|
ABOUT INDIA
GEOGRAPHY
India is set apart from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas, the
highest, youngest and still evolving mountain chain on the planet.
The subcontinent as it is rightly called, touches three large
water bodies and is immediately recognizable on any world map.
This thick, roughly triangular peninsula defines the Bay of
Bengal to the east, the Arabian sea to the west, and the India
Ocean to the south.
India holds virtually every kind of landscape imaginable. An
abundance of mountain ranges and national parks provide ample
opportunity for eco-tourism and trekking, and its sheer size
promises something for everyone. From north to south India extends
a good 2000 miles (3200 km), where the island nation of Sri
Lanka seems to be squeezed out of India like a great tear, the
synapse forming the Gulf of Mannar.
Himalayas, the world's highest mountain chain and Nepal as its
Neighbouring country dominate India's northern border. Following
the sweeping mountains to the northeast, its borders narrow
to a small channel that passes between Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh,
and Bhutan, then spreads out again to meet Burma in the "eastern
triangle." Apart from the Arabian Sea, its western border
is defined exclusively by Pakistan.
North India is the country's largest region begins with Jammu
and Kashmir, with terrain varying from arid mountains in the
far north to the lake country and forests near Srinagar and
Jammu. Moving south along the Indus river, the North becomes
flatter and more hospitable, widening into the fertile plains
of Punjab to the west and the Himalayan foothills of Uttar Pradesh
and the Ganges river valley to the East. Cramped between these
two states is the capital city, Delhi.
The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, and part of the massive,
central state of Madhya Pradesh constitute West India. Extending
from the Gujarat peninsula down to Goa, the west coast is lined
with some of India's best beaches. The land along the coast
is typically lush with rainforests. The Western Ghats separate
the verdant coast from the Vindya Mountains and the dry Deccan
plateau further inland.
India is the home of the sacred River Ganges and the majority
of Himalayan foothills, East India begins with the states of
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, which comprise the westernmost
part of the region. East India also contains an area known as
the eastern triangle, which is entirely distinct. This is the
last gulp of land that extends beyond Bangladesh, culminating
in the Naga Hills along the Burmese border.
India reaches its peninsular tip with South India, which begins
with the Deccan in the north and ends with Cape Comorin. The
states in South India are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
and Kerala, a favourite leisure destination. The southeast coast,
mirroring the west, also rests snugly beneath a mountain range---the
Eastern Ghats.
PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE
In a country as diverse and complex as India, it is not surprising
to find that people here reflect the rich glories of the past,
the culture, traditions and values relative to geographic locations
and the numerous distinctive manners, habits and food that will
always remain truly Indian. According to five thousand years
of recorded history.
From the eternal snows of the Himalayas to the cultivated peninsula
of far South, from the deserts of the West to the humid deltas
of the East, from the dry heat and cold of the Central Plateau
to the cool forest foothills, Indian lifestyles clearly glorify
the geography. The food, clothing and habits of an Indian differ
in accordance to the place of origin.
Indians believe in sharing happiness and sorrow. A festival
or a celebration is never constrained to a family or a home.
The whole community or neighbourhood is involved in bringing
liveliness to an occasion. A lot of festivals like Diwali, Holi,
Id, Christmas, Mahaveer Jayanthi are all celebrated by sharing
sweets and pleasantries with family, neighbours and friends.
An Indian wedding is an occasion that calls for participation
of the family and friends. Similarly, neighbours and friends
always help out a family in times of need.
Ethnically Indians speak different languages, follow different
religions, eat the most diverse varieties of food all of which
add to the rich Indian culture.The beauty of the Indian people
lies in the spirit of tolerance, give-and-take and a composition
of cultures that can be compared to a garden of flowers of various
colours and shades of which, while maintaining their own entity,
lend harmony and beauty to the garden - India!
LANGUAGES
India is a land of a variety of linguistic communities, each
of which share a common language and culture. Though there could
be fifteen principal languages there are hundreds of thousands
dialects that add to the vividness of the country.
18 languages are officially recognized in India of which Sanskrit
and Tamil share a long history of more than 5,000 and 3,000
years respectively. The population of people speaking each language
varies drastically. For example Hindi has 250 million speakers,
while Andamanese is spoken by relatively fewer people.
Tribal or Aboriginal language speaking population in India may
be more than some of the European languages. For instance Bhili
and Santali both tribal languages have more than 4 million speakers.
The vividness can be ascertained by the fact that schools in
India teach more than 50 different languages; there are Films
in 15 languages, Newspapers in 90 or more languages and radio
programmes in 71 languages!
Indian languages come from four distinct families, which are:
Indo-European, Dravidian, Mon-Khmer, and Sino-Tibetan. Majority
of Indian population uses Indo-European and Dravidian languages.
The language families divide India geographically too.
Indo-European languages dominate the northern and central India
while in south India; mainly languages of Dravidian origin are
spoken. In eastern India languages of Mon-Khmer group is popular.
Sino Tibetan languages are spoken in the northern Himalayas
and close to Burmese border. In terms of percentage, 75% of
Indian population speaks languages of Indo-European family,
23% speak languages of Dravidian origin and about 2% of the
population speaks Mon-Khmer languages and Sino-Tibetan languages.
For more information log on to:
http://www.incredibleindia.org
|
