- Mark Twain
Indien, that is Bharat is the Destination of the Millennium, a Land of all seasons where beauty beckons, culture echoes, diversity delights and tradition talks. Those who reach India are greeted with a gracious Namaste, Namaskaaram, Vanakkam or Sat Sri Akal denoting warmth, hospitality and respect – a tradition in tune with the country’s age-old motto “Atithi Devo Bhava” where the guest is treated as God.
This Exotic land is unique in all aspects – it is no wonder that India has emerged as one among the top five tourist hotspots of the world, with constantly rising tourist traffic all through the year.
Discover and explore this wonderful peninsular subcontinent that is India, the land that projects Unity in Diversity, surrounded by the grand snow-capped Himalayan ranges in the North, the spectacular coastline offered by the Arabian Sea in the West, the vast Bay of Bengal in the East, and the awesome Indian Ocean in the South.
Blessed with mist clad mountain, blue seas, deserts, golden beaches, valleys, backwaters and the list goes on.
India, the holy divine, the rich heritage of royal legacy and ancient history, the land of colorful cultures and as such there are uncountable illustrations to define this magical subcontinent.
If you want to feel the Indian spirit, sit by the coastlines of magical bays, rejuvenate yourself in the backwaters, find your inner self by hearing the holy chants at mountains and live the life, or better say “Live India”. Take a plunge into the untold mysteries, get aghast by the perfect Mogul architecture, re-energize in Ayurveda. Someone says it correctly; India has a lot more to explore than what is being mentioned in the books.
The name India is derived from the famous book INDICA authored by the Greek scholar and traveler Megasthanese in 380 BC. The Indian subcontinent is an important zone in South Asia where its boundaries are connected to Pakistan in the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. The term ‘Subcontinent’ suitably fits to this land because of its irregular quadrilateral shape giving an effable view from the satellites.
The subcontinent survives on peninsular plate, which is the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. Ancient geographers have defined the Indian geography in a “four-fold conformation” (chatuh samasthana samsthitam). This explanation says that India stretches on its South, West and East as ‘The Great Ocean’ along with the ‘Himvat’ (The entire Himalayan range from north to east) range which stretches to its north like the string of a bow.
The Himalayas standing tall in breathtaking splendor are radiant in myth and mystery. These, the youngest and tallest mountain ranges, feed the Ganga with never-ending streams of snow. The Himalayas are home to the people of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Along with the great Himalayas, there are some eastern hills as well namely Patkai, Lushai and Chittagong Hills and also the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges in the west. The south is loaded with beautiful lagoons, backwaters and astonishing seabeds. The majestic Eastern Ghat and Western Ghat mountains guard the eastern and western coastal belt of southern penninsula. The western desert ‘Thar’ also can mesmerize anybody with its royal charm.