| India
Information |
Location: South Asia.
Area: 3,166,414 sq km (1,222,582 sq miles).
Capital: New Delhi. Government:
Republic since 1947. Religion: About 81% Hindu,
12% Muslim, with Sikh, Christian, Jain, Parsi and Buddhist minorities.
India
In India, the main language is Hindi which is spoken by about
30% of the population; English is also enshrined in the constitution
for a wide range of official purposes. In addition, 17 regional
languages are recognized by the constitution. These include
Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya and Punjabi which are widely used in
the north, and Tamil and Telegu, which are common in the south.
Other regional languages are Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi.
The Muslim population largely speak Urdu. India moment of glory
finally arrived on the midnight of 15 August 1947. People delirious
with joy flooded the streets to welcome the dawn of a new era.
There was rejoicing everywhere. And within the Assembly Hall,
Jawaharlal Nehru rose to make his famous "tryst with destiny"
speech. By the early hours of morning, as the clouds sent a
light drizzle to acknowledge the awakening, independent India
was all set to transform a colonial society into a liberal polity.
Travel in India is a mixed experience that will have you going
through a gamut of emotions. The people, the attitudes, the
roads, the bottlenecks, the poverty, the generosity, the sences
will have you smiling in delight, mulling in thought and sighing
in exasperation from one minute to the other! In the the bargain
what you will get is a Kaleidoscopic display of breathtaking
locales, fantastic architecture, exciting and exotic wildlife,
magnificent beauty of the Himalayas, and unending friendliness
and hospitality of the welcoming people. The Indian sub-continent
can be picturised as a rough triangle, with the top formed by
the mighty Himalayan mountain chain. Here you will find the
intriguing Tibet influenced region of Leh and Ladakh and the
amazingly beautiful mountainous areas of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab
in the North West, past the capital city of Delhi and important
tourist attractions like Agra ( Taj Mahal ), Khajuraho, Varanasi
and the holy Ganges, to the Northern end of the Bay of Bengal,
where you will find the teeming city of Kolkata ( Calcutta ),
which seems to sum up all of India's problem.
The spirit of India has thus fascinated the world with its very
mystique. A subcontinent with a 5000-year old history. A civilization
united by its diversity - India has always been known as a land
where history echoes itself with all its wonders in every piece
of stone and every particle of dust. About the culture of India,
every state has its own language with various dialects, its
own unique cuisine that is distinctly different from that of
the other states, art and craft, special fairs and festivals,
teeming bazaars and customs that are peculiar to them. All in
all, travel in India is a spectrum of experiences and activities
that you can choose from. From having an idyllic holiday lying
under the sun on the unmatchable beaches of Goa, to undertaking
a harsh yet very romantic camel safari in the deserts of Rajasthan,
treeking through the wild forests of Assam or visiting the splendid
royal forts and palaces, India is a "total experience"
tourist destination that is sure to leave an indelible impression
on your thoughts. And with us, you can be sure that you will
be treated to the very best of its colorful experiences, redoubtable
sites and fascinating ways of life! The majority of the inhabitants
of India are Hindus, their festivals dominate the calendar.
The most colorful of all the festival is Deepawali or Diwali
as it is commonly known, the festival of lights. The central
figure in the Indian epic, Ramayana, is Rama who went into exile
for fourteen years at his father's behest, accompanied by his
wife Sita and his brother Lakshman. During their wanderings
in the forests, Ravana, the king of Lanka, carried Sita away.
It was only after an epic battle that Rama vanquished Ravana,
rescued Sita and returned home to his kingdom of Ayodhya. The
journey from Lanka in the south to Ayodhya in the north took
twenty days. His triumphal return to Ayodhya brought great joy
to his people who illuminated the whole city to celebrate the
occasion. This joy and this illumination continues to this day
as houses and cities throughout the India are lit up (traditionally
with small earthenware cups or diyas filled with oil) to commemorate
the anniversary.
Deepawli signifies the triumph of good over evil and light over
darkness The battle between Ravana and Rama and the latter's
victory are celebrated as Dussehra in many parts of India, twenty
days before Deepawali. Dussehra is the day when the effigies
of Ravana, his brothers Meghnath and Kumbhakaran, are burnt.
Dussehra is preceded by enactment of the story of the Ramayana
by amateur groups of people in all villages, cities and in localities
of the metropolis throughout India. Practically all-night performances
of the Ramayana from the beginning to the end are enacted, analogous
to street plays, and the actors are mainly young boys who perform
the role of the male and the female characters. Immense popularity
is reflected by the large gatherings for these performances
known as Ram Lila. These are simplified accounts of two of the
major festivals of the Hindus in India but there are many variations
and accretions as different people perform different rituals
and forms of worship. For example, in Bengal, the worship of
the Goddess Durga precedes Deepawali. While Goddess Durga is
the eminent icon crafted with great devotion in West Bengal,
Lord Ganesha - acknowledged universally in India as the remover
of obstacles - who is the central figure in the celebration
of Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra. In India,there are about
3,000 communities in India. So wide and complex is the mix of
the Indian population that two-thirds of her communities are
found in the geographical boundaries of each of her states.
They are a mingling of the Caucasoid, the Negrito, the Proto-Austroloids,
the Mongoloid and the Mediterranean races. The tribals constitute
eight percent of the total population of India. Based on their
physical type and language, we can easily divide Indian people
into four broad classes. First, a majority of high class Hindus,
who live in North India and whose language is derived from Sanskrit.
Secondly, those who live in that part of India that is south
of the Vindhyas and whose languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
and Malayalam - are entirely different from Sanskrit. These
are known by the generic name of "Dravidians".
Thirdly, primitive tribes living in hills and jungles of India,
who as mentioned above constitute eight percent of the total
population in India. The Kols,Bhils and Mundas belong to this
class. Fourthly, there are a people with strong Mongolian features
inhabiting within India the slopes of the Himalayas and the
northeastern states. India's newly acquired status as a nuclear
power and a booming economy has thus brought under international
limelight. Its internal problems notwithstanding, India has
stepped into the new millennium with great confidence. India
therefore can be defined as a land where humanity has lived
since ages; where different religions, societies, cultures,
languages have interplayed with each other in harmony; a land
which has seen the best and the worst of everything; a land
where religion means more than their name. East or West India
is the best. |
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