By Shobha Rao Smilemaker

Feb 23: During my official travels, I found myself in transit at Visakhapatnam  and I was thrilled about my solo exploration of Vizag as it is popularly called.

The first impression I had of this fascinating city was from the Kailasagiri hillock, where like the pristine white Shiva Parvati idol, I too got a panoramic viewpoint of the long beach line and the whole city skyline of Vizag.

An early morning visit to the 11th century Simhachalam temple, saw me admiring its ancient architecture as well as its scriptures engraved centuries ago.
This time I continued discovering the rich Buddhist history of Vizag by visiting an ancient monastery site at Thotlakonda. I imagined the monks drinking water from the rock cut cisterns and making their offerings and prayers at the smaller votive stupas and the big 53 feet Mahastupa, complete with its walking path, sitting path and the umbrella-like structure on the top. I could imagine the simple monks chanting at the circular or oval prayer halls called chaitya grahas. These ruins were discovered under thick vegetation just less than fifty years ago, and have been partially  restored by the Archeological department. The congregation hall had the ruins of 64 pillars signifying the 64 art forms. I continued visualizing the store keeper in his Baandagarika room, supporting the monks in the kitchen called Kaapiya Bhoomi, to feed everyone at the dining hall called Upathanaa saala. There was no idol worship system practiced among these Henayana sect monks, though they did uncover a Buddha feet structure which is now kept in the Vizag museum, and its platform is still visible at site. Even the living quarters or Viharas were half restored, giving us an idea of the simple yet tough life of these disciplined monks. I saw sculpted stone excavations of a horse, a seven hooded snake and a labourer called barahwahak.

After that we got another chance to admire the city from above at the Totlakonda viewpoint.

I was the only person at another ancient buddhist site called Bavikonda which had similar structures.  This mahastupa contained some relics of the Buddha. A significant discovery of ancient Satavana lead coins as well as Roman silver coins, indicates trade connection between ancient Indians and the Western countries.

Luckily I saw a grass cutter working alone with dedication in the hot sun. The look on his face when I gave him a generous tip was priceless.

The second half of the day in Vizag should be kept for visiting the unique museums of the city.

A must do list on your itinerary to Vizag should include the Submarine museum, the first of its kind in India and second in Asia. Imagine actually entering the Kurusura submarine that was used to defend our country in the 1971 war and was decommissioned after 31 years of service. It was amazing to see how the brave navy men lived in their cramped quarters underwater as they guarded our coast of India. Across  was the Victory at Sea memorial and the aircraft museum too. I listened to a free guided tour on my headphones as the nuances of a combat aircraft were explained clearly. After that we entered an actual TU 142 fighter jet that served the nation with over 30000 hours of accident free flying. I could imagine it flying from the naval ships like Vikrant from which my Uncle fought the enemies along with other navy men during the 1971 war.

Even the maritime section at the Visaka Museum highlighted the brave roles of the Indian navy during the 1971 war against Pakistan. This is a Dutch Bungalow that was converted to a museum to  preserve artefacts and other relics of the rich ancient culture of this Andhra region.

And we had to end with a relaxing time, dipping our legs in the cold the cold waters of the famous RK beach. (in the morning I saw crowds at the pristine RushiKonda beach too).

As I drove back to the airport, I admired the simplicity of the local people, the cleanliness of this city and the colourful paintings across the city walls too.

Our India is so diverse, Vizag is another place worth visiting that makes me smile. Wow India.

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.