SmartSurat # Travel India

INDIA is a little over one-third the size of the United States and stretches about 3,200 km. (2,000 miles) from the snow-covered Himalayas to the tapering, tropical tip of the South, and 2,735 km. (1,700 miles) from east to west. The climate varies considerably over this large area, but is generally considered as sub tropical. Nowever, it can be crisp and cold in the evenings in Delhi and further north during the winter months, and of tropical warmth all the year round in the South. There are, roughly, three seasons the dry heat of summer being broken by the thunderous monsoon which turns the parched earth into a lush green overnight. This is succeeded by cool winds from the northern hills bringing the glorious winter season from November onwards-for five months in the North and decreasing towards the South.

The 450 million people vary in customs, traditions and costumes, as much as the scenery and climate.

The recorded past is long, incomplete but often glorious. Over 5,000 years ago, there was a highly developed civilisation in the Indus Valley, first discovered with the excavations at MohenjoDaro and Harappa (now in Pakistan) and, more recently, nn Gujarat and Maharashtra. This civilisation, which may have had close cultural contacts with the Sumerian people, was flourishing when the Aryans came to India from Central Asia.

The Aryans brought their own religion, philosophy and traditions and, although .they overcame the original inhabitants, they also absorbed much of the existing civilisation. The result of this early blending marked the beginning of a civilisation the thread of which, despite constant change, has continued unbroken to this day. In the following years, several eras stand out as particularly remarkable. The 6th century B. C. saw the birth of the Buddha and Mahavira, and the beginnings of the'reforming effect of their two faiths.

The invasion of Alexander in 326 B. C. left an impression, both on Indian mythology and art, easily traceable today.

The Emperor Ashoka (whose grandfather defeated the Greeks), tired and revofted by the violence of war, became a Buddhist and under his humane rule there was a sp.lendid flowering of art and building in India. With the despatch of Buddhist missions abroad, Indian Influence soon spread to other countries of the East.

The next thousand years saw a profusion of great artistic work, particularly in temple building and carving, which can be seen all over the country.

Muslim traders and invaders began coming to India from the 8th century, but it was not till the early 16th century that the Mughals made India their home and ruled until the 19th century.

The new rulers brought their own traditions, crafts and skills, and the glorious results can still be found not only in architecture and beautiful pleasure gardens, but also in exquisite miniature paintings, jewellery and in music and dance.

The Mughals set about the task of unifying as much of the country as they could reach by building a far-flung modern system of administration,which remained effective until the middle of the 18th century.

Then, as Muslim rule weakened, the British, who had come as traders, assumed control and India was at last unified under a single administration, given a common system of law and deeply influenced by Western thought in both political and economic life. It will be seen, therefore, that in India there is a wide blending of both racial and cultural stocks. Within the nation, however, individuals still live in their own traditional ways which have come down the centuries basically unchanged by changing times.