By Venugopal Reddy Challa

1. come … discover india

2. india…
१ what you already know – but what we shall tell
you about anyways!
२ what you probably don’t know
३ a dozen reasons for wanderlust
chalo!
(lets go!)

3. facts and figures
Republic of India
India, Bharat, Hindustan
World’s largest democracy
23 officially recognized languages
New Delhi is the capital with 15MM people
Bombay is the powerhouse with 18MM people
2nd most populous country after China (1.12 BN)
4th in GDP (PPP) rankings after US, China and
Japan ($3.8 Trillion)
7th largest state in area (3.16 MM sq km)
31st most dense state (336/ sq km)
118th in per capita income PPP ($3800)
First war of independence against UK in 1857
Partition with Pakistan on 14 August 1947
Declared independence on 15 August 1947
Republic on 26 January 1950
Currency: Indian Rupee
Time zone: IST (GMT +5:30)

4. a land of history…
A Brief History of India
Stone Age 70000-3300 BC
Mehrgarh Culture
Indus Valley Civilization 3300-1300 BC
Harappan Culture
Vedic Period 1500-500 BC
Mahavira, Gautam Buddha
Mauryan Empire, Ashoka the great
Middle Kingdoms 200 BC-1200 AD
Golden age of Gupta Empire
Islamic Sultanates 1200-1600 AD
Arrival of Islam
Golden age of Mughal Empire, Akbar the great
Colonial Era 1750-1947 AD
British Empire
Modern State 1947 AD

5. a land of people (a lot of us around, no?)
Home to one-fifth of humanity on this planet!

6. a land of religion

7. 907 MM hindus
It is the world's oldest
existent religion, and has
approximately a billion
adherents. A very absorbing
religion or philosophy,
Hinduism is a diverse
system of thought with
beliefs spanning
monotheism, polytheism,
pantheism, monism and
even atheism.
Hindu religion is often
labeled as a religion of 330
million gods. But the key
Trinity comprises those
responsible for three tasks:
creation – Lord Brahma,
preservation – Lord Vishnu,
and destruction and rebirth –
Lord Shiva.

8. 152 MM muslims
Islam came to India with
Turko-Muslim invasions in
8th century. Today, India has
more Muslims than …
Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan
Iran
Egypt
Jordan
Syria
COMBINED

9. 26 MM christians
Christian faith in south India
is much older than in Europe
and America. Kerala
Christians are called
Nasranis or Syrian
Christians and have a
tradition of more than 2000
years.
Later, Portugese catholic
missionaries reached
Malabar coast in 15th
century. Protestant
missionaries began to work
throughout India in 18th
century.

10. 21 MM sikhs
Sikhism began in 15th
century in northern India
with the teachings of Guru
Nanak. ‘Sikh’ comes from
Sanskrit root sisya meaning
desciple or learner. The term
‘guru’ comes from the
Sanskrit gurū, meaning
teacher, guide or mentor.
Baptised Sikhs are bound to
wear the Five Ks - The 5
items are: kēs (uncut hair),
kaṅ ghā (small comb), kaṛ ā
(circular heavy metal
bracelet), kirpān (ceremonial
short sword), and kacchā
(special undergarment).
Sikhism is the 5th largest
organised religion in the
world (after Christianity,
Islam, Hinduism and
Buddhism).

11. 12 MM buddhists
Buddhism is another
dharmic religion founded in
India around 5th century BC
by Siddhartha Gautama.
Prince Siddhartha, after the
enlightenment, was known
as Buddha.
‘Four Noble Truths’ and
‘Noble Eight Fold Path’ are
among Buddhism’s
teachings. Today, Buddhism
is a world religion with a
following of about 350MM.

12. 5 MM jains
Jainism is a dharmic religion
originating in ancient india.
Jains follow the teachings of
‘tirthankaras’. Lord
Mahavira, the 24th tirthankara
of Jains lived in 6th century
BC.
The Jains are the best
educated religious
community in India, and the
Jain libraries are India's
oldest.

13. a land of festivals …

14. diwali
Diwali or the ‘Festival of
Lights’, is a major Indian
festival with great
significance in Hinduism,
Sikhism and Jainism. The 5
day celebrations (in Oct /
Nov) focus on lights and
lamps, particularly
traditional dipa or deeya
(earthen lamp) and
fireworks.
It symbolizes the return of
Lord Rama to his kingdom
after vanquishing Demon
Ravana.

15. eid
Eid-ul-Fitr is an Islamic
holiday that marks the end of
Ramadan, the month of
fasting. Worshippers greet
and embrace each other in a
spirit of peace after
congregational prayers.
People also distribute Zakat,
the obligatory tax on one’s
wealth, to the needy.
One of the special dishes in
India is savayya, a dish of
toasted, sweetened
vermicelli noodles.

16. holi
Holi or the ‘Festival of
Colors’ is a popular spring
festival. Bonfires are lit on
the eve of Holi. On the day
itself, known as dhulandi,
people spend the day
throwing colored powder
and water at each other.
A special drink called
thandai is prepared,
sometimes containing bhang
(cannabis).

17. dussera
Dussera or ‘Vijayadashami’
is a festival celebrated in the
month of Sep / Oct. Dussera
marks the day when Lord
Rama killed Demon Ravana.
Present celebrations
commemorate the event by
burning effigies of Ravana
and his henchmen.

18. and of course… bollywood!!
Bollywood produces about 1000
feature films in an year.
Approximately 3 billion movie
tickets are sold in India every year
and is a $3 billion industry.

19. and followed, in a burst of creativity, by …
tollywood, mollywood, kollywood, lollywood!
Will you marry
me?
Only if you
watch me
dance
Where did you
Where did you
get that shirt?
get those
moves?

20. cricket mania
India is a cricket crazy nation. The kids will play
anywhere – roads, roof tops or railway tracks. Some will
worship the cricketers. Others will burn down their
houses if they fail to perform.
Legendary rival? Pakistan. And India has never lost a
match to Pakistan in World Cup.

21. cricket mania
er y where!
cricket ev
i n p eak
s of him
al ayas
on the ghats of varanasi
d taj
behin
rbed
the r i ve on the beach
on

22. food
Mughlai Cuisine – Seekh kabab, Boti South Indian Cuisine – Idli, Dosa, Chicken Tikka Masala was created in
kabab, Shami kabab, Biryani Wada, Uttappa UK. Vindaloo is a Portugese dish!
Chat – Samosa, Bhelpuri, Panipuri – Chai – Largest consumed beverage Alphonso mangoes were good
found street side in the world (3 Bn cups/ day in India enough to pull off the Indo-US nuke
alone)! Sorry, no wines with food. deal

23. and some food for thought…
Somehow, in spite of the Gods... …we run along!!
 Illiteracy  Oldest, continuous civilization
 “IIT/IIM” talks hide the poor primary education  5,000 years and going strong
infrastructure  Tradition, culture and ancient wisdom
 Young population Yes, but how to get the best of  Attained independence through non-
them
violence
 Poverty and Inequality  Perhaps one of the very few to do so
 Grinding, multi-generational poverty  And the one that heralded the breakup of the
 Co-existing with sheer inequality of resource British Empire
distribution  Largest Democracy
 Corruption  However imperfect, chaotic, exasperating,
 India is NOT a poor country unpredictable, frustrating or unreal!
 And yet, 85% of all development funds  And Churchill thought we would fail
…..vanish!  Services Superpower
 Under-developed Infrastructure  IT, BPO, R&D…
 12 hour power failures  And an unconventional route to stardom
 2 hours of running water  Secularism and Tolerance
 Poor government health care…  Every single religion of the world has found a
 Internal Disturbances home here
 Kashmir…  Including all ‘invaders’ and those who were
 Naxalites… thrown out of their own homeland, welcomed
 The North East… with open arms to this already crowded land!

24. india
१ what you already know
२ what you probably don’t know – the new, quirky, contradictory,
difficult to pin-down India
३ a dozen reasons for wanderlust

25. sari… the traditional garment

26. sari… err…

27. railways … the british import
PALACE ON WHEELS
A luxury train operated by Indian railways –
departs from New Delhi for an 8 day tour of
Rajasthan, Agra and includes visits to Hawa
Mahal, Taj Mahal, Jaisalmer, Ranthambore
National Park and many other places. Prices are
about $500 per night.
INDIAN RAILWAYS
And yet as the life blood of the transport it is
also … ALL ABOARD!
The Mumbai Metro is the densest, largest
carrier in the world.

28. getting around…
Raju goes to school…
Ummm… I
This sucks. think I’ll try the
Life will get train tomorrow
better when I
grow up and
start working
Perfect!
Sigh… I hate
public
transport

29. a bit too prudish?
In the land of Khajuraho and the Kamasutra… … a light kiss in public …
Richard
Gere!
Shilpa
Shetty!
… is not taken lightly!

30. need we say more!
What is this??? An abandoned plane…
Disappears the next day!

31. perhaps we will say a bit more!
I have the power! The path to God The toughest defender in the world
Underage Drinking? International Brands?

32. jobs india hasn’t yet exported
Truck Painter Traveling Knife Sharpener Ear Cleaner
Roadside Dentist
Train Waiter
And you thought it
was tough explaining
YOUR job?

33. india
१ what you already know
२ what you probably don’t know
३ a dozen reasons for wanderlust

34. Roof of the world. Ten
8000-ders reside in this
range. Home of Yeti.
himalayas
home to mount everest

35. Ladakh means "Land of High
Passes‘. It is India’s highest
plateau with much of it being
over 3,000 m.
out of this world ladakh

36. kashmir
heaven on earth
Historically the term Kashmir
was used to refer to the valley
lying between the Great
Himalayas and the Pir Panjal
range. Often dubbed “Paradise
on Earth”, Kashmir's
mountainous landscape has
attracted tourists for centuries.

37. The city is known as the "Sun
City" for the bright, sunny
weather it enjoys all year. It is
also referred as the Blue city,
due to the indigo tinge of the
whitewashed houses.
aquamarine blue city
jodhpur

38. Also known as the Great
Indian Desert, it's a desert
located in western India and
southeastern Pakistan.
the golden sand dunes of
thar desert, rajasthan

39. varanasi
the holy town on ganges
It's a famous Hindu holy city
situated on the banks of the
river Ganges in the Indian
state of Uttar Pradesh. Hindus
believe that bathing in the river
Ganges will remit sins and that
dying in the holy city of Kashi
(Varanasi) circumvents rebirth.

40. calcutta
lost in time
Now known as Kolkata, it
served as the capital of India
during the British Raj until
1911. This vibrant city, with a
distinct socio-political culture,
is considered by many as the
Cultural capital of India.

41. ajanta ellora
cities carved in stone
Ellora caves are rock-cut cave
monuments dating back to the
second century BC.
Famous for its paintings,
Ajanta caves is a World
Heritage Site.

42. bombay
stuff dreams are made of
Monsoon. Locals. Mills. Crime.
Crowd. Streets. Chawls. Cars.
Carts. Underworld. Business.
Bollywood. Bomb blasts. Stock
Market. CHAOS. Theatre.
Shopping Malls. Flats. Slums.
Expressways. Fights. Fervour.
Passion. Fear. Fever. Bombay
is made of the stuff dreams are
made of.

43. Known as ‘Rome of the East’,
‘Tourist Paradise’ and ‘Pearl of
the Orient’, the state of Goa is
located on the western coast
of India. Goa's carnival-like
nightlife has been known to
lure many into a psychedelic
trance.
goa
some martini, some sun, a little water, some sand

44. dubare national park
At Dubare elephant
sanctuary in south India
(and several other
national parks), you can
see these giants troll in
the wild. Come evening,
you can feed them jaggery
laddoos with your hands
and pat their trunks.
Suggested tip to the
keeper: $ 0.50

45. This little country famous
for food in banana leaves,
ayurvedic massages,
communism, 100%
literacy is the backwaters
of India. It’s also the place
where Thomas the
Apostle landed in 1st
century.
kerala
Beautiful Backwaters

46. And they say, men of the world are divided into two …
those who have seen it and those who haven’t

48. taj mahal, agra
a monument of love

49. theek hain?

50. some creativity, some ctrl C + ctrl V
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