"This is indeed India!… The land of
dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendor and
rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and
Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country
of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two
million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of
history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose
yesterday’s bear date with the moldering antiquities for the rest of nations-the
one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest
for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool,
rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and
having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows
of all the rest of the world combined" - Mark Twain
As beautifully described my Mark
Twain, Keith Bellows and Ella Wheeler, India is a fabulous country which is a
must visit nation for anyone. But do you know what makes India an intriguing
place? Here are some unknown facts about our beloved nation :
1. Largest Post office network
India is known for having the largest network
of post offices in the world. It has over 1, 55,015 post offices. There is a
floating post office too in India which is situated at Dal Lake, Srinagar.
2. Kumbh Mela festival visible from space
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is grand and
important festival which is celebrated among Hindus. During 2011, over 75
million pilgrims were present at the festival! The number of people who
attended the festival were so huge that the crowd was visible from space!
4. Bandra Worli Sea link has steel wires equal to the earth's
circumference
This architectural masterpiece was completed
by the hard work of a total of 2,57,00,000-man hours. The weight of such
masterpiece is equivalent to that of 50,000 African elephants.
5. World’s Highest cricket ground
India is the biggest fan of cricket. The
highest cricket ground in the world was also located in India. Built at an
altitude of 2,444 meters in 1893, the Chail Cricket Ground of Himachal Pradesh
is a part of the Chail Military School which is the highest cricket ground in
the world.
6. Shampoos were invented in India
Shampoos were first
introduced by India. They were made by herbal methods in initial stages. Shampoos were derived from “Champu” which
means massage in Sanskrit.
7. A kabbadi pro nation
India is an incredible nation and is pro at
Kabaddi. The country has talented teams (both men and women), who won all
Kabaddi World Cups bravely and victoriously!
8. India's first President only took 50% of his salary
Even though the salary of India's first
President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, used to be Rs. 10,000, he only accepted 50% of
his salary stating his belief that the amount which he had accepted was
sufficient for him and he didn’t want more. He accepted only 25% of his salary
when his 12-year tenure ended!
9. The first consumer of sugar
Extraction and purifying techniques of sugar
was first developed in India. Refining and cultivation of sugar was also taught
by our country to many visitors from abroad.
Long time ago, Havells was bought for just Rs.
10 Lakhs which is now a famous and well-known electrical goods company making
billions. It is a purely Indian Company which was named after its original
owner Mr. Haveli Ram Gupta.
11. A special polling station is set up for a lone voter in the
middle of Gir Forest
A special polling booth was set up in the Gir
forest exclusively for a lone voter, Mr. Mahant Bharatdas Darshandas, who has
been voting since 2004. He is the sole voter from Banej in Gir forest.
12. Snakes and Ladders was invented in India
The game of “Snake
and Ladders” was first introduced in India and was previously known as Moksha
Patamu. The game was invented to teach the children about Karma. It was later commercialized
and has become one of the most played board games in the world.
