Sunday, December 21, 2008

Places to See in India - Bollywood!


To me India is the country of colors, unique entity, and a full kaleidoscope of emotions. India is a very big country. Even a year of travel by foot would not be enough to be able to see it or understand its people and its culture completely. Its stories bring you the farthest back in history, and it has one of the most ancient living civilizations (it is about 10, 000 years old). India is the sixth largest country in the world, and has second largest population in the world after China. It is so diverse that does not have a single official language. More than that, every state in India has its own official language or even languages. In a way, I can say that mentality of Indian people was and is mostly carved and influenced by their history, customs and later by Bollywood movies.

Nowadays India images and description often is associated with poverty, but it was not always like that. Christopher Columbus discovered America by mistake, because he was actually looking for a shorter way to India, which was one of the richest countries in the world at that time.

Here are a few interesting facts about India:

1. It has the largest democracy in the world, after it obtained its independency in 1947; it made a big progress in all fields of human activity.
2. Scientist Aryabhatta from India invented the digit zero and the number system.
3. The earliest school of medicine known to humankind was Ayurveda. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
4. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise and therefore suitable language for computer software (according to a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987).


If you decide to travel to India, I will recommend a few cities to visit.

- City of Agra, because there you will be able to see Taj Mahal, built as a monument of eternal love, by the Moghul emperor Shah Jehan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. It took 17 years to complete this splendid white mausoleum. It incorporates Persian, Turkish, and Indian styles of architecture.

-City of Mumbai, is a must to visit if you love Indian culture. Mumbai, also originally known as Bombay, it is one of the most famous, bustling, cosmopolitan cities in India. It is the financial, industrial, and the fashion center of India, the fashion trends set by the movie industry which is also known as "Bollywood". Teeming with over 16 million people it is a city that never sleeps!


- Jaipur city, or also called pink city because of the red sandstone used to build the palaces, is in the northern part of India in the state of Rajasthan. Jaipur is famous for its exquisite jewellery, handicrafts, handmade rugs, textiles, handmade quilts, and comforters. Jaipur has a timeless appeal in its colorful bazaars that sells Rajasthani handlooms and trinkets. Beautifully laid out gardens and parks, attractive monuments and marvelous heritage hotels, once the residence of Maharajas, are worth admiration, not to mention the ambling camels and cheerful people in multi colored costumes that make Jaipur a tourist's paradise.

- City of Shimla, it is placed in the north-west region of the Himalayas. The hilly town is surrounded by green pastures and snow-capped peaks and visitors come here to this gorgeous "hill station" to escape the oppressive heat in summer months. At only 16 km from Shimla is the town of Kufri, which is considered the winter sport capital of India. It offers skiing, river rafting, and trekking.

In addition, it is worth to see the smallest state in India, Goa. It has amazing beaches, and is visited by hundreds of thousands of international and domestic tourists each year. Goa is also known for its temples and world heritage architecture,including the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa, which makes it one of the biggest Christian pilgrimage sites in Asia. The best time to visit Goa would be beetween October and end of February. Otherways you may arive in the midle of the seazon of monsoon rain, or uncomfortably hot sun.


Bon Voyage to anywhere your heart desires! - Aoureliou Televko



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