Tuesday 10 May 2011

interesting facts about ancient India

  • India is the largest democracy in the world, the 7th largest Country in the world, and one of the most ancient civilizations.
  • India was one of the richest countries till the time of British rule in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India's wealth, had come looking for a sea route to India when he discovered America by mistake. 
  • India was the first to establish a culture. We discovered it when many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago. The established culture was known as Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
  • The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan Mountains. The Indian Army built it in August 1982.
  • The game of Chess was invented in India.
  • Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world.
  • India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.
  • The Art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh over 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'NAVGATIH'. 
  • The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
  • Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The Father of Medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
  • The 'Place Value System' and the 'Decimal System' were developed in India in 100 B.C.
  • Budhayana was the first mathematician who calculated the value of "PI" and explained the concept of Pythagorean theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, long before the European mathematicians. Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus were also originated in India. Sridharacharya was the first mathematician to use Quadratic Equations in the 11th century. 
  • The four religions born in India - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population. 
  • Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
  • Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion. 
  • There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
  • Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D.
  • The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
  • The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
  • Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called "the Ancient City" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
  • Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
  • Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

Thursday 5 May 2011

Colourful India

We Indians

we make many friends
some become Dearest.
Some become Special.
Some We Fall in Love with.
Some go abroad,
Some change their cities.
Some leave us,
We leave some.
Some are in contact,
Some are not in contact.
Some don't contact because of their ego.
We don't contact some because of our ego.
What ever they were,
How ever they are,
We still remember them, love them, miss them, care for them because of the part they played.
They made memories in our lives!
No matter how often you talk or how close you are,
let old friends know you haven't forgotten them and tell new friends you never will forget them!

Uniqueness of Indian Culture

The Indian culture is exclusive and diverse. The culture is one of the oldest. In India, there is an astonishing cultural mixture throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has shaped out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as diverse and unique as India. India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilisation, including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
A combination of these factors has caused into an exclusive Indian culture. Indian culture is a composite mixture of varying styles and influences. In matter of language, the different states of India have different official languages; some of them not recognised by the government by they are vastly spoken. Some states have more then one official language. For instance, Bihar in east India has three official languages – Hindi, Urdu and Bengali - which are all recognised by the central government. But Sikkim, also in east India, has four official languages of which only Nepali is recognised by the central government.
In the matter of cuisine, for instance, the North and the South are totally different. Colours, gaiety, enthusiasm, prayers and rituals characterise festivals in India. In the realm of music, there are varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The classical tradition of music in India includes the Carnatic and the Hindustani music. 
Though different cultural practices are carried across the country one of the unique feature of people in India is, they don’t like to say ‘no’ be it verbally or non-verbally. They might rather make excuses if they not comfortable doing the job. It is so because they don’t like to give negative answers. This show we indian are soft in nature and like to handle thing smoothly and avoid breaking any relation in any circumstances.