India – A Land of Wonders

India, a land of wonders is often mistaken as a continent because of its varied characteristics. A vast country, India boasts of an old history that goes back to five thousand years. India’s huge geographical diversity, rich cultural heritage, colourful fairs and festivals, forts and monumental attractions, lofty hills and serene beaches, small and big rivers enhance its beauty many folds. Above all, India shows a unique feature of UNITY IN DIVERSITY. All over India you find people of different caste and creed, but they are unified with each other with a string of brotherhood. In fact, each and every part of India has its own distinct charm and offers a lot of things for visitors. Below I am providing a glimpse of India, hope after going through it you could better understand the country.

Geography :

World’s seventh largest country, India has a total land area of 3,287,263 square kms. India lies in South Asia and shares boundaries with countries namely Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh. To the north, the Great Himalayan range stands as an impregnable wall, whereas its foothill valleys cover the northernmost part of the country. Further in the south, plateaus, tropical rain forests and sandy deserts are flanked by palm fringed beaches. Cape Cormin constitutes the southern tip of the mainland Indian peninsula, which narrows before ending in the Indian Ocean. The southernmost part of India is Indira point in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

Climate :

India has a sub-tropical climate, that varies from one region to another region. As the Tropic of Cancer passes through this country, the country is basically hot and humid. Summer, Monsoon, Winter and Spring are four main seasons of India. November to February is winter season, February – March is Spring season, April to June is Summer season, July to October is rainy season.

Popular States and Cities :

Politically India has been divided into 28 states and 7 union territories. India has five metropolitan cities namely - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. Apart from these, India has several big cities such as Hydearbad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Agra, Jaipur, Patna, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Pune, Thiruvananathapuram, Ahmedabad and many more. All the major cities and small towns of India are home to a number of attractions which attract tourists from far and wide.

People and Culture :

Noted as home to the famous Indus Valley civilization and many other civilizations, India has a population of over 1 billion. People of India follow varied religion and their local traditions vary as well. Majority of the India people follow Hinduism, other major religions followed by Indians are Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity etc. Hindi is the national language of India, people also speak Urdu, English and regional languages like Bengali, Matathi, Gujarati, Punjabi etc. Indian culture has been marked by a high degree of cultural pluralism. From time immemorial, India has managed to preserve its established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants. Even today, Indian cultural practices, languages, customs, traditions, forts and monuments are examples of this co-mingling over centuries.

Fairs and Festivals :

India is home to various religious sects, who celebrate various festivals throughout the year. Fairs and festivals of India provide a glimpse of country’s centuries old culture and traditions. Most remarkable feature of the India festivals is that all people irrespective of their caste and creed, take part in almost all festivals. Some of the popular festivals are Holi, Eid, Baisakhi, Desert Festival, Onam, Pongal, Buddha Purnima, Dusshera, Diwali and Christmas.

Pilgrimage :

Pilgrimage is one of the most important aspect of Indian people’s life. As India is home to people of various religions, so they have their own pilgrimage destinations. For Hindus Chardham is the most sacred place, which include Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. Muslims go to Dargah of the sufi saints, some noted dargahs of safi saints are Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Dargah (Ajmer), Nizamuddin Auliya (New Delhi) and Qutubuddin Kaki (New Delhi). Golden temple is the pilgrimage site for Sikhs which Christians have a number of churches all over the country. Buddhism is another major religion of India, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Sanchi are important pilgrimage destinations of Buddhists.

Hill Stations :

A land of huge geographical diversity, India is bestowed with several lovely hill stations. Hill stations of India offer a cool and chilly retreat far from the hot and humid climate of the plains. Most popular hill stations of India include Ooty, Nainital, Darjeeling, Panchgani, Kulu and Manali, Gulmarg, Ladakh etc.

Beaches :

As India is bordered by the Bay of Bengal, the Indian ocean and the Arabian sea in its three sides, so it is cradled with several serene beaches. Most of the southern and western states of India house a number of picturesque beaches. Some of the famous Indian beaches are Anjuna Beach (Goa), Colva Beach (Goa), Dona Paula Beach (Goa), Juhu Beach (Mumbai), Kovalam Beach (Kerala) and Alleppey Beach (Kerala).

Wildlife :

Situated within the Indomalaya ecozone, India hosts significant biodiversity in its flora and fauna. Due to threat of poaching and other intervention of human, majority of the wildlife areas of India has been designated as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. You can see a huge variety of floral and faunal species in wildlife sanctuaries of India. Some most popular national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of India include Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Sunderban Tiger Reserve, Kanha National park , Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, Corbett National park and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.