About India
India, officially the Republic of India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers.
Home to the Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[17] Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread non-violent resistance.
The Constitution of India, the longest and the most exhaustive constitution of any independent nation in the world, came into force on 26 January 1950. The President of India is the head of state elected indirectly by an electoral college for a five-year term. The Prime Minister is the head of government and exercises most executive powers.
India consists of twenty-eight states and seven Union Territories. India is the most populous democracy in the world.
India, the major portion of the Indian subcontinent, sits atop the Indian tectonic plate, a minor plate within the Indo-Australian Plate. India is the world's most culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse geographical entity after the African continent.
India's culture is marked by a high degree of syncretism and cultural pluralism. It has managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants and spreading its cultural influence to other parts of Asia, mainly South East and East Asia. Traditional Indian society is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. Traditional Indian family values are highly respected, and multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm, although nuclear family are becoming common in urban areas. An overwhelming majority of Indians have their marriages arranged by their parents and other respected family members, with the consent of the bride and groom. Marriage is thought to be for life, and the divorce rate is extremely low.
Climate Conditions
The climate of India defies easy generalisation, comprising a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale and varied topography. India's unique geography and geology strongly influence its climate; this is particularly true of the Himalayas in the north and the Thar Desert in the northwest. The India Meteorological Department designates four official seasons.
- Winter, occurring between January and March
- Summer or pre-monsoon season, lasting from March to June
- Monsoon or rainy season, lasting from June to September
- Post-monsoon season, lasting from October to December
Indian Lifestyle
Food
Indian cuisine is characterised by a wide variety of regional styles and sophisticated use of herbs and spices. The staple foods in the region are rice (especially in the south and the east) and wheat (predominantly in the north). Spices like black pepper that are now consumed world wide are originally native to the Indian subcontinent. Chili pepper, which was introduced by the Portuguese is also very much used within Indian Cuisine.
Dress
Traditional Indian dress varies across the regions in its colours and styles and depends on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as saree for women and dhoti or lungi for men, in addition, stitched clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta–pyjama and European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.
Festivals
Many Indian festivals are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. Some popular festivals are Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Thai Pongal, Holi, Onam, Vijayadasami, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, Buddha Jayanti and Vaisakhi. India has three national holidays. Other sets of holidays, varying between nine and twelve, are officially observed in individual states. Religious practices are an integral part of everyday life and are a very public affair.
Sports
India's official national sport is field hockey, administered by the Indian Hockey Federation. The Indian field hockey team won the 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup and 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Olympic games. However, cricket is the most popular sport; the India national cricket team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, and shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka.
Mode of Transport
Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh is located in the south central part of India. There are several modes of transportation available in the city.
Bus
Hyderabad has an extensive bus service operated by APSRTC inside the city and to various places across the country. The APSRTC operates point to point bus services which connect important places within the city, with a very good frequency. The buses are exceptionally clean and services are very user friendly. There are 4000+ buses in the city running the point to point service.
APSRTC has several kinds of services like
- Seetala Hamsa
- Metro Deluxe
- Metro Express
- Ordinary
Seetala Hamsa is an air-conditioned luxury bus, where as Metro Deluxe and Metro express are luxury and semi-luxury services respectively, and have fewer stops allowing a faster commute at a marginally higher price
Train
Hyderabad has a light rail transportation system known as the Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS). The MMTS is owned and operated by Indian Railways. The MMTS connects various parts of the city and suburbs of Hyderabad.
Taxis
The yellow colored Auto Rickshaw usually referred to as an "auto", is the most widely used taxi in Hyderabad. They can be found in any part of the city and at anytime of the day. Taximeters are compulsory for all taxis in Hyderabad and this applies for autos too.
Recently other automobiles like cars and SUV's have been introduced as taxi. Radio Taxis provide a luxury travel in the city.