Patna, The Lost Glory, The Complete Anarchy, The Grazing field of Laloo's buffalos, or The Akahara of Rabri's brothers ?
And what do we credit it for ? Being a neighbour to the budhhist hotspots like Rajgir,Nalanda and Gaya, which are supposedly sustaining on oriental aid!
So why should it be travel worthy, considering we have people who categorically state Patna as being dangerous to their lives and in the process drive away even a whiff of curiosity in potential visitors.
Lets state a few facts:
Travel
Patna is well connected with most of the country by road and air. Patna is the transit point of many migrant workers, students and lies on one of the busiest routes making the undercapacity trains overcrowded. Hence selection of trains must be done carefully and reservations be made much in advance. If travelling during daytime and on a train which stops on too many stations, remember a golden rule ''The reservation of lower berths applies only at night time''. This shall save you of much of your headache. Don't whine, the situation won't improve untill a significant increase in passenger trains is made.
Road travel is generally smooth, as mostly the highways are of good quality. Night travel shall be avoided in Gaya belt, known for extremist activities.
Accomodation
Hotels of all qualities are available. Pay as per the level of comforts required.The hotels are mainly located around Railway Station, and are enough in numbers to accomodate the tourists at any time of the year. There are a few good dhramshalas and community guest houses, where you get nice clean room and hygenic low cost food.The youth hostel seems in good shape from a distance, haven't gone inside though.
The restaurants are numerous in number and generally the food is good and of all kinds.
Few better hotels :
The Mourya
The Chanakya
The Samrat International
Marwari Niwas
Rajasthan
Mayur
Attractions
For a more comprehensive list kindly visit https://patnadaily.com/places.html and https://patnaon.net
Just to quote the sites on a few:
Patna Museum:
his is undoubtedly one of the best museums anywhere in the country. It has an excellent collection of artifacts and collectibles. It has a 53-foot fossil tree, 200 million years old. Besides this there are several metal and stone sculptures dating back to the 3rd century BC.
There are also a number of original terracotta figures and ancient household implements here. Some of the original Chinese and Tibetan paintings are also very interesting. There is also another museum, the Jalan Museum. It houses a private collection and can be seen only with prior permission
Indira Gandhi Planetarium
One of the largest Planetarium in Asia, the Patna Planetarium attracts large number of domestic as well as foreign tourists. The planetarium has regular film shows on subjects related to astronomy. It also holds exhibitions which attracts lots of visitors.
Kumhrar
8 kilometer from Patna, this is where excavations have found remains of the ancient capital, Pataliputra. Patna is one of the oldest inhabited places in the world, dating back to a document history till the 4th century BC. The highlights here are the remains of a Buddhist monastery, Anand Bihar and an assembly hall with huge pillars which date back to the Mauryan period. Another fantastic find here is the 4th century BC palace of the Mauryas, the sheer size of whose constructions says a lot about the lifestyle of the times.
Sher Shah Masjid
This mosque was built in the Afghan style of architecture by the frontier ruler Sher Shah in 1545. This is also the oldest mosque in the entire region. Sher Shah Suri was easily the most important ruler of these parts in the more recent history of this region, he broke away from the Mughal empire of Humayun to setup his own kingdom
Hari Mandir Temple
This Sikh temple built at the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru. It is an important place of pilgrimage for the Sikh community, one of the four most important pilgrimage spots for Sikhs. It was built by the great Sikh ruler Raja Ranjit Singh. Because of the presence of this spot here, Patna is very revered and referred to as Patna Sahib by Sikhs
Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library
Situated adjacent to Ganges, the holy river of India along Ashok Raj Path, Khudabaksh Oriented Public library is world famous for handwritten books & artistic crafts of Moghul and Rajput era. It is not only a superb library but a marvelous legacy as well. Here you will get thousands of rare manuscripts and small artistic creations of Iranian, Turkish, Rajputana and Moghul patterns, which are beyond pricing not to talk of getting.
https://64.78.17.70/indiaculture/en/Org/khudamod1.htm
Weather
Typical north indian weather cycle occurs,only with lesser extremities. The best time to come would be early november.
November also witnesses the biggest festival of Bihar, Chathh. Sun god is worshipped in this two day festival.Expect Patna to be decorated like a bride during this time.
Miscellaneous Information
Patna is the best place to watch movies. The ticket rates are among the lowest in the country for pretty decent facilities.
Patna acts as the transit for Nalanda, Rajgir,Gaya, Deoghar and other places important tourist places.
People are simple natured and helpful. Don't laugh, its true and I can defend my statement anywhere. The main language spoken is hindi with a lyrical tinge, i.e. bihari accent apart from bhojpuri,maithli which are very close to hindi.
Security
So now I come to the point. To say it in the face its not bad. Don't get surprised as the crime rates in Patna are infinite times lower than those of cities like Delhi. I have lived here for so many years there and roamed around at every possible time and never faced any discomfort. Though it doesn't mean Patna is heaven. Law and order is an issue and its better to take basic precautions about the timing of your outings. In general, no problems shall be faced.
So sounds interesting enough to try as a off-beat tourist destination ? Do give a try.
