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About India
Fast Facts
Country Name: |
India |
Capital: |
New Delhi
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Official Language(s): |
Hindi, English + 21 other official languages |
President |
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam |
| Prime Minister |
Dr. Manmohan Singh |
Currency |
Rupee (₨) (INR) |
Time Zone |
IST (UTC+5:30)
Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+5:30)
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History
 Nearly five thousand years back flourished India's first major civilisation
along the Indus River valley. The twin cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa now in
Pakistan were ruled by priests and held the rudiments of Hinduism. These
civilisations are known to possess a sophisticated lifestyle, a highly developed
sense of aesthetics, an astonishing knowledge of town planning and an
undecipherable script language. The Indus civilization at one point of time
extended nearly a million square kilometres across the Indus river valley. It
existed at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer but far
outlasted them. Surviving for nearly a thousand years the Indus valley
civilisation fell to tectonic upheavals in about 1700 BC, which caused a series
of floods.
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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.
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Art & Culture
Classical Dance and Music
Indian Classical Dance "..abstraction of Upanishadic thought which is assiduously translated in to well designed concrete language of artistic media."
It all started with Natya Shastra
Said to be written 2000 years ago by Bharata Muni, it is the seminal source book for dancers and performers. The mammoth book covers all technical and aesthetic aspects of the art of the Indian Theatre and Dance.
From the purpose of natya, to the architectural format, stage rituals, Rasa, Bhava, Abhinaya, gestic communication, music, types of instruments. 37 chapters that together form the nucleus of this fascinating performing art. Later century works like Abhinaya Darpana, Abhinaya Chandrike, also have great relevance to the dancer today.
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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.
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Fairs and Festivals
The Colourful mosaic of Indian festivals and fairs - as diverse as the land, is an eternal expression of the spirit of celebration. Observed with enthusiasm and gaiety, festivals are like gems ornamenting the crown of Indian Culture. They are round the year vibrant interludes in the mundane routine of life.
Every season brings along new festivals, each a true celebration of the bounties of the rich traditions followed for time immemorial. That's not all! The birthdays of Gods and Goddesses, saints and prophets, great historical happenings and the advent of the New Year, all find expression in colourful festivities. The same festival, though celebrated differently in the various parts of the country, exhibits an eternal harmony of the spirit of celebration.
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Cuisine
The Indian cuisine boasts of an immense variety not restricted to only curry. An
authentic Indian curry is an intricate combination of a stir-fried Masala - a
mixture of onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes; various spices and seasonings
with which meat; poultry, vegetables or fish is prepared to produce a stew-type
dish. Note: the word Masala also means spice.
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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.
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Communication
The Indian telecommunications Network is the fifth largest in the world and is the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia.
Today it is the fastest growing market in the world. Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164% p.a.) in India.
With more than 33 million users (both CDMA and GSM), wireless is the principal growth engine of the Indian telecom industry. Intense competition between the four main private groups - Bharti, Hutch, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a significant drop in tariffs.
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