|
|
Introducing India |
| INDIA is so vast and so diverse a country that it has something special to offer to everyone : tourist, artist, hunter, businessman, the energetic and the idle, the young, the old, the rich and the traveller on a shoestring. For the romantic, the incredible beauty of the Taj Mahal by moonlight -the greatest monument to love ever created, the beat and rhythm of folk dances which have come down the ages almost unchanged, crowded colourful bazaars contrasting with the peace and splendour of the eternal snows of the Himalayas. For the social scientist, it is a vast laboratory of experiments made by history for ultimately fusing people of different racial stocks into one nation. India can mean sport and hunting with gun, rod or camera in conditions of splendour from the back of an elephant, standing in the sun by a mountain- girt stream or lying in tense anticipation for a tiger to walk under the tree-top 'machan', and to see the camera-flash reflected in his eyes. INDIA is a land of treasures, to be looked at-the temples, palaces and magnificent scenery-and those to be taken away-fabulous handmade brocades and silks, exqufsite workmanship in metal, enchanting clay toys, jewels old and new, and a thousand more things to delight that can cost a fortune or a few cents. . India is old : she was old when the Aryans came in from the North about 3,000 B. C. and found a flourishing civilisation already there. Civilisations died and were rebuilt, layer upon layer, and relics and treasures from all of them are to be seen all over the land. Temple carvings are as beautiful as the day they were first cut, centuries ago; pilgrims stand where the Buddha preached his first sermon 2,500 years ago; tourists look down in the fabled city of Fatehpur Sikri into a squared courtyard, as did the Emperor Akbar in the 16th century to move his living chessmen in a life-sized game. India is young : the Republic was proclaimed on January 26, 1950, three years after Independence, and straightaway India set course towards modernisation and industrialisation. Vigour, eagerness and determination are shown by the achievements of this short period-the highest straight-gravity dam in the world at Bhakra, refineries, steel plants, factories. There is much to see for a man interested in the development of industry and natural resources. In India, perhaps as nowhere else on earth, the ancient and the modern ways of man still blend together. Hospitality, warmth and interest greet the foreign visitors whether they have come to view the famous beauty spots, explore the glorious ruins of the Mughal Empire, the ancient temples of the South, or to conduct business from the airconditioned comfort of a first-class hotel. Indians are proud of their country, and they love to share their festivals and feastdays with the stranger from abroad. Adventure, tranquillity, entertainment, peace : all these and more can be found by those who visit India; it is different, it is exciting 'and it is a country which in the years to come is bound to play an increasingly important part in world affairs. |
