Indian Railways (IR) is a railway company, set-up and owned by the government of India. Established on 16th April in the year 1853, the Indian Railways has since become one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world. It runs across 28 cities and one union territory, covering 6909 stations in India. It operates over 9,000 trains transporting 18 million passengers across cities on a daily basis.

A plan for a railway system in India was put forward in 1832 during the British Raj, but was put in to action over a decade later in 1844.The first ever passenger train ran from Bori Bandar to Thane on the 16th of April, 1853.The Indian Railways operates many types of trains ranging from long distance goods trains to short distance electric trains. The Indian Railways has been divided in to 7 zones for administrative purposes.

Train is often a better mode of travel, particularly for visiting places in India as it gives you the opportunity to see quaint towns and small villages which are often otherwise missed by tourists.

Indian Railways requires advance reservations for all long distance trains. The Indian Railways passenger enquiry offers a detailed list of destinations and trains that you can pick from. You can then use the IR time table and schedule to pick the train name, timing and check availability of train tickets. Train tickets can be booked online using the IR e-booking services or over the counter at the railway stations. To reserve train tickets and to use other railway services, IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation), an initiative by the Indian railway ministry, is also widely used. It is a one stop platform offering multiple services like e-ticketing (online train ticket reservations), tourist trains, railway tour packages, car rentals and hotels bookings. It has a 24 hour call center to cater to all your queries or enquiries relating to train timings, reservations and tour bookings.

The status of reservation of the Indian Railways ticket can be checked by checking the pnr status. The PNR number is the ten digit number printed on the top left corner of the ticket. The PNR status can be checked by entering this number online on the IR website, by sending the number by SMS to a special IR short code or by calling the call center / toll free number.

The Indian Railways also operates specialized luxury trains to select destinations across India. The list of luxury trains includes the 'Palace on Wheels', which takes you through an enchanting royal journey through Agra and Rajasthan; 'Deccan Odyssey', a journey through Mumbai, Goa and Ajanta Caves, 'Royal Rajasthan on Wheels', which takes you through a royal journey through Rajasthan; Fairy Queen, which covers Delhi, Alwar and the Tiger Reserve, 'Royal Orient' , a lavish tour of Rajasthan and Gujarat and Shekhavati train, which takes you on an enchanting trip to Jaipur, Bikaner and Udaipur etc.

What does iXiGO offer?

iXiGO offers quick searches on all trains across India. All you have to do is to select your place of departure and destination from the easy to navigate iXiGO website. You will find all train related information including the Indian Railways time table, schedule and station codes. Choose your travel dates, destinations, class (AX Tier 1, Tier 2, Sleeper etc) and whether it's a one way or return journey and click search. The IXIGO search engine will pop up all the options matching your search instantly. We guarantee you the lowest train fares. You can pick the train that suits your needs and make a booking instantly. This is your one stop platform to research various trains, destinations and avail of the lowest fares and exciting deals. All this and more is just a click away!

India is such a diverse country, and one of the main ways that its diversity is expressed is through its dance. When you have your India visa then you will have the opportunity and pleasure to visit many parts of India to attend some of its dance festivals. The types of dance across India are so different in style and colour, that several trips maybe needed to see such extravaganzas; hence you will also require several Indian visas for these trips. Below are a few of the dance festivals that your India travel visa will allow you to visit:

The Konark Dance Festival

The Konark Dance Festival is based in Konark, Orissa, and is held twice a year, in February and also December. Both times the festival is held in the open air auditiorium grounds in near the sun temple. The sun temple is based approximately 68kilometres from the states capital Bhubaneswar. Note that your normal India visa will allow entry to this region of India. The location is close the the Black Orissi Dance Pagoda, which is a monument that is build of black granite and shows the chariot of the sun god. The dance festival shows the classical forms of the regional dances of India as well as national forms of dance, in a celebration to celebrate Orissa. The dances are held under a huge mandap called the Natya Mandap. The dances styles are typically those from the 19th to the 21st centuries.

The Modhera Dance Festival

One of the most famous dance festivals that your India visa will also allow you to visit is in the state of Gujrat, called the Modhera dance festival. Modhera which is close to the capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad was build by king Bhimdev many centuries ago. You can enter Gujrarat quite easily with the traditional visa for India for business or tourism purposes. The festival is held in the sun temple, which is dedicated totally to the lord Surya, otherwise translated as the sun god. The dances on display at the sun temple include classical Gujarati dances. This beautiful festival is held for three days during the month of January. As this is one of the most popular seasons for Indian tourism, be sure to apply early in advance for your India visa, at the VFS offices or via the services or Rapid visas.

The Elephanta Islands Dance and Music Festival

If you are planning on using your India visa to enter via Mumbai, and shall be entering India during the month of February, then the annual festivals held on this small island 10 km from Mumbai harbour is surely to be attended. The island was rename elephanta by the Portugese after they saw it had elephant carvings inside the walls. This annual festival is arranged to worship the Maheshmurti, or otherwise know as the Shiva-idol which is located in the main caves. As well beautiful dances being put on by professionals, it is also fascinating to see local folk dances being displayed by local fisherman, who also serve their local food.

For more information of the dance festivals of India, and also the processes required for applying for your India visa then please feel welcome to contact us at rapid visas.

The land of monumental magnificence and picturesque splendor, UP (Uttar Pradesh) is one of the largest states of India. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the heart of the Indian cow belt. Apart from being one of the largest states of India--in terms of geographical size--UP is also the most populated Indian state even after the carving out of the new state of Uttarakhand a few years ago.

Several rivers--such as the Ganges, Gomti, Betwa, Sarayu, Rihand, and Yamuna-- flow through UP making the state one of the most fertile states of India. UP's contributions to Indian politics, culture, tourism, agriculture, education, and economy is phenomenal. For instance, most of the prime ministers of the country, including the first prime minister of India Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, is from UP, and so is the biggest Superstar of Bollywood--the one and only Amitabh Bachchan.

Some key cities of UP

Lucknow, the City of the Nawabs, is the state capital and a major cultural and administrative hub. The rich and varied culture of Lucknow has impressed people since long. Its cuisine is also worth mentioning. Some food experts believe that the highly tempting Mughali food loved by people across the world, originated in UP. Lucknow was also an important centre of freedom movement.

Allahabad is another famous city of UP. A key educational hub, Allahabad is also much famed for the Sangam where the Maha Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years which attracts lakhs of religiously and spiritually inclined people from all over the world. Varanasi--yet another famous city of the state--is located by the Ganges. It is the spiritual and religious capital of India. Believed to be situated atop Lord Shiva's trident, Varanasi, also called Benaras and Kasi, is also decisively the most ancient continuously inhabited city of the world.

The Manchester of India, Kanpur is another well-known city of UP, and a major industrial hub of the region. Aligarh, yet another famous city of UP, is well-known for the premier Aligarh Muslim University and also the quality Aligarh Locks widely used throughout India. Agra, yet another renowned city of UP, is much famed for Taj Mahal-one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The most beautiful monument of the world, Taj Mahal is not only UP's pride but India's pride as well and attracts visitors from far off places.

For over 4,000 years, India--one of the most spiritually enriched places on earth--has been the cradle of spirituality. Actually, the Land of the Vedas and Temples, India is the Spiritual Capital of the World. India, its people, its infrastructure, and, in fact, its very soil, encourage and nurture spiritualism, allowing religions to thrive, flourish and prosper.

No wonder every major religion in the world, as well many of their off-shoots and facets, get support and nourishment in India. Many of these religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism were conceived in India, and others sought refuge in India after being persecuted in their own countries.

Apart from religions, numerous sages, philosophers and founders of religions also sought and received sanctuary and enlightenment in India's soil and spirit. The trend continues even today after so many years, the reason being as the people across the world veer towards the capitalistic way of life, the quest for spirituality becomes even more urgent.

Spiritual Destinations of India

India is dotted with several spiritual destinations. A visit to them is essential is one is on the path of self spiritual discovery. Actually, spiritual tours of India enable one to nurture the spirituality within oneself by delving deep into the rich spiritual history of the country.

Spiritual tours of India take one on tours to several spiritual destinations of the country which are much renowned for their religious and spiritual significance. Scattered all over India, these places give the tourists the bliss and peace that may have eluded them for long and which may have inspired them to visit the spiritually and religiously rich India.

Golden Temple and Anandpur Sahib (Amritsar); Varanasi, Mathura, and Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh); Somanth (Gujarat); Dargah Khwaja Saheb (Ajmer); Rishikesh and Haridwar (Uttrakhand); Pushkar (Rajasthan); Jagannath Puri (Orissa); Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh); and Bodh Gaya (Bihar) are just some of the many top religious and spiritual destinations of India that inspire the religiously inclined people from far off places to go on spiritual tours and discover the meaning of their life and physical existence.

Maha Shivaratri Festival is a national festival of India and it is celebrated throughout the country. It is popularly known as the night of Lord Shiva and is celebrated on the 13th or the 14th night of the new moon during Krishna Paksha in the Hindu month of Phalgun. It usually falls in February-March. This year this important festival, according to the calendar, falls on the 23rd of February.

In Andhra Pradesh, devotees of Lord Shiva throng Sri Kalahasteshwara Temple at Kalahasti and the Bharamarambha Malikarjunaswamy Temple at Srisailam. In Kerala, Shivaratri is celebrated with great pomp in Shiva Temple at Aluva, on the bank of River Periyar. In Tamil Nadu, Shivaratri celebration is famous in Chidambaram temple and Rameshwaram Temple. In Karnataka, the Srikanteshwara temple in Nanjangud and Someshwara Temple in Bangalore attract devotees in large numbers.

It is believed that Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvathi on Maha Shivaratri day. Another belief is that Lord Shiva performed Thandava Nrithya on the Maha Shivaratri night. The devotees of Lord Shiva throughout the country observe fast and after the customary bath to Shiva linga, they offer fruits, flowers and bel leaves to Lord Shiva and keep awake in the night without sleep. They believe that ritual worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious day of Shivaratri liberates them of past sins and will be blessed with Moksha. Wearing new clothes they go to Shiva temples and perform poojas and chant prayers in praise of Lord Shiva, saying 'Om Namah Shivaya' and circumambulate the temple three or seven times.

It is believed that those who utter the names of Shiva during Shivratri, with perfect devotion and concentration, is freed from all sins. Lord Shiva is known by several names such as Shankar, Mahadevan, Neelakanth, Kailaseshwar, Kailashpathi and Nataraj. It is believed that Goddess Parvati performed tapas and prayers on the auspicious moonless night of Shivaratri to ward off any evil that may befall her husband. Hence, on this auspicious day, the married women pray for the health and happiness of their husbands and the unmarried girls pray for getting good husband like Shiva, the ideal husband of Parvathi.