India Gyan by Discover91 vol 1 - Trivia on India

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India Gyan- by
Discover91!
Vol.1


There is a temple called
"Karni Mata" in Jodhpur,
where something peculiar
happens - the temple is home
to more than 20,000 rats and
they are considered to be holy
and are worshipped!


During the ten-day Dasara
celebrations at Mysore, the
Mysore Palace presents a
spectacular sight at night,
when it is illuminated with
97,000 light bulbs!!


Kailashnath temple at Ellora,
carved out of a basalt cliff, was
designed to recall Mount
Kailash (abode of Lord Shiva).
Notable for its vertical
excavation (carvers started at
the top of the cliff, and worked
downwards), an estimated
200,000 tons of rocks was
scooped out, and took 100 years
to complete!


The Bailey Bridge is the highest bridge in
the world - 30m long and situated at an
altitude of 5,602m. Located in the
Ladakh Valley, between the Dras and
Suru rivers, it was built by the Indian
Army in 1982.


In 1670, Baba Budan, a Muslim
pilgrim, smuggled seven coffee
beans from Mecca and planted
them in Chikmagalur, thus
introducing coffee to India.
From this little nook in
Karnataka, the coffee plant
spread all across India. Today,
Coorg (also in Karnataka), is
the largest coffee-growing
district in India.


Tiger Hill in Darjeeling, is a summit famous for spectacular
sunrise – a remarkable play of colors on the (five) peaks of
Kanchenjunga (third highest in the world). The sun's rays kiss
the peaks to form a pretty pink, then slowly nuances of
mauve, and then orange. When the sun pierces the horizon,
they finally, burst aflame!


The Rameswaram
temple, in Tamil Nadu,
is reputed to have the
longest temple corridor
in the world. The outer
set of corridors run a
distance of about
4000ft, and has around
4000 pillars, 30ft in
height.


Want to traverse through 9 Indian states in 70 hrs and
30min? Take the Himsagar Express - the longest
running train on the Indian Railways, which covers
3,715 km halting at 69 stations (between Kanyakumari
and Jammu Tawi). It runs weekly, starting every Friday
at 14:05 hours from Kanyakumari, reaching Jammu on
Mondays at 15:10 hours. It returns from Jammu on
Mondays at 23:45 hours and reaches Kanyakumari on
Thursdays at 22:45 hours.


It is symmetry that plays a
significant role in determining the
aesthetic appeal of the Taj Mahal
at Agra. Shah Jahan's cenotaph,
beside Mumtaz's, to the western
side, is the only visible
asymmetric element in the entire
complex. His cenotaph is bigger
than his wife's, albeit it reflects
the same elements!


India is the only country to have
qualified for a FIFA World Cup
Final, but has never played a
single game. In 1950, India
qualified from the Asia group and
were one of the 16 teams to
qualify for the finals held at
Brazil. They however withdrew,
because of a FIFA ruling that
players were not allowed to play
barefoot!


The Konark Sun Temple at
Orissa, is world famous for its
imposing dimensions and
faultless proportions. The
temple, designed in the form
of Surya's (sun god) chariot, is
drawn by seven horses, on
twelve pairs of exquisitely
decorated wheels. The wheels
represent the hours of the day
and their shadows tell time
within an accuracy of 3
minutes!


PIN stands for Postal Index
Number and the code is 6 digits
long. There are nine PIN zones in
India, including eight regional
zones and one functional zone.
The first digit of the PIN code
indicates the region in which a
given post office falls in. The
second digit indicates the sub-
region, and the third digit
indicates the sorting district
within the region. The final three
digits are assigned to individual
post offices.


Barren Island in Andaman is
the only confirmed active
volcano in India. Located 135
Km away from Port Blair,
travellers are not allowed to
set foot on the island, only to
view it from the boat. The
most recent eruption started
in May 2008!


Majuli, in Assam is the one of the largest
riverine islands in the world and the largest
freshwater island in South Asia. Formed by
mighty Brahmaputra river and tributaries,
Majuli had a total area of 1,250 sq km, but
now having lost significantly to erosion it has
an area of only 650 sqkm.
For the record, Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada is
the largest freshwater island in the world.


The game of snakes & ladders was
created by the 13th century poet
saint Gyandev. It was originally
called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders
in the game represented virtues
and the snakes indicated vices.
The game was played with cowrie
shells and dices. Later, the game
underwent several modifications
but the meaning is the same i.e
good deeds take us to heaven and
evil to a cycle of re-births.


Legend has it that the Madhubani
painting originated during the
period of the Ramayana, when
King Janak commissioned artists
to paint during his daughter's
marriage - Sita to Lord Ram.
Traditionally done by the women
of Madhu-bani village (Bihar), it
was done on freshly plastered
walls of huts. It is now also done
on cloth, hand-made paper and
canvas and make for great wall
hangings and souvenirs.


The elephants for the world
famous Mysore Dasara, were
once trained at the Dubare
Elephant Camp in Coorg.
Today, it's one of the best
places in India to interact with
the Asian elephants. A great
place for kids, as they are
allowed to scrub their leathery
hide, feed them fodder the size
of cannon balls and hitch a
ride on their back!


Auroville is a universal township in the
making where men and women of all
countries are able to live in peace and
progressive harmony above all creeds,
politics and nationalities - 10 km away
from Puducherry. Its Inauguration in
1968 was attended by representatives
of 124 nations, including all the States
of India. They brought some soil from
their homeland, to be mixed in a lotus-
shaped urn, now sited at the focal point
of the Amphitheatre. Auroville
Marathon, held in February every year
attracts runners from all over the
world.


Sandalwood is the state tree of
Karnataka. The production of
sandalwood oil in the state began
during World War I when two oil-
extraction plants were set up. The
80-year-old Karnataka Soaps and
Detergents Limited (KSDL) is one
of the largest producers of
sandalwood soap in the world,
with a factory at Mysore.


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India Gyan by Discover91 vol 1 - Trivia on India

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India Gyan by Discover91 vol 1 - Trivia on India