India

ByJoseph Banfield

Where Is India?

General Information

• • India is a large country in southern Asia. It has

the second largest population in the world, with nearly 1.1 billion people.

• The land here has desert, jungles, plains, and mighty rivers. It also has the tallest mountain system in the world.

Capital City

The capital of India is New Delhi, one of the most populated cities in the world.

New Delhi is famous for its wide roads, sandstone sculptures and lots of greenery.

Landmarks

• The Taj Mahal, considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, stands in the city of Agra in northern India.

• It took about 20,000 workers to build it!

What is the Weather Like

• The winter lasts from November to March and is a cool, dry season. Temperatures drop quite steeply in the northern parts of the country but in the south these months are pleasantly cool. The winter months are considered to be best time to travel in India.

People

• In the south of the country, most people live in villages and small towns.

• Family life is very important for Indian people. In many families, three generations live together in one household. When marriage occurs, the female leaves her family home and goes to live with her husband and his relatives.

Working Life

• Two thirds of the country's population makes a living from farming. They grow food to feed their families and to sell for cash.

• Tea pickers get paid for the amount of leaves that they pick. Some really quick pickers can fill their baskets with 15 kilogrammes of leaves in one day!

Languages

• • Greetings• English• Hindi• Hello• Namasté• Goodbye • Pirmelenge

Currency

• 10 India rupees are worth approximately £0.12p.

• The unit of currency in India is the rupee.

Religion

• Hinduism, practised by the majority of Indians, dates back more than 3,000 years. Hindus believe that everyone goes through cycles of rebirth before finding salvation.

• Practieded by about 11% of the population, Islam is India's second most common religion. Islam is based on the Qur'an or Koran, the book of teachings by the 7th century prophet Mohammed, who was the last in a line of prophets that includes Abraham, Moses and Jesus.

Exports

• India has also become a major exporter of rice, wheat, rubber, oilseed, cotton, tea, sugarcane, fruit and vegetables, cattle, milk, poultry and fish.

Food

• Wheat is mixed with oil and water to make chapattis. Chapattis are like flat pieces of bread, baked in clay ovens.

• Spices are a very important ingredient in Indian cooking. Walk into an Indian home or into an Indian restaurant and you will smell all sorts of amazing aromas.

Animals and Plants

• The snow-capped Himalayas are the home to rare animals such as the snow leopard, musk deer, ibex, markhor and pheasants of all descriptions. The forests of its lower slopes are home to many endangered plants and animal species.

Chembakoli

Chembakolli is a village in India. India is quite a large country on the other side of the world.