling campus
has many imposing buildings,
Swamp deer, also known as barasingha, in Dudhwa’s grasslands such as a mosque that is an
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p696 and pp708–709

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Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm