India Festival Souvenir Book-2008 (Part 2)

IndiaA land for all reasons, a land forall seasons…By Nina Nandkishor ShahIndia is the subcontinent betweenPakistan, China, and Nepal in southern Asia.To the north, it is bordered by the world’shighest mountain range, the Himalayas.Further south, plateaus, tropical rainforestsand sandy deserts are bordered by palmfringed beaches. India is divided into 28states and 7 Union Territories.History of India: The country of India isa historical landmark of its own. Hindu relicsare scattered across the country and date asfar back as 1500 B.C. Buddhism beganapproximately 2500 years ago. In many statessuch as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir,one can find old monuments that are morethan 2000 years old. A millennium of historyof Islam and Moguls in India can be appreciatedin the Delhi-Agra-Uttar Pradesh area.The Rajput Kingdoms’ fight against theIslamic Invasions can be further learnedabout and seen in the Rajasthan vicinity.Landscape: The beauty of the HimalayanMountain Range that borders northern Indiais said to rival that of the mountain ranges inEurope, dubbing the visit to the Himalayas abudget-friendly super Switzerland! Thisopportunity is available in the northern statesof India such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammuand Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh. The state ofMadhya Pradesh is well known for its beautifulrivers and glorious white marble hills. Thestate of Kerala is known for its picturesquebackwaters. In south India, the subtropicalweather allows for vast green forests, mountainsand mountain resorts such as Ooty andKodai Canal. The northeastern states ofAssam, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram displaymountains forests and tribal life withpride.Adventure: Wildlife sanctuaries are generouslyscattered across the Indian subcontinentin every region mentioned above.Additionally, Sasan-Gir is the only place inthe world where anyone can see near extinctIndian lions in the wild. Many northern riversallow for river rafting and ski resorts are plentifulin the Himalayas.Architecture: Exceptional architecturecan be seen in all of the historical placesmentioned above. In addition to those, arethe caves of Ajanta and Ellora. Nalanda,Taxshila, Khajunaho, Minaxi Mandir, Mogulmonuments are said to be unique in structure.Festivals: India has a variety of festivals,large-scaled and small-scaled alike allthroughout the year. The festivals are numerousand include Rath Yatra in Orissa, Ganeshfestival in Maharashtra and Navaratri inGujarat. These three festivals are some of thefestivals that involve the entire state.Seasons: The temperature in India rangesfrom snowy winters in the north to hot subtropicalsummers in the south. The weatherranges from dry deserts in Rajasthan torecord breaking wet monsoons in the easternforests of Cherrapunji.Places to visit in each state:Andhra Pradesh: Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam,Tirupathi, Sri Prasanti Nilayam,VijayawadaAssam: Kaziranga National Park, ManasNational Park, Majuli, Brahmaputra River,Jatinga, Kamahkya TempleBihar: Mahabodhi Temple, MahatmaGandhi Setu, Patna bridge. Bihar has manyarchaeological, monumental and pilgrimagesites.Chhattisgarh: Jagdalpur, Ratanpur,Continued on page 30“To serve is my religion” 29