From the highest point of the
Kanchenjunga peak at 8598 meters to the lowest point at 0 meters at the
Indian Ocean, India is the land that spells variety.
The
7th largest country in the world, it covers a total area of 3,287,590
sq km in area. It lies in south Asia jutting into the Indian Ocean in
its south, undulating over the frozen wasteland of the Himalayas in the
north, braving drought in its desert-like west and surviving fierce
floods in its east. A substantial portion of northern India is the
fertile plain where the great Gangetic riverine system irrigates vast
expanses of the land bringing agrarian well being. The Deccan Plateau in
Central India is rich in minerals. The Western and Eastern Ghats fringe
the southern peninsula and are the setting for coffee, tea, cashew
plantations, the Nilgiri langur and gaur, and the silversmith Toda
tribal.
In
the north-west, Pakistan borders India, and to the east lie China,
Nepal, Burma, Bhutan and Bangladesh. To the south lies the teardrop
shaped island nation of Sri Lanka. Beyond the peninsula the waters of
the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the
Indian Ocean at the very south wet the shores of India’s 7000 km long
coastline. Great vanquishing rivers are worshipped. The Narmada,
Godavari, Krishna, Cauveri, the Brahmaputra, Ganga and Yamuna
criss-cross the terrain bringing prosperity and fertility and often
wreaking havoc in flood. They inspire songs and they bring misery;
increasingly they are bringing hydroelectric power to millions across
the country.
The
Tropic of Cancer splits India in half. Sub tropical jungles house the
Royal Bengal tiger, multiple species of deer and antelope, the Asian
elephant, the Common, Golden and Nilgiri langurs, the one horned rhino
in the forests of Assam, prides of Asiatic lions in the dry wilds of
Sasan Gir in the west. And there is much more: river dolphins in the
Ganges and Brahmaputra, crocodiles, waters that are teeming with
mahseer, trout, carp, fresh water prawns, woods with fishing cat,
civets, leopard, the cobra, krait and python, the grey mongoose, the
gaur, the sloth bear.
There
are over 1200 bird species including the Great Indian Bustard, the
Malabar hornbill, Paradise Flycatcher, cormorants, egrets, darters and
migratory Siberian cranes in the winter. India’s jungles, rivers,
streams are simply bursting with wildlife, much of it protected in her
80 National Parks and 441 Sanctuaries. Camels in the deserts of
Rajasthan, stoic yaks, sure-footed Himalayan Tahr and mountain goats in
the north extend the scope beyond just that which is typical to Asian
sub tropical forests of sal, shisham and teak. There are mangrove
forests in the east and evergreen conifers in the upper climes of
Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Common
flowers include roses, bougainvilleas, sunny marigold, water lilies,
lotus and fragrant jasmine. In the breathtaking Valley of Flowers a sea
of lilies, poppy, daisies, holly, pansy, geranium, zinnia, petunia, fox,
caryopsis dianthus, saxifrage and calendula stretches out in the shadow
of towering snowbound Himalayan peaks.
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