Ganganagar Trip in Hanumangarh
Distance : 54km from Hanumangarh
¤ Location
Ganganagar district lies on the northernmost tip of Rajasthan to the
east of Hanumangarh. At its western tip lies the Indo-Pak boundary,
and people from the nearby villages often take a trip to the border,
almost as if it was a picnic spot. A unique piece of memorabilia found
in the town of Ganganagar itself is a navy blue armoured tank captured
from the Pakistanis during one of the Indo-Pak wars. The tank, a
prized capture by the Indian army during the war is now an ancient
relic and no more than a plaything for the local children. Supposedly
the children of the area are lucky that they have a life-sized tank to
fiddle around with, while their peers elsewhere only have dinky toy
tanks to entertain themselves with.
¤ Main Temple Attractions
The two main temples in the area are the Gauri Shankar Mandir and the
Shri Ram Mandir. The Gauri Shankar Mandir is dedicated to Lord Shiva,
the Destroyer among the gods comprising the Hindu holy trinity. The
temple has a sandstone façade with two huge turrets pointing
skywards. The inner sanctum contains an impressive statue of the Lord
himself. The other temple is dedicated to Lord Rama and is similarly
coloured, with one gigantic turret pointing up in the air, seemingly
trying to reach the heavens. However, the most striking monument in
Ganganagar is a huge alabaster white statue of Hanuman (the monkey god
in the Hindu epic Ramayana) which is situated right in the middle of
the town square. Hanuman is standing holding his traditional yellow
mace in his hand, perched on top of a globe which has Bharat (India)
inscribed on it. Patriotism is obviously the ‘in thing’ in
Ganganagar.
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