Chess was first invented in India.
Hindi and English are the official languages of India.
India has never invaded another country.
In India you drive on the left hand side of the road.
India has more Post Offices than any other country.
India is the largest democratic country in the world.
The value of pi was first calculated by an Indian mathematician- Budhayana.
India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. However, there are still many people living in poverty. To help, please donate to Give India.
Cricket is the most popular sport in India. The Indian cricket team won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.
Christians make up just 2.3% of the population in India. 80.5% of Indians are Hindu.
Indian Railways is the largest employer in the world. Over a million people work for them!
The Indian Film Industry is the largest in the world- even bigger the Hollywood! Bollywood makes Hindi films.
Most Indians have their marriages arranged by parents and family members, with the consent of the bride and groom. India has a very low divorce rate.
About 50% of Indian women marry before reaching 18 years of age.
India has the 3rd largest military force in the world.
Friday, 5 August 2011
61 Interesting Facts About INDIA
India is about 1/3 the size of the United States, yet it is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of 1,166,079,217. India is the seventh largest country in the world, at 1.27 million square miles.g
India is the largest democracy in the world.i
The Kumbh Mela (or Grand Pitcher Festival) is a huge Hindu religious festival that takes place in India every 12 years. In 2001, 60 million people attended, breaking the record for the world’s biggest gathering. The mass of people was photographed from space by a satellite.c
Many Indians find toilet paper repellent and consider it cleaner to splash water with the left hand in the appropriate direction. Consequently, the left hand is considered unclean and is never used for eating.f
To avoid polluting the elements (fire, earth, water, air), followers of Zoroastrianism in India don’t bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called “Towers of Silence” for the vultures to pick clean. After the bones dry, they are swept into a central well.f
It is illegal for foreigners to import or export Indian currency (rupees)
It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.f
India leads the world with the most murders (32,719), with Russia taking second at 28,904 murders per year.j
India has one of the world’s highest rates of abortion.e
More than a million Indians are millionaires, yet most Indians live on less than two dollars a day. An estimated 35% of India’s population lives below the poverty line.l
Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of India’s cities. They are considered sacred and will often wear a tilak, a Hindu symbol of good fortune. Cows are considered one of humankind’s seven mothers because she offers milk as does one’s natural mother.k
Dancing is one of India’s most highly developed arts and was an integral part of worship in the inner shrines of every temple. It is notable for its expressive hand movements.f
Rabies is endemic in India. Additionally, “Delhi Belly” or diarrhea is commonplace due to contaminated drinking water.f
Many Indian wives will never say her husband’s name aloud, as it is a sign of disrespect. When addressing him, the wife will use several indirect references, such as “ji” or “look here” or “hello,” or even refer to him as the father of her child.f
A widow is considered bad luck—otherwise, her husband wouldn’t have died. Elderly women in the village might call a widow “the one who ate her husband.” In some orthodox families, widows are not allowed near newlyweds or welcomed at social gatherings.b
India is the birthplace of chess.l The original word for “chess” is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers.d
The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of color: saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace, and green for faith, fertility, and chivalry. An emblem of a wheel spinning used to be in the center of the white band, but when India gained independence, a Buddhist dharma chakra, or wheel of life, replaced the spinning wheel.m
Khajuraho’s exotic art may suggest that sex was a step for attaining ultimate liberation or moksha
The temples of Khajuraho are famous for their erotic sculptures and are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India. Scholars still debate the purpose of such explicit portrayals of sexual intercourse, which sometimes involves animals.a
The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call “woven winds.” Mogul emperors called the fabrics “morning dew” and “cloth of running water.”i
In ancient and medieval India, suttees, in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, were common.b
The Himalayas—from the Sanskrit hima, meaning “snow,” and alaya, meaning “abode”—are found in the north of India. They extend 1,500 miles and are slowly growing taller, by almost an inch (2.5 cm) a year. Several ancient Indian monasteries are found nestled in the grandeur of these mountains.m
India is the world’s largest producer of dried beans, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. It also leads the world in banana exports; Brazil is second.l
In India, the fold and color of clothing are viewed as important markers of social classification. Additionally, women will be viewed as either a prostitute or a holy person depending on the manner in which she parts her hair.k
With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world. However, it is not unusual for a letter to take two weeks to travel just 30 miles.f
In India, grasping one’s ears signifies repentance or sincerity.f
The Bengal tiger is India’s national animal. It was once ubiquitous throughout the country, but now there are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers left.m
Indians hold prominent places both internationally and in the United States. For example, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (Vinod Khosla), the creator of the Pentium chip (Vinod Dahm), the founder/creator of Hotmail (Sabeer Bhatia), and the GM of Hewlett-Packard (Rajiv Gupta) are all Indian.h
Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498.l
The British Raj, or British rule, lasted from 1858 to 1947 (although they had a strong presence in India since the 1700s). British influence is still seen in Indian architecture, education system, transportation, and politics. Many of India’s worst famines are associated with British rule in India.i
Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India.f
About 80% of Indians are Hindu. Muslims are the largest minority in India and form approximately 13% of the country’s population. In fact, India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan.i
India has the world’s largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the “City of Dreams”). The B in “Bollywood” comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are musicals.l
Mumbai (Bombay) is India’s largest city, with a population of 15 million. In 1661, British engineers built a causeway uniting all seven original islands of Bombay into a single landmass.l
Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is known around the world as Mahatma, which is an honorific title meaning “Great Soul” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He devoted his life to free India from British rule peacefully and based his campaign on civil disobedience. His birthday, October 2, is a national holiday. He was assassinated in 1948.m
The Lotus temple is one of the most visited temples in the world, with over 50 million visitors per year
The lotus is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The Bahá'í house of worship in Delhi, known as the “Lotus Temple,” is shaped like a lotus flower with 27 gigantic “petals” that are covered in marble.i
The banyan, or Indian fig tree, is considered a symbol of immortality and is mentioned in many Indian myths and legends. This self-renewing plant is India’s national tree.m
Marigold flowers are used as decoration for Hindu marriages and are a symbol of good fortune and happiness.i
The official name of India is the Republic of India. The name “India” derives from the River Indus, which most likely is derived from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning “river.” The official Sanskrit name of India is Bharat, after the legendary king in the epic Mahabharata.m
Introduced by the British, cricket is India’s most popular sport. Hockey is considered the national sport, and the Indian field hockey team proudly won Olympic gold in 1928.i
Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C. The concept of zero as a number is also attributed to India.m
The national fruit of India is the mango. The national bird is the peacock, which was initially bred for food.m
Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.b
Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.l
India’s pastoral communities are largely dependent on dairy and have made India the largest milk-producing country in the world.l
India has the world’s third largest road network at 1.9 million miles. It also has the world’s second largest rail network, which is the world’s largest civilian employer with 16 million workers.f
Though the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, bathing in the river is thought to wash away one’s sins
Rivers have played a vital role in India’s popular culture and folklore—they have been worshipped as goddesses because they bring water to an otherwise dry land. Bathing in the Ganges in particular is thought to take away a person’s sins. It is not unusual to spread a loved one’s ashes in the Ganges.f
Raziya Sultana (1205-1240) was the first woman leader of India. She was considered a great leader, though she ruled for only three years before being murdered.b
Most Indians rinse their hands, legs, and face before eating a meal. It is considered polite to eat with the right hand, and women eat after everyone is finished. Wasting food is considered a sin.i
During the Vedic era in India, horse sacrifice sanctioned the sovereignty of the king.a
It is traditional to wear white, not black, to a funeral in India. Widows will often wear white in contrast to the colorful clothes of married or single women.k
All of India is under a single time zone.g
On India’s Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan. The partition displaced 1.27 million people and resulted in the death of several hundred thousand to a million people.g
In recent years, Indian authors have made a mark on the world with such novels as Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988), Vikram Seth’s Suitable Boy (1993), and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997).i
India experiences six seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring, summer monsoon, and winter monsoon.m
India is the world’s largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage.f
According to legend, to prevent the builders from ever replicating the beauty of the Taj Mahal, their hands were cut off
The Taj Mahal (“crown palace”) was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631). This architectural beauty has been called “marbled embroidery” for its intricate workmanship. It took 22,000 workmen 22 years to complete it.m
The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, including Egypt and Mesopotamia.l
After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation.l
Alexander the Great invaded India partly because he wanted to solve the mystery of the “ocean,” which he had been told was a huge, continuous sea that flowed in a circle around the land. When he reached the Indian Ocean, he sacrificed some bulls to Poseidon for leading him to his goal.m
Greek sculpture strongly influenced many portrayals of Indian gods and goddess, particularly after the conquest of Alexander the Great around 330B.C. In fact, early Indian gods had Greek features and only later did distinct Indian styles emerge.m
Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.a
When the first independent prime minister of India, pacifist Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), was featured in Vogue, his distinctive close fitting, single-breasted jacket briefly became an important fashion statement for the Mod movement in the West. Named the Nehru jacket, the prime minister’s coat was popularized by the Beatles and worn by such famous people as Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990).
India is the largest democracy in the world.i
The Kumbh Mela (or Grand Pitcher Festival) is a huge Hindu religious festival that takes place in India every 12 years. In 2001, 60 million people attended, breaking the record for the world’s biggest gathering. The mass of people was photographed from space by a satellite.c
Many Indians find toilet paper repellent and consider it cleaner to splash water with the left hand in the appropriate direction. Consequently, the left hand is considered unclean and is never used for eating.f
To avoid polluting the elements (fire, earth, water, air), followers of Zoroastrianism in India don’t bury their dead, but instead leave bodies in buildings called “Towers of Silence” for the vultures to pick clean. After the bones dry, they are swept into a central well.f
It is illegal for foreigners to import or export Indian currency (rupees)
It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.f
India leads the world with the most murders (32,719), with Russia taking second at 28,904 murders per year.j
India has one of the world’s highest rates of abortion.e
More than a million Indians are millionaires, yet most Indians live on less than two dollars a day. An estimated 35% of India’s population lives below the poverty line.l
Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of India’s cities. They are considered sacred and will often wear a tilak, a Hindu symbol of good fortune. Cows are considered one of humankind’s seven mothers because she offers milk as does one’s natural mother.k
Dancing is one of India’s most highly developed arts and was an integral part of worship in the inner shrines of every temple. It is notable for its expressive hand movements.f
Rabies is endemic in India. Additionally, “Delhi Belly” or diarrhea is commonplace due to contaminated drinking water.f
Many Indian wives will never say her husband’s name aloud, as it is a sign of disrespect. When addressing him, the wife will use several indirect references, such as “ji” or “look here” or “hello,” or even refer to him as the father of her child.f
A widow is considered bad luck—otherwise, her husband wouldn’t have died. Elderly women in the village might call a widow “the one who ate her husband.” In some orthodox families, widows are not allowed near newlyweds or welcomed at social gatherings.b
India is the birthplace of chess.l The original word for “chess” is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers.d
The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of color: saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace, and green for faith, fertility, and chivalry. An emblem of a wheel spinning used to be in the center of the white band, but when India gained independence, a Buddhist dharma chakra, or wheel of life, replaced the spinning wheel.m
Khajuraho’s exotic art may suggest that sex was a step for attaining ultimate liberation or moksha
The temples of Khajuraho are famous for their erotic sculptures and are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India. Scholars still debate the purpose of such explicit portrayals of sexual intercourse, which sometimes involves animals.a
The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call “woven winds.” Mogul emperors called the fabrics “morning dew” and “cloth of running water.”i
In ancient and medieval India, suttees, in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, were common.b
The Himalayas—from the Sanskrit hima, meaning “snow,” and alaya, meaning “abode”—are found in the north of India. They extend 1,500 miles and are slowly growing taller, by almost an inch (2.5 cm) a year. Several ancient Indian monasteries are found nestled in the grandeur of these mountains.m
India is the world’s largest producer of dried beans, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. It also leads the world in banana exports; Brazil is second.l
In India, the fold and color of clothing are viewed as important markers of social classification. Additionally, women will be viewed as either a prostitute or a holy person depending on the manner in which she parts her hair.k
With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world. However, it is not unusual for a letter to take two weeks to travel just 30 miles.f
In India, grasping one’s ears signifies repentance or sincerity.f
The Bengal tiger is India’s national animal. It was once ubiquitous throughout the country, but now there are fewer than 4,000 wild tigers left.m
Indians hold prominent places both internationally and in the United States. For example, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (Vinod Khosla), the creator of the Pentium chip (Vinod Dahm), the founder/creator of Hotmail (Sabeer Bhatia), and the GM of Hewlett-Packard (Rajiv Gupta) are all Indian.h
Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 B.C.) was one of the first important figures to bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1460-1524) landed in Calicut, India, in 1498.l
The British Raj, or British rule, lasted from 1858 to 1947 (although they had a strong presence in India since the 1700s). British influence is still seen in Indian architecture, education system, transportation, and politics. Many of India’s worst famines are associated with British rule in India.i
Every major world religion is represented in India. Additionally, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism all originated in India.f
About 80% of Indians are Hindu. Muslims are the largest minority in India and form approximately 13% of the country’s population. In fact, India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan.i
India has the world’s largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the “City of Dreams”). The B in “Bollywood” comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are musicals.l
Mumbai (Bombay) is India’s largest city, with a population of 15 million. In 1661, British engineers built a causeway uniting all seven original islands of Bombay into a single landmass.l
Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is known around the world as Mahatma, which is an honorific title meaning “Great Soul” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He devoted his life to free India from British rule peacefully and based his campaign on civil disobedience. His birthday, October 2, is a national holiday. He was assassinated in 1948.m
The Lotus temple is one of the most visited temples in the world, with over 50 million visitors per year
The lotus is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. The Bahá'í house of worship in Delhi, known as the “Lotus Temple,” is shaped like a lotus flower with 27 gigantic “petals” that are covered in marble.i
The banyan, or Indian fig tree, is considered a symbol of immortality and is mentioned in many Indian myths and legends. This self-renewing plant is India’s national tree.m
Marigold flowers are used as decoration for Hindu marriages and are a symbol of good fortune and happiness.i
The official name of India is the Republic of India. The name “India” derives from the River Indus, which most likely is derived from the Sanskrit sindhu, meaning “river.” The official Sanskrit name of India is Bharat, after the legendary king in the epic Mahabharata.m
Introduced by the British, cricket is India’s most popular sport. Hockey is considered the national sport, and the Indian field hockey team proudly won Olympic gold in 1928.i
Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C. The concept of zero as a number is also attributed to India.m
The national fruit of India is the mango. The national bird is the peacock, which was initially bred for food.m
Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.b
Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.l
India’s pastoral communities are largely dependent on dairy and have made India the largest milk-producing country in the world.l
India has the world’s third largest road network at 1.9 million miles. It also has the world’s second largest rail network, which is the world’s largest civilian employer with 16 million workers.f
Though the Ganges is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, bathing in the river is thought to wash away one’s sins
Rivers have played a vital role in India’s popular culture and folklore—they have been worshipped as goddesses because they bring water to an otherwise dry land. Bathing in the Ganges in particular is thought to take away a person’s sins. It is not unusual to spread a loved one’s ashes in the Ganges.f
Raziya Sultana (1205-1240) was the first woman leader of India. She was considered a great leader, though she ruled for only three years before being murdered.b
Most Indians rinse their hands, legs, and face before eating a meal. It is considered polite to eat with the right hand, and women eat after everyone is finished. Wasting food is considered a sin.i
During the Vedic era in India, horse sacrifice sanctioned the sovereignty of the king.a
It is traditional to wear white, not black, to a funeral in India. Widows will often wear white in contrast to the colorful clothes of married or single women.k
All of India is under a single time zone.g
On India’s Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan. The partition displaced 1.27 million people and resulted in the death of several hundred thousand to a million people.g
In recent years, Indian authors have made a mark on the world with such novels as Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988), Vikram Seth’s Suitable Boy (1993), and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997).i
India experiences six seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring, summer monsoon, and winter monsoon.m
India is the world’s largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage.f
According to legend, to prevent the builders from ever replicating the beauty of the Taj Mahal, their hands were cut off
The Taj Mahal (“crown palace”) was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631). This architectural beauty has been called “marbled embroidery” for its intricate workmanship. It took 22,000 workmen 22 years to complete it.m
The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, including Egypt and Mesopotamia.l
After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation.l
Alexander the Great invaded India partly because he wanted to solve the mystery of the “ocean,” which he had been told was a huge, continuous sea that flowed in a circle around the land. When he reached the Indian Ocean, he sacrificed some bulls to Poseidon for leading him to his goal.m
Greek sculpture strongly influenced many portrayals of Indian gods and goddess, particularly after the conquest of Alexander the Great around 330B.C. In fact, early Indian gods had Greek features and only later did distinct Indian styles emerge.m
Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.a
When the first independent prime minister of India, pacifist Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), was featured in Vogue, his distinctive close fitting, single-breasted jacket briefly became an important fashion statement for the Mod movement in the West. Named the Nehru jacket, the prime minister’s coat was popularized by the Beatles and worn by such famous people as Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990).
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Travel Quotes
“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” – Michael Palin
“I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.” – Caskie Stinnett
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” – Fitzhugh Mullan
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.” – Bumper sticker
“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.” – Mohammed
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu
“You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” – Daranna Gidel
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac
“There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” – Charles Dudley Warner
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien
“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley
“People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” – Dagobert D. Runes
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G. K. Chesterton
“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi
“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling
“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux
“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman
“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G.K. Chesterton
“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” – Buddha
“I should like to spend the whole of my life in traveling abroad, if I could anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home.” – William Hazlitt
“A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place. A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse… and thinks of home.” – Carl Burns
“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.”
– Frank Herbert
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller
“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville
“People don’t take trips – trips take people.” – John Steinbeck
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
“If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” – Yogi Berra
“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain
“Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” – Chinese Proverb
“The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes “sight-seeing.” – Daniel J. Boorstin
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” – Charles Kuralt
“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy
“It is not fit that every man should travel; it makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.” – William Hazlitt
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.” – Douglas Adams
“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” – William Least Heat Moon
“The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbor.” – Unknown
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
“I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” – Bill Bryson
“I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.” – Caskie Stinnett
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” – Fitzhugh Mullan
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.” – Bumper sticker
“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.” – Mohammed
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu
“You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” – Daranna Gidel
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac
“There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” – Charles Dudley Warner
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien
“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley
“People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” – Dagobert D. Runes
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G. K. Chesterton
“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi
“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling
“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux
“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman
“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G.K. Chesterton
“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” – Buddha
“I should like to spend the whole of my life in traveling abroad, if I could anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home.” – William Hazlitt
“A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place. A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse… and thinks of home.” – Carl Burns
“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.”
– Frank Herbert
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller
“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville
“People don’t take trips – trips take people.” – John Steinbeck
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
“If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” – Yogi Berra
“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain
“Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” – Chinese Proverb
“The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes “sight-seeing.” – Daniel J. Boorstin
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” – Charles Kuralt
“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy
“It is not fit that every man should travel; it makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.” – William Hazlitt
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.” – Douglas Adams
“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” – William Least Heat Moon
“The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbor.” – Unknown
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
“I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” – Bill Bryson
Traditions & Customs in India
Every country has its own customs and traditions. While it is considered good manners to leave a little bit of your drink in certain regions of the world, in others you could end up offending the host with such a gesture. India is no different. Interestingly, while certain traditions will work in one part of the country they could lead to an unpleasant incident in the other.
If backpacking through this geographically and culturally diverse country, it will help to know a little more than just the art of reading the map. Of course the more common customs that are prevalent round the world also find a place here. So going to holy places with alcohol on your breath is not highly recommended, neither is propositioning a lady.
Below are some customs that should help to prevent you from offending anyone while you travel around India
Religious sentiments
In India almost anything can be holy. So right from a cow to a river, anything could have religious value. Even a small stone on the side of a road could be a camouflaged God and a simple tree could be worshiped too. So watch carefully before you tread on any of these.
If you find a few flowers, some red or orange threads tied around or even a black or red anoint, do inquire if the place has religious significance. You do not want to hurt any religious feelings while on your holiday. And when it comes to India almost everyone is of a religious bent of mind, so caution is highly advised on this front.
Greetings
A ‘Namaste’ with folded hands does just fine all over the country, however if you decide to shake hands instead, maintain a little caution when doing so with the opposite sex. While the larger metropolitan cities are usually not a problem, you could raise an eyebrow if visiting the interiors of India. A man trying to shake a lady’s hand could be seen as overstepping of boundaries, while a lady doing the same to a man could end up sending out a sexual signal. Sticking to a ‘hello’ with a nod of the head is a safer option as compared to shaking hands, unless the other person puts the arm out first.
Religious Places
Unlike the West where churches are more common and shoes are allowed in religious places, India follows different norms.
You cannot enter a Hindu temple with shoes on.
Women are not allowed to enter a Muslim place of prayer.
All Sikh religious places will require you to keep your head covered
apart from taking your shoes off.
The holy flowers cannot be thrown anywhere apart from the designated places.
Non- vegetarian food is not permissible in most religious places, while you may find a few exceptions in temples of Rajasthan where the practice of animal sacrifice is still undertaken.
Keep these tips in mind; since there is no missing the religious spots when in India, almost every corner has one.
Clothes
India is a conservative country and while it is true that the larger cities do see a lot of flamboyant dressing, in the interiors this could call for unnecessary attention. So rather than a pair of shorts, it would be better to stick with cargos and avoid show of skin especially for woman. You will be able to find a lot of traditional clothes that are easy to wear and yet allow you to blend in with the locals.
Food
To enjoy what you eat you should make sure that your food is low on spice, since Indian food on an average is very spicy and can upset your stomach and holiday for several days. But apart from this there are certain other customs that you must know about.
In most of the southern region of India, serving food on a banana leaf is common courtesy.
Rarely will you be offered cutlery in the smaller hotels of the towns.
Leaving a 10% tip is enough right from the big hotels to the small shacks, but if you do not wish to do so, you will not be offending anyone.
Refusing holy food can be a problem, so watch for that. In case you don’t want to eat the ‘Prasad’, simply keep it with you instead of refusing to take it.
Marriages
There are various types of wedding in India and while in some places simply putting on bangles on a girl’s wrist is considered a proposal, in others an exchange of flower garlands between the couple is enough. So be careful before you undertake any such activity. Applying vermilion powder in a girl’s hair (parting) is also on the same lines and will declare you wedded to the woman.
The diversity that India has to offer makes it the ideal holiday destination for the adventure traveler. However, a holiday that is marred with unpleasant incidences is no ones idea of fun. So work with the tips listed above and you will be surprised how quickly the people here open their hearts and homes to guests. After all there is an age old Indian saying that goes ‘athithi devo bhava’ meaning the guest is equal to god.
If backpacking through this geographically and culturally diverse country, it will help to know a little more than just the art of reading the map. Of course the more common customs that are prevalent round the world also find a place here. So going to holy places with alcohol on your breath is not highly recommended, neither is propositioning a lady.
Below are some customs that should help to prevent you from offending anyone while you travel around India
Religious sentiments
In India almost anything can be holy. So right from a cow to a river, anything could have religious value. Even a small stone on the side of a road could be a camouflaged God and a simple tree could be worshiped too. So watch carefully before you tread on any of these.
If you find a few flowers, some red or orange threads tied around or even a black or red anoint, do inquire if the place has religious significance. You do not want to hurt any religious feelings while on your holiday. And when it comes to India almost everyone is of a religious bent of mind, so caution is highly advised on this front.
Greetings
A ‘Namaste’ with folded hands does just fine all over the country, however if you decide to shake hands instead, maintain a little caution when doing so with the opposite sex. While the larger metropolitan cities are usually not a problem, you could raise an eyebrow if visiting the interiors of India. A man trying to shake a lady’s hand could be seen as overstepping of boundaries, while a lady doing the same to a man could end up sending out a sexual signal. Sticking to a ‘hello’ with a nod of the head is a safer option as compared to shaking hands, unless the other person puts the arm out first.
Religious Places
Unlike the West where churches are more common and shoes are allowed in religious places, India follows different norms.
You cannot enter a Hindu temple with shoes on.
Women are not allowed to enter a Muslim place of prayer.
All Sikh religious places will require you to keep your head covered
apart from taking your shoes off.
The holy flowers cannot be thrown anywhere apart from the designated places.
Non- vegetarian food is not permissible in most religious places, while you may find a few exceptions in temples of Rajasthan where the practice of animal sacrifice is still undertaken.
Keep these tips in mind; since there is no missing the religious spots when in India, almost every corner has one.
Clothes
India is a conservative country and while it is true that the larger cities do see a lot of flamboyant dressing, in the interiors this could call for unnecessary attention. So rather than a pair of shorts, it would be better to stick with cargos and avoid show of skin especially for woman. You will be able to find a lot of traditional clothes that are easy to wear and yet allow you to blend in with the locals.
Food
To enjoy what you eat you should make sure that your food is low on spice, since Indian food on an average is very spicy and can upset your stomach and holiday for several days. But apart from this there are certain other customs that you must know about.
In most of the southern region of India, serving food on a banana leaf is common courtesy.
Rarely will you be offered cutlery in the smaller hotels of the towns.
Leaving a 10% tip is enough right from the big hotels to the small shacks, but if you do not wish to do so, you will not be offending anyone.
Refusing holy food can be a problem, so watch for that. In case you don’t want to eat the ‘Prasad’, simply keep it with you instead of refusing to take it.
Marriages
There are various types of wedding in India and while in some places simply putting on bangles on a girl’s wrist is considered a proposal, in others an exchange of flower garlands between the couple is enough. So be careful before you undertake any such activity. Applying vermilion powder in a girl’s hair (parting) is also on the same lines and will declare you wedded to the woman.
The diversity that India has to offer makes it the ideal holiday destination for the adventure traveler. However, a holiday that is marred with unpleasant incidences is no ones idea of fun. So work with the tips listed above and you will be surprised how quickly the people here open their hearts and homes to guests. After all there is an age old Indian saying that goes ‘athithi devo bhava’ meaning the guest is equal to god.
Festivals in India
Seen as the land of endless mystics, India is high on the list of the adventure traveler. Offering untouched mountains, awesome rivers, lovely beaches and landforms that range from the peaks of the Himalayas to the flat Deccan Plateau, India is a dream come true for backpackers, who live to explore. Winter is a great time to visit the warmer southern regions, while summers can bring alive the mountains of Uttrakhand and Kashmir. But apart from the weather, you should plan your travel keeping in mind the festivities that the nation offers from time to time.
Just like its topography, India is rather diverse in its people too. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and many other ethnicities thrive here. This is why the country offers a large array of seemingly never ending festivals. In fact they say that if the nation declared a holiday for every festival that the people celebrate here, the entire year would be long vacation. However, there are certain festivals that are celebrated with great élan while others not so much. Visiting the country during these periods allows an insight into the age old belief system of the people here, their traditions and how they honor their Gods.
Diwali/Dipawali
This ‘festival of lights’ celebrates the home coming of Lord Rama after killing the evil Ravana. Celebrated in the evening and often compared to the Christmas of the West, Diwali sees everything right from colorful lights, ghee diyas, discounts at stores, lavish Indian sweets and also crackers that can be heard till the wee hours of next morning. The festivities that Diwali brings along engulf the entire nation, though the northern parts of the country seem to celebrate it with more pomp and show. Laxmi the goddess of wealth is worshipped on this day and people keep the doors of their homes open for her to walk in. The festival does not fall on the same date every year but is usually known to be sometime in the months of October/November and is considered to herald the coming of winters.
Ganesh Chaturthi
Another very important Hindu festival, this one is celebrated with great gusto, especially in the states of Maharashtra. The festival lasts for a total of 10 days, of which the last day sees the most action, since the idol of Lord Ganesha, the God with an elephant head, is immersed in the sea on this day. Huge processions are carried out on the 10th day with song, dance and color forming an integral part of the immersion ceremony. The festival is celebrated during the last few days of august and the early ones of September. Traveling to Maharashtra during this time will allow you to see the people here dressed in their traditions costumes and taste sweets that are peculiar to this festival.
Holi
Here the focus shifts since this one is a ‘festival of colors’ and celebrates the end of Hiranyakaship by Lord Vishnu. People throw colored water and dry color known as ‘gulal’ on each other and play holi during the first half of the day. The festival is very popular in the state of Gujarat while the in the regions of Mathura, Virndavan and Banaras it has almost cult status and is celebrated for a total of 16 days. Apart from color, the milk and weed based drink called ‘thandai’ and a sweet called ‘gujia’ is another peculiar feature of this Hindu festival. The festival is celebrated sometime during the month of March/February and heralds the coming of summer. Highly recommended for those with a zest for life and games.
Onam
A very important festival of southern India, this one is best celebrated in the state of Kerala. If you visit during this period, apart from the lovely clean backwaters, you can also get to enjoy 10 days of festivities that herald the harvest season of this region. The snake boat race is a huge attraction of this festival, which basically celebrates the return of King Mahabali after several years of exile. The performances of the various traditional dance forms like Kathkali and Kaikottikkali can liven up the evenings of Onam while the flower ‘rangolis’ are not to be missed at all. The festival occurs sometime in August/September, which is a good time to visit this region even in terms of the weather.
Pongal
Yet another significant festival of the southern region of India, this Hindu festival lasts for three days and celebrates the harvest season too. Indra the God of Rain is offered a sweet dish made of milk, jaggery and rice, which is later consumed by the devotees too. The cattle race held on the third day are fascinating beyond compare and can put any matador to shame. The ‘kolams’ (rangolis) in this festival are made of powdered color as opposed to flowers. The festival follows the sun calendar and is celebrated from the 13th to the 15th of January.
Pushkar Mela
Annually held on the banks of the Pushkar lake of Rajasthan, this fair is not one to be missed by anyone traveling to this region. Held sometime during the winter months of November/ December, it is the ideal time to travel to this region of India. The cricket match between the locals and the tourists is highly entertaining as are the various competitions held during the fair.
Durga Puja/Dusherra
This festival celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana and thus emphasizing that good shall always rein over evil. Ramlila is a huge part of this festival with the entire saga of the Ramayana being enacted which ends with the large figures of Ravana, Meghnath and Khumbhkaran being set afire. In Bengal the festival is known as ‘pujo’ and celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga killing the demon. The festival ends here with the emersion of Goddess Durga’s idol in the sea. The festival falls exactly 20 days prior to Diwali and is a must see especially in the city of Kolkata.
Kumbh Mela
Hosted by the cities of Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain and Nasik, this Hindu pilgrimage is known as the largest gathering of humans on this planet. The festival is held every 12 years and was celebrated in January 2007. The holy dip in the Ganges is the highlight of this festival that sees devotees from all over the globe. A backpacker’s delight, this festival allows one to see the mystic sadhus and the chanting fakirs of India, all collect at one spot. (An Ardh Kumbh Mela is held in Haridwar and Allahabad every 6 years too, though it is not as grand as the one held every 12 years.)
Hemis
This one allow tourists a glimpse into the culture and customs of the people of this region. Celebrated as the birthday of Guru Padmasambhava, this festival involves several ceremonies and processions. The mask dances of the Buddhist monks during this festival are designed to drive away all evil. Falling sometime in the month of June and July, this festival is at a time when the weather of the region is also ideal for backpacking.
Feast of Three Kings
Goa is a not to be missed destination of India and has some great Portugal culture to offer apart from the fantastic beaches. Celebrated by Hindus and Catholics with equal energy, the Feast of Three Kings worships the Lady of the Mount. The festival is great time to visit Goa since one can get to see the awesome processions with lovely Goan music and some authentic dressing. Celebrated on the 9th of January, this is the perfect time to visit this lovely port of India.
The diversity of the Indian sub continent in terms of its landforms, its people and also the technological development is fascinating beyond belief. To experience the flavor of this lovely country, it is best to backpack through the nation, rather than simply see it with colored glasses from a seven star hotel window.
Just like its topography, India is rather diverse in its people too. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and many other ethnicities thrive here. This is why the country offers a large array of seemingly never ending festivals. In fact they say that if the nation declared a holiday for every festival that the people celebrate here, the entire year would be long vacation. However, there are certain festivals that are celebrated with great élan while others not so much. Visiting the country during these periods allows an insight into the age old belief system of the people here, their traditions and how they honor their Gods.
Diwali/Dipawali
This ‘festival of lights’ celebrates the home coming of Lord Rama after killing the evil Ravana. Celebrated in the evening and often compared to the Christmas of the West, Diwali sees everything right from colorful lights, ghee diyas, discounts at stores, lavish Indian sweets and also crackers that can be heard till the wee hours of next morning. The festivities that Diwali brings along engulf the entire nation, though the northern parts of the country seem to celebrate it with more pomp and show. Laxmi the goddess of wealth is worshipped on this day and people keep the doors of their homes open for her to walk in. The festival does not fall on the same date every year but is usually known to be sometime in the months of October/November and is considered to herald the coming of winters.
Ganesh Chaturthi
Another very important Hindu festival, this one is celebrated with great gusto, especially in the states of Maharashtra. The festival lasts for a total of 10 days, of which the last day sees the most action, since the idol of Lord Ganesha, the God with an elephant head, is immersed in the sea on this day. Huge processions are carried out on the 10th day with song, dance and color forming an integral part of the immersion ceremony. The festival is celebrated during the last few days of august and the early ones of September. Traveling to Maharashtra during this time will allow you to see the people here dressed in their traditions costumes and taste sweets that are peculiar to this festival.
Holi
Here the focus shifts since this one is a ‘festival of colors’ and celebrates the end of Hiranyakaship by Lord Vishnu. People throw colored water and dry color known as ‘gulal’ on each other and play holi during the first half of the day. The festival is very popular in the state of Gujarat while the in the regions of Mathura, Virndavan and Banaras it has almost cult status and is celebrated for a total of 16 days. Apart from color, the milk and weed based drink called ‘thandai’ and a sweet called ‘gujia’ is another peculiar feature of this Hindu festival. The festival is celebrated sometime during the month of March/February and heralds the coming of summer. Highly recommended for those with a zest for life and games.
Onam
A very important festival of southern India, this one is best celebrated in the state of Kerala. If you visit during this period, apart from the lovely clean backwaters, you can also get to enjoy 10 days of festivities that herald the harvest season of this region. The snake boat race is a huge attraction of this festival, which basically celebrates the return of King Mahabali after several years of exile. The performances of the various traditional dance forms like Kathkali and Kaikottikkali can liven up the evenings of Onam while the flower ‘rangolis’ are not to be missed at all. The festival occurs sometime in August/September, which is a good time to visit this region even in terms of the weather.
Pongal
Yet another significant festival of the southern region of India, this Hindu festival lasts for three days and celebrates the harvest season too. Indra the God of Rain is offered a sweet dish made of milk, jaggery and rice, which is later consumed by the devotees too. The cattle race held on the third day are fascinating beyond compare and can put any matador to shame. The ‘kolams’ (rangolis) in this festival are made of powdered color as opposed to flowers. The festival follows the sun calendar and is celebrated from the 13th to the 15th of January.
Pushkar Mela
Annually held on the banks of the Pushkar lake of Rajasthan, this fair is not one to be missed by anyone traveling to this region. Held sometime during the winter months of November/ December, it is the ideal time to travel to this region of India. The cricket match between the locals and the tourists is highly entertaining as are the various competitions held during the fair.
Durga Puja/Dusherra
This festival celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana and thus emphasizing that good shall always rein over evil. Ramlila is a huge part of this festival with the entire saga of the Ramayana being enacted which ends with the large figures of Ravana, Meghnath and Khumbhkaran being set afire. In Bengal the festival is known as ‘pujo’ and celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga killing the demon. The festival ends here with the emersion of Goddess Durga’s idol in the sea. The festival falls exactly 20 days prior to Diwali and is a must see especially in the city of Kolkata.
Kumbh Mela
Hosted by the cities of Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain and Nasik, this Hindu pilgrimage is known as the largest gathering of humans on this planet. The festival is held every 12 years and was celebrated in January 2007. The holy dip in the Ganges is the highlight of this festival that sees devotees from all over the globe. A backpacker’s delight, this festival allows one to see the mystic sadhus and the chanting fakirs of India, all collect at one spot. (An Ardh Kumbh Mela is held in Haridwar and Allahabad every 6 years too, though it is not as grand as the one held every 12 years.)
Hemis
This one allow tourists a glimpse into the culture and customs of the people of this region. Celebrated as the birthday of Guru Padmasambhava, this festival involves several ceremonies and processions. The mask dances of the Buddhist monks during this festival are designed to drive away all evil. Falling sometime in the month of June and July, this festival is at a time when the weather of the region is also ideal for backpacking.
Feast of Three Kings
Goa is a not to be missed destination of India and has some great Portugal culture to offer apart from the fantastic beaches. Celebrated by Hindus and Catholics with equal energy, the Feast of Three Kings worships the Lady of the Mount. The festival is great time to visit Goa since one can get to see the awesome processions with lovely Goan music and some authentic dressing. Celebrated on the 9th of January, this is the perfect time to visit this lovely port of India.
The diversity of the Indian sub continent in terms of its landforms, its people and also the technological development is fascinating beyond belief. To experience the flavor of this lovely country, it is best to backpack through the nation, rather than simply see it with colored glasses from a seven star hotel window.
You Should Not Miss while in INDIA
1 Hampi/Vijayanagar • Deserted capital of the last great Hindu empire, scattered over a bizarre landscape of giant golden-brown boulders.
2 Taj Mahal • Simply the world's greatest building: Shah Jahan's monument to love fully lives up to all expectations.
3 Palolem • Exquisite crescent-shaped beach in Goa's relaxed south, famous for its dolphins and local alcoholic spirit, feni.
4 Bandhavgarh National Park • Deep in the eastern tracts of Madhya Pradesh, this park is rich in animal and birdlife, including tigers and leopards.
5 Meherangarh Fort, Jodhpur • The epitome of Rajput power and extravagance, its ramparts towering above a labyrinthine, blue-painted old city.
6 Kaziranga National Park • Take a dawn elephant ride as the mists slowly lift: sightings of the one-horned rhino, symbol of Assam, are virtually guaranteed.
7 Varanasi • City of Light, founded by Shiva, where the bathing ghats beside the Ganges teem with pilgrims.
8 Kathakali • Kerala is the place to experience Kathakali and other esoteric ritual theatre forms.
9 Amritsar • Site of the fabled Golden Temple, the Sikhs' holiest shrine.
10 Mysore market • Jaggery, incense and garlands are made and veggies and kitsch paraphernalia are sold in Mysore's covered market.
11 Dharamsala • Perched on the edge of the Himalayas, this is the home of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism in exile.
12 Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur • Asia's most famous bird reserve, where millions of migrants nest each winter. The perfect antidote to the frenzy and pollution of nearby Agra and Jaipur.
13 Gokarna • The beautiful beaches on the edge of this temple town are popular with budget travellers fleeing the commercialism of nearby Goa.
14 Madurai • The definitive South Indian city, centred on a spectacular medieval temple.
15 Khajuraho • Immaculately preserved temples renowned for their uncompromisingly erotic carvings.
16 Ajanta caves • Extraordinarily beautiful murals, dating from 200 BC to 650 AD, adorn the walls of caves chiselled into basalt cliffs.
17 Zanskar • A barren moonscape with extraordinary scenery and challenging trails over the high passes.
18 Camel trekking in the Thar • A wonderfully romantic if utterly touristy way to experience the Great Indian Desert. Most visitors trek out of Jaisalmer, but Bikaner offers more variety.
19 Jaisalmer • A honey-coloured citadel, emerging from the sands of the Thar Desert.
20 Kochi • Kochi's atmospheric harbourside is strung with elegant Chinese fishing nets.
21 Fatehpur Sikri • The Moghul emperor Akbar's elegant palace complex now lies deserted on a ridge near Agra, but remains one of India's architectural masterpieces.
22 Pushkar camel mela • November sees the largest livestock market on earth, where 200,000 Rajasthani herders in traditional costume converge on the desert oasis of Pushkar to trade and bathe in the sacred lake.
23 Orchha • This semi-ruined former capital of the Bundela Rajas is an architectural gem, rising up through the surrounding jungle.
24 Manali– Leh Highway • India's epic Himalayan road trip, along the second-highest road in the world.
25 Konark • A colossal thirteenth-century temple, buried under sand until its rediscovery by the British.
26 Mamallapuram • A fishing and stone-carving village, with magnificent boulder friezes, shrines and the sea-battered Shore Temple.
27 Udaipur • Arguably the most romantic city in India, with ornate Rajput palaces floating in the middle of two shimmering lakes.
28 Varkala • This pleasantly low-key Keralan resort boasts sheer red cliffs, amazing sea views and a legion of Ayurvedic masseurs.
29 Ellora caves • Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves, and the colossal Hindu Kailash temple, carved from a spectacular volcanic ridge at the heart of the Deccan plateau.
30 Gangotri • An atmospheric village on the Ganges that serves as a base for the trek into the heart of the Hindu faith – Gomukh, the source of the Ganges.
2 Taj Mahal • Simply the world's greatest building: Shah Jahan's monument to love fully lives up to all expectations.
3 Palolem • Exquisite crescent-shaped beach in Goa's relaxed south, famous for its dolphins and local alcoholic spirit, feni.
4 Bandhavgarh National Park • Deep in the eastern tracts of Madhya Pradesh, this park is rich in animal and birdlife, including tigers and leopards.
5 Meherangarh Fort, Jodhpur • The epitome of Rajput power and extravagance, its ramparts towering above a labyrinthine, blue-painted old city.
6 Kaziranga National Park • Take a dawn elephant ride as the mists slowly lift: sightings of the one-horned rhino, symbol of Assam, are virtually guaranteed.
7 Varanasi • City of Light, founded by Shiva, where the bathing ghats beside the Ganges teem with pilgrims.
8 Kathakali • Kerala is the place to experience Kathakali and other esoteric ritual theatre forms.
9 Amritsar • Site of the fabled Golden Temple, the Sikhs' holiest shrine.
10 Mysore market • Jaggery, incense and garlands are made and veggies and kitsch paraphernalia are sold in Mysore's covered market.
11 Dharamsala • Perched on the edge of the Himalayas, this is the home of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism in exile.
12 Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur • Asia's most famous bird reserve, where millions of migrants nest each winter. The perfect antidote to the frenzy and pollution of nearby Agra and Jaipur.
13 Gokarna • The beautiful beaches on the edge of this temple town are popular with budget travellers fleeing the commercialism of nearby Goa.
14 Madurai • The definitive South Indian city, centred on a spectacular medieval temple.
15 Khajuraho • Immaculately preserved temples renowned for their uncompromisingly erotic carvings.
16 Ajanta caves • Extraordinarily beautiful murals, dating from 200 BC to 650 AD, adorn the walls of caves chiselled into basalt cliffs.
17 Zanskar • A barren moonscape with extraordinary scenery and challenging trails over the high passes.
18 Camel trekking in the Thar • A wonderfully romantic if utterly touristy way to experience the Great Indian Desert. Most visitors trek out of Jaisalmer, but Bikaner offers more variety.
19 Jaisalmer • A honey-coloured citadel, emerging from the sands of the Thar Desert.
20 Kochi • Kochi's atmospheric harbourside is strung with elegant Chinese fishing nets.
21 Fatehpur Sikri • The Moghul emperor Akbar's elegant palace complex now lies deserted on a ridge near Agra, but remains one of India's architectural masterpieces.
22 Pushkar camel mela • November sees the largest livestock market on earth, where 200,000 Rajasthani herders in traditional costume converge on the desert oasis of Pushkar to trade and bathe in the sacred lake.
23 Orchha • This semi-ruined former capital of the Bundela Rajas is an architectural gem, rising up through the surrounding jungle.
24 Manali– Leh Highway • India's epic Himalayan road trip, along the second-highest road in the world.
25 Konark • A colossal thirteenth-century temple, buried under sand until its rediscovery by the British.
26 Mamallapuram • A fishing and stone-carving village, with magnificent boulder friezes, shrines and the sea-battered Shore Temple.
27 Udaipur • Arguably the most romantic city in India, with ornate Rajput palaces floating in the middle of two shimmering lakes.
28 Varkala • This pleasantly low-key Keralan resort boasts sheer red cliffs, amazing sea views and a legion of Ayurvedic masseurs.
29 Ellora caves • Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves, and the colossal Hindu Kailash temple, carved from a spectacular volcanic ridge at the heart of the Deccan plateau.
30 Gangotri • An atmospheric village on the Ganges that serves as a base for the trek into the heart of the Hindu faith – Gomukh, the source of the Ganges.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO IN INDIA
1- Taj Mahal is one of the world’s greatest buildings. You shouldn’t miss it.
2- Madurai is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. It is also known as the temple city because of its many temple complexes. You should see Madurai.
3- If you like beach, Goa is a must. Stay at Bagha beach and drink, eat and enjoy your day!.
4- If you're visiting around in winter time visit Gangtok, check out the frozen lake, and travel up to the China Border too. The place has great monasteries also.
5- India is famous with its festivals and you can catch a festival during your stay no matter which season you visit.
6- Ruins of the city of victory “Vijayanagar” better known as “Hampi” is worth to visit.
7- You can enjoy boating on the backwaters of Kerala through the lush tropical waterways of India’s Deep South.
8- If you like to see magnificent boulder friezes, shrines and the sea battered Shore Temple, Mamallapuram is the best fishing and stone carving village to visit.
9- Camel trekking at the Great Indian Desert can be very romantic touristic experience or ride an elephant bareback, Jaipur has plenty.
10- Amritsar is a city in the Punjab, in northwest India. It is a holy place for members of the Sikh religion, and worth visiting for its famous Golden Temple.
2- Madurai is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. It is also known as the temple city because of its many temple complexes. You should see Madurai.
3- If you like beach, Goa is a must. Stay at Bagha beach and drink, eat and enjoy your day!.
4- If you're visiting around in winter time visit Gangtok, check out the frozen lake, and travel up to the China Border too. The place has great monasteries also.
5- India is famous with its festivals and you can catch a festival during your stay no matter which season you visit.
6- Ruins of the city of victory “Vijayanagar” better known as “Hampi” is worth to visit.
7- You can enjoy boating on the backwaters of Kerala through the lush tropical waterways of India’s Deep South.
8- If you like to see magnificent boulder friezes, shrines and the sea battered Shore Temple, Mamallapuram is the best fishing and stone carving village to visit.
9- Camel trekking at the Great Indian Desert can be very romantic touristic experience or ride an elephant bareback, Jaipur has plenty.
10- Amritsar is a city in the Punjab, in northwest India. It is a holy place for members of the Sikh religion, and worth visiting for its famous Golden Temple.
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