INDIA

Geography of India

India’s development from an ancient civilization to a modern country with inherent characteristics of assimilation and tolerance to a greater extent has been attributed due to its geographical location and features that led her to inculcate into a civilization with a versatility and vibrancy. The seventh largest country of the world by area, India is located north of equator between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude. The country has an extensive boundary of about 15, 200 Kilometres with its neighbours and an extensive coastline of about 7, 517 kilometres.

Northern border of India is majorly consisted of Himalayan mountain range sharing frontiers with China, Bhutan and Nepal. Himalayan mountain range has also offered a great defence to India from foreign invasions as well. The Western border of India is shared with Pakistan through Punjab Plain and the Thar Desert. In the east, Chin Hills and Kachin Hills separate India from Burma, whereas Khasi - Mizo hills and Indo-Gangetic Plain create a divide with Bangladesh.

Ganges – Brahmaputra river system plays an important role in defining physical attributes of India. It flows through the most of northern, central and eastern India. The Deccan Plateau spreads across the most of South India. The plateau is bounded by the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) ranging to the west and the Eastern Ghats to the east. The thickly populated areas of Dandakaranya as a barrier to invasion of south India covers the states of Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand still forested mostly populated by tribal population. India has a long coastline. The west coast borders the Arabian Sea and the east coast of it is Bay of Bengal, both are parts of the Indian Ocean.

People & Lifestyle

The land of diverse culture is a place that keeps mesmerizing people from all over. Each and every region of India has something unique to offer its customers coming from around the world. The people, their culture, customs, languages, appearances, complexions, etc, differ from one place to another and that difference is very much visible in its surroundings. The reason behind so much variance is its varied topography, which dramatically differs from place to place. The topography of India plays a major role in giving a distinct look to its every nook and corner, which is also found in the costumes and cuisine of its people. India’s Huge Malls & Urban Life also divided into various social subsections - that depends both on caste background and economic background. Both caste and financial background plays a significant role in making of the society in India. It wouldn't be surprising if you find both the riches and the under privileged people walking side by side on the same street and finding a palatial home and a slum on either side of the same road.

One can easily find the difference between the urban life style and the rural life style in India. On one hand where the urban people are too modern and westernized, on the other hand the rural people are too conservative and superstitious. Finding multiplexes and high-techbuildings with to-the-minute amenities is not a new thing in etropolises, while the small cities are not far behind in the process of development. In contrast to this, the villages are far behind in the development & modernising process. However, here lies the essence of India, as on your tour to India you will get everything of your choice, be it a high-tech ambience or a cool & easy going environment. At present, the cities of India are in the process of huge transformation, which is why you might not come across the real taste of India here, whereas, villages still carry the real image of India, where you can see, hear and taste the real India.

Altogether, the reasons could be innumerable and unimaginable, but Wildlife tours India will never resist from offering diverse sights, smells and sounds throughout your journey. Right from the northern Himalayas to the southern India Ocean, Western desert to extreme eastern tropical rain forests, India is just incredible. The diverse topograhy of India gives an immense opportunity to indulge in various types of activities, besides just sightseeing. The tourist can involve themselves in adventure sports tours, Ayurveda & Spa tours, Nature tours, Wildlife tours, and much more.

History of India

Witness one of the oldest river valley civilizations, the past of India dates back to ancient times as early as 3300 BC, where it was found existing in excavations of town and city system of Indus valley. A systematic drainage system and interiors of the home found at the excavations of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are evidence to much advanced society at that time similar to modern townships which were inhabited by Aryans who even pushed earlier settlers to down south; those even founded Dravidian culture in India.

The successive period of calm and prosperity runs till 8th century. During that period India saw birth and proliferation of Buddhism and Jainism under Mauryan and Gupta Empire. The period has also seen a great architectural construction across India as many great temples were made during that period. The invention of zero, game of chess and many astronomical inventions were made during that time. By reaching the 8th century, the period of calmness turned into turbulence when lured by wealth and massive natural resource the Turk invaders began plundering of its wealth and peace. In 1192, when a Turk invader Muhammad Ghori defeated a brave Indian Rajput ruler, Prithviraj Chauhan in the battle of Terrain and made his deputy Qutub Ud Din Aibek (the founder Qutub Minar) the in-charge of the Indian Territory, the period of medieval Indian history began. In the first battle of Panipat in 1526, the defeat of Ibrahim Lodi by the hands of Babar led to the foundation of Mughal Dynasty. The Dynasty further successively ruled by Humayun, Akbar, Jahagir and Shah Jahan paved the path for an era where art, culture and architecture flourished to a greater heights. This period saw the construction of some of the world renowned marvel of architectures in India including the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and others.

Modern period of Indian history begins with discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, a European explorer in 1498 and further conquest and colonization of India by British, French, Dutch and Portuguese companies. The India came completely under British subjugation in 1857, when first rebellion against Britain was crushed; however, India attained full freedom on 15th August, 1947. The period of British rule in India introduced the country with advance principal of sciences, new political system and democracy. After independence, India adopted democratic parliamentary system and is now administered by an elected government. At present, India is known to be as the fastest growing economy counted in BRIC nations and is among the 10 largest economies, GDP wise. India is also an IT (Information Technology) power house.

[Read in depth : Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India]

Culture of India

People of different religious faiths and belief speaks different languages living in different parts of the country, yet entwined with their traditional values and patriarchy system best describes the Indian culture. Birth place and nurturing ground of faith on Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Islam and others, religion plays an important role in lives of Indians as a place of worship and devotion can be found across the length and breadth of entire India.

Thus this multi-layered culture wrapped in spiritual theme dominates Indian milieu to a greater extent ranging from music, art, literature, cuisines, clothing, architecture and every other aspect of living. Traditionally, an agricultural country, village plays an important role in Indian society thus causing folk dance and music to be important part of folk life during special occasions and celebrations.

Indian food rich in oil has ample spices for flavour and taste offering extraordinary range of culinary diversity. The fiery taste of Indian food coming from extensive use of green and red chilly powder is worth to taste once.

The modern face of India is its youth, the third generation of country after the Independence, the youngest nation in the world and a larger proportion of Indian demography that is educated, tech savvy works in big metros of India in leading corporate and financial institutions of the world. They frequently visit eating joints restaurant chains, boutiques and clubs and have all the latest technical wizards in their possession.

[Also read : Religions of India – Unity in Diversity ]

Fairs & Festivals

A home to enormous population practicing various religions and faith, festivities and celebrations is an affair that remains trendy throughout the year. With so much of faith and cultures co-existing with each other, every month there is a big occasion for rejoicing for everyone in India. Some of the most popular festivals and fairs in India are Holi, Diwali, Dusshera, Id, Christmas Day, Pushkar Animal Fair, Suraj Kund Fair, Kumb Mela and others. The national festivals of India include Republic Day (26th January), Independence Day (15th August) and Gandhi Jayanti (2nd October)

Dining

Counted among one of the best cuisines of the world, you will find Indian food to be hot and spicy. The savoury taste of Indian cuisines comes from the liberal use of various spices and green or red chillies powder. However, the use of spices in Indian cuisines varies from region to region. The food from Andhra is the most hot and spicy whereas you will find Gujarati cuisines to be gentle in taste. If you wish to taste Indian food, it is good to start with lesser spicy food. After some time you will get use to Indian spicy food.

Indian food is primarily divided into two parts owing to cereals grown there. North Indian food being bread based due to cultivation of wheat is consisted of primarily Punjabi and Mughlai food. Mughlai cuisines mostly non-vegetarian have Afghani, Arabic and Turkish preparation methods. Contrary to north Indian food, the cuisines of South India are rice based. A typical South Indian meal includes sambhar (a thick vegetable and lentil chowder) with rice, rasam (a thin, peppery soup), or avial (mixed vegetables) with rice, traditionally served on a banana leaf as a plate. Likewise, every region of India has something special to offer for your culinary desires.

Shopping

Shopping in India offers a unique selling experience and exposure for tourists from all across the globe as they will enjoy doing hard bargaining while buying from street hawkers. However, with rising levels of foreign investments in India, you can now easily find retail chain stores across the country from Big Metros to small towns. For a quality shopping you can prefer government cottage emporiums. You can do a lot of shopping on your way to India, however, it is preferred to buy wood carvings, clothing, painting, marble and stone carvings and jewellery. Leading brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Zara, A & F and others are there available in upmarket stores as well.