Blog: Cuisine

Plan a tour to India. Even if you are not in a mood to do so just to enjoy the mouthwatering spicy snacks of India. These spices add tangy and delicious flavors to the food and for this reason India is also called land of spices. The most famous snacks are samosa, tikki-chaat, paneer pakoda, bhelpuri, paobhaji, jahlmoodhi, chhole bature, dosa, dahi vada and more.  The sinful desserts of India include Rosogulla, Gulab Jamun, Jalebi, ghevar, barfi, kalakand, petha, peda, motichoor ke ladoo etc. Milk, cream, Khoya and sugar, cardamom Main course famous foods can be broadly categorized into two parts viz., Veg and non-veg. Veg may include paneer, mix vegetables, dal, naan, roti, poori, paratha, dhokla, etc. Non veg includes hyderabadi dum biryani, chikan tikka, fish curry, mutton rogan josh, kebab, continental foods, fish fried, tandoori chicken, butter chicken, beef roast and parotta etc. I would like to introduce some of the tastiest dishes of india:

                                            Hyderabadi dum Biryani (Andhra Pradesh) 

It's the perfect choice for foodies who prefer having their rice with spice, interspersed with tender pieces of meat or chicken. Cooked in 'dum style', it's layered with fried onions and mint, served with a cold raita.

Dhokla (Gujarat)

This steamed cake made from gram flour and channa dal is one of the best things to come out of Gujarat.

                   

                                                    

 Idly and Sambhar (south Indian) 

This glorious steamed rice pancake with innumerable health benefits has made its way through generations. Idlis are about 2-3 inch wide, fluffy and can be relished for breakfast, lunch, snacks or dinner along with some finely ground coconut chutney and a hot steaming bowl of sambhar.

                                                

Beef roast and porotta (Kerala)

Beef roast is something you mustn’t miss, but not many tourists who go to Kerala try out beef specialties. This dish made of cubed beef in a thick onion and tomato gravy is best had with porotta, a soft layered bread. Down it with some suleimani chai and then siesta!

Undhiyo (Gujarat)

Undhiyo is a beautiful mix of flavors as it is seasonal vegetables in herbs and spices. This is a typically winter preparation in Gujarat. The variety of vegetables and flavors of various spices will leave you feeling happy and satiated. Best had with fresh puris or deep fried Indian bread.

                           

Macher jhol (Bengali)

Every fish lover simply has to try macher jhol or fish in tangy tomato based gravy. Tempered in mustard and cumin seeds, lends good blend of flavors to sweet river fish. Try it with steamed rice. 

Butter chicken

Chunks of chicken marinated overnight in yogurt and a beautiful mix of spices, served with a dollop of melting cream or butter on top.

Blog 4: Places to Visit

India captures the heart of every tourist. Discover the different facets of this multicolored country as it shapes your vision at every of its fold. With the country's tourism branched into several forms, India has a chunk for every kind of a traveler. There are many beautiful and worth seeing historical places in India, But I would like to disclose the most beautiful of all.

Taj Mahal

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. Ironically, the very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance, also leaves visitors mesmerized and perpetually enthralled. The brink of dawn when the first rays of the sun hits the dome of this epic monument, it radiates like a heavenly abode, cloaked in bright golden. And then at dusk, basking in the glory of moon, it shines like a perfectly carved diamond; appearing as if straight owed of some magical tale, leaving the viewers awestruck by its sense of grandeur. Nothing short of an architectural marvel, no wonder it stands proud at being one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Golden Temple

The Golden Temple, located in the city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab, is a place of great beauty and sublime peacefulness. It was built in the 16th century by Guru Arjan dev ji, the Golden Temple opens from four gates which symbolizes the openness of Sikhism towards all the people and all the religions. The Gurdwara is surrounded by the Sarovar, a large lake or holy tank, which consists of Amrit ("holy water" or "immortal nectar") and is fed by the Ravi River. The temple’s dome is glided with 750kg of pure gold. It was built at a lower level than surrounding land so that devotees would have to go down steps to enter it. Over the centuries it became the primary sacred/holiest shrine of the Sikhs. It is also known as Harmandar Sahib or Darbar sahib.

Dal Lake

Dal Lake is the most important landmark of Srinagar, it is named as “Jewel in the crown of Kashmir” or “Srinagar’s Jewel” It figures high on tourist itineraries and every tourist to the Kashmir valley makes it a point to visit the water body. The shore line of the lake is encompassed by a boulevard lined with Mughal era gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels. May to November is the best time to visit Dal Lake as the climate is pleasant. During winter, it gets extremely cold. The lake is also an important source for commercial operations in fishing and water plant harvesting.

                                                          

Agra fort

The Agra Fort, also known as the “Lal –Qila”, “Fort Rouge” or “Qila-i-Akbari”, is the highlight of the city of Agra.  It is a symbol of power, strength and resilience, as it stands today in full glory. The Structures built as a sign of prowess remind us all of the grit and valour of the brave men and women who captured, destroyed and built such overwhelming edifices.

Rohtang Pass

Rohtang Pass, is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km from Manali. In the month of May, Rohtang becomes a hotspot for adventure enthusiasts. Tourists can go for various thrilling activities like snow scooter, skiing and mountain biking. Nature lovers can enjoy beautiful views of glaciers, peaks and Chandra River that flows down in the Lahaul valley. There is a waterfall named as Rahala, which is located at a distance of 16kms from Manali on the way to Rohtang Pass. This waterfall flows down from an altitude of 2,500 meters and looks amazingly wonderful. Photography buffs must visit this pass as they get to click one of the most beautiful pictures of nature. 

There are many more beautiful places such as:

·         Qutub Minar

·         Humayun’s Tomb

·         Minakshi Temple

·         Lotus Temple

·         Hawa Mahal

·         Chandini Chowk

·         Vaishno Devi

·         Jantar Mantar

·         Jama Masjid

Blog 3: Cultures & Traditions

The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied 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 civilizations, including four major world religions Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Indian culture is everything such as inherited ideas, way of people’s living, beliefs, rituals, values, habits, care, gentleness, knowledge, etc. India is an oldest civilization of the world where people still follow their old culture of humanity and care. People of old generations pass their cultures and beliefs to their next generations so, every child here behaves well to others as he/she already learned about culture from parents and grandparents. We can see culture here in everything like dance, fashion, artistry, music, behavior, social norms, food, architecture, dressing sense, etc. like Punjabi women wear salwar suits and  men  wear kurtas but  Hindu women  wear sarees and men wear lungi or dhoti, Punjabis enjoy dancing Bhangra, Gujarati’s enjoy doing Garba, Rajasthan’s enjoy Ghumar, Assamese enjoy Bihu whereas Maharashtrian enjoy Lavoni.

Variety of eras came and gone but no one was so powerful to change the influence of our real culture. The culture of younger generations is still connected to older generations through umbilical cord. Our ethnic culture always teaches us to behave well, respect elders, care helpless people and always help the needy and poor people. It is our religious culture that we should keep fast, do worship, offer Gange Jal, do Surya Namaskar, touch feet of elder in family, do yoga and meditation on daily basis, give food and water to the hungry and disabled people. There is great culture of our nation that we should always welcome our guests like a God very happily, that’s why India is famous for a common saying like “Atithi Devo Bhava”. The basic roots of our great culture are humanity and spiritual practices.

Instead of a lot of diversities Indian culture is based on togetherness and its people believe in brotherhood which shows the richness of the culture.

Blog 2: History

Indian history begins with the birth of the Indus Valley around 2600 BC and the Ganges Valley around 1500 B.C.E. These societies mainly consisted of ethnic Dravidians whose economy was based on commerce and agricultural trade.

It is believed that the area was invaded by Aryan tribes after they get migrated into the Indian subcontinent from the northwest. It is thought that they introduced the caste system which is still common in many parts of India today.

During the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great introduced Greek practices into the region when he expanded across Central Asia. During the 3rd century BC, the Mauryan Empire came into power in India and it was most successful under its emperor, Ashoka.

Throughout subsequent periods Arab, Turkish and Mongol peoples entered India and in 1526, a Mongol Empire was established there, which later expanded throughout most of northern India. During this time, such landmarks as the Taj Mahal were also builded.

Much of India's history after the 1500s was then dominated by British influences. The first British colony was in 1619 with English East India Company at Surat. Shortly after, permanent trading stations were opened in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. British influence then continued to expand from these initial trading stations and by the 1850s; most of India and other countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were controlled by Britain.

By the late 1800s, India began working toward independence from British Rule but it did not come until the 1940s however when Indian citizens began to unite and British Labor Prime Minister Clement Attlee began to push for India's independence. On August 15, 1947, India officially became a dominion within the Commonwealth and Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India. India's first constitution was written shortly thereafter on January 26, 1950 and by that time, it officially became a member of the British Commonwealth.

Blog 1: Location, Size and Population

Location and Size

India is situated in the south of the Asian landmass, flanking the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The nation is somewhat more than 33% the measure of the United States. The nation's domain is measured at almost 3.3 million square kilometers (1.3 million square miles) reaching out from the snow-topped Himalayan Mountains in the north to tropical woods in the south. India shares more than 14,000 kilometers (8,800 miles) of fringes with 7 neighboring nations. Toward the northwest are Afghanistan and Pakistan; toward the north are China, Bhutan, and Nepal; and toward the east are Burma (otherwise called Myanmar) and Bangladesh. A thin channel of ocean shaped by the Palk Strait and another neighbor, Sri Lanka, an island country with which southeast India offers solid social ties. The Indian terrain comprises of 4 locales, in particular the Himalayan Mountains, the fields of the Ganges and the Indus, and the southern desert. The Himalayas, which contains the most elevated crests on the planet, comprises of 3 practically parallel reaches specked with extensive levels and valleys, some of which, as Kashmir and Kullu valleys, are unlimited, ripe, and of incredible normal excellence. The fields of the Ganges and the Indus, around 2,400 kilometers (1500 miles) in length and overall around 280 kilometers (175 miles) wide, are shaped by the bowls of 3 stream frameworks of the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra Rivers. These ripe bowls are among the most thickly populated regions on the planet.

Population

India is composed of 29 states and 7 union territories. The top 5 most populated states are Uttar Pradesh (140 million people), Bihar (86 million), Maharashtra (79 million), West Bengal (68 million), and Andhra Pradesh (67 million). The top 3 most populated union territories are New Delhi (10 million), Pondicherry (800,000), and Chandigarh (650,000). Total Population of India is more than 12 billion.