Stuff About India

Tuesday 9 August, 2011

Andhra Pradesh

Kolleru Lake

Arunachal Pradesh

Assam

Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary
Chandubi Lake

Bihar

Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary

Himachal Pradesh

Main article: List of Lakes in Himachal Pradesh

Haryana

Jammu and Kashmir

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Upper Lake (Bhopal)

Maharastra

Meghalaya

Barapani Lake

Manipur

Loktak Lake. This lake in Manipur is famous for its floating islands.

Orissa

Punjab

Rajasthan

Sikkim

Tamil Nadu

Uttar Pradesh

Uttarakhand

Skeleton Lake, notable for three to six hundred skeletons at the lake's edge.

West Bengal

Senchal Lake

Unclassified

Flag of India

"Indian flag" redirects here. For flags used by Native American people, see the tribes' respective articles, for example the Navajo Nation.

Flag of India
*Tirangā*


Name	India
Use	National flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	22 July 1947
Design	Horizontal tricolour flag (deep saffron, white, and green). In the centre of the white is a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes
Designed by	Pingali Venkayya^{[N 1]}

The national flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of deep saffron, white and India green; with the Ashoka Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the official flag of the Dominion of India. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolour" (Hindi: तिरंगा, Tirangā) almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.

The flag, by law, is to be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun cloth of cotton or silk made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The right to manufacture the flag is held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, who allocate it to the regional groups. As of 2009, the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha was the sole manufacturer of the flag.

Usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national emblems. The original code prohibited use of the flag by private citizens except on national days such as the Independence day and the Republic Day. In 2002, on hearing an appeal from a private citizen, Naveen Jindal, the Supreme Court of India directed the Government of India to amend the code to allow flag usage by private citizens. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet of India amended the code to allow limited usage. The code was amended once more in 2005 to allow some additional use including adaptations on certain forms of clothing. The flag code also governs the protocol of flying the flag and its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags.

source:wikipedia

Emblem of India

The original Lion Capital of Ashoka

The emblem of India is an adaptation of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.

Emperor Ashoka the Great erected the capital atop an Ashoka Pillar to mark the spot where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded. In the original there are four Asiatic lions, standing back to back, mounted on a circular abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening Dharmachakra or Ashoka Chakra wheels over a bell-shaped lotus. It was carved out of a single block of polished sandstone.

The four lions (one hidden from view) - symbolising power, courage, pride and confidence - rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by four smaller animals - guardians of the four directions: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'.

The version used as the emblem does not include the bell-shaped lotus flower beneath. The frieze beneath the lions is shown with the Dharma Chakra in the center, a bull on the right and a galloping horse on the left, and outlines of Dharma Chakras on the extreme right and left.

Forming an integral part of the emblem is the motto inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script: Satyameva Jayate सत्यमेव जयते (English: Truth Alone Triumphs). This is a quote from Mundaka Upanishad, the concluding part of the sacred Hindu Vedas.

It was adopted as the National Emblem of India on 26 January 1950, the day that India became a republic.

The emblem forms a part of the official letterhead of the Government of India, and appears on all Indian currency as well. It also sometimes functions as the national emblem of India in many places and appears prominently on the diplomatic and national Passport of the Republic of India. The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the center of the National Flag of India

The Emblem of India

source:wikipedia

Ashoka Chakra

The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the Buddhist Dharmachakra, represented with 24 spokes. It is so called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka, most prominent among which is the Lion Capital of Sarnath which has been adopted as the National Emblem of the Republic of India.

The most visible use of the Ashoka Chakra today is at the centre of the National flag of the Republic of India (adopted on 22 July 1947), where it is rendered in a Navy-blue color on a White background, by replacing the symbol of Charkha (Spinning wheel) of the pre-independence versions of the flag.

Illustration of the Ashoka Chakra, as depicted on the National flag of the Republic of India.

List of museums in India

Ahmedabad

Calico Museum of Textiles

Aligarh

Bangalore

Chandigarh

Government Museum and Art Gallery

Chennai

Government Museum

Dharamsala

Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Hyderabad

Kanpur

Kanpur Sangrahalaya
Kamla Retreat
Rail Meuseum (Planned)

Kolkata

Indian Museum

Mathura

Mathura Museum

Mumbai

New Delhi

Ootacamund

Wax World - Wax Museum & Art Gallery, a collection of life-size look-alike wax statues that speak of Indian history, heritage and culture.official site

Old Goa

Wax World - Wax Museum & Art Gallery, a collection of Life-size look-alike wax statues that speak of Indian history, heritage and culture.^[1]

Pune

Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum

Source:Wikipedia

Monday 8 August, 2011

Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent

A sculpture of Siddhārtha Gautama the founder of Buddhism

The first sculptures in the Indian subcontinent date back to the Indus Valley civilization, where stone and bronze carvings have been discovered. This is one of the earliest instances of sculpture in the world. Later, as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism developed further, India produced some of the most intricate bronzes in the world, as well as unrivaled temple carvings. Some huge shrines, such as the one at Ellora were not actually constructed using blocks, but instead carved out of rock, making them perhaps the largest and most intricate sculptures in the world.

During the 2nd to 1st century BCE in far northern India, in what is now southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, sculptures became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha’s life and teachings. Although India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of rich iconography, the Buddha was never represented in human form before this time, but only through some of his symbols. This may be because Gandharan Buddhist sculpture in modern Afghanistan displays Greek and Persian artistic influence. Artistically, the Gandharan school of sculpture is said to have contributed wavy hair, drapery covering both shoulders, shoes and sandals, acanthus leaf decorations, etc.

The pink sandstone sculptures of Mathura evolved during the Gupta period (4th to 6th century) to reach a very high fineness of execution and delicacy in the modeling. Newer sculptures in Afghanistan, in stucco, schist or clay, display very strong blending of Indian post-Gupta mannerism and Classical influence, Hellenistic or possibly even Greco-Roman. Meanwhile, elsewhere in India, less anatomically accurate styles of human representation evolved, leading to the classical art that the world is now familiar with, and contributing to Buddhist and Hindu sculpture throughout Asia.

Gallery

Marble stone work, Jaisalmer Jain Temple,Rajasthan
Seated Ganesha, sandstone sculpture from Rajasthan, India, 9th century, Honolulu Academy of Arts
yellow sandstone Sculpture of a Standing deity,11th century CE, Rajasthan
Marble Sculpture of female, ca 1450, Rajasthan
source:wikipedia

List of rivers of India

Map of the major rivers, lakes and reservoirs in India.

This is a list of rivers in India. Rivers that flow into the sea are sorted geographically, along the coast starting from the Bay of Bengal in the east, moving along the Indian coast southward to Kanyakumari, then northward along the Arabian Sea. Tributary rivers are listed hierarchically in upstream order: the lower in the list, the more upstream.

The biggest major rivers of India are:

flowing into the Bay of Bengal: Brahmaputra, Ganges (with its tributaries Yamuna, Kameika, Gomti, Chambal), Meghna, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri (and their main tributaries)
flowing into the Arabian Sea: Indus, Narmada, Tapti (and their main tributaries)

The remaining rivers are:

flowing into the inner part of India.
coastal rivers.

Rivers flowing into Bay of Bengal

Karnaphuli River from Mizoram and Bangladesh

Meghna River Basin

The Meghna-Surma-Barak River System is located in India and Bangladesh.

Meghna River (in Bangladesh)
- Padma River (main Ganges distributary)
- Dhaleshwari River
- Dakatua River
- Gumti River
- Feni River
  - Muhuri River
- (Old) Brahmaputra (in Bangladesh)
- Titas River, also called the Haora River
- Surma River
  - Kangsha River
    - Someshwari River
- Kushiyara River
  - Manu River
- Barak River
  - Tuivai River
  - Irang River

Brahmaputra River Basin

Brahmaputra River, called Jamuna River in Bangladesh
- Dharla River (Bangladesh)
  - Jaldhaka (India)
- Torsa River (also Torsha), called Kaljani in Bangladesh
  - Ghargharia River
  - Buri Torsa
- Teesta River (also Tista)
  - Rangeet River
  - Lachen River
  - Lachung River
- Yamuna
- Sankosh (also Sankhosh)
  - Raidāk River
- Manas River
- Pagladiya River
- Kapili River
- Kolong River
- Dhansiri River
  - Mora Dhansiri River
- Subansiri River
- River Diphlu
  - River Mora Diphlu
- Kakodonga River
- Bhogdoi River, also called Gelabill (previously called Desoi)
- Dikhou River (or Dikhu)
  - Namdang River
- Disang River
- Kameng River, also called Jia Bhoreli (previously called Bhareli)
- Dihing River, also called Burhidihing, Buri Dihing, and Noa Dihing in its earlier course through Namdapha National Park
  - Tirap River
  - Namphuk River
- Lohit River (or Luhit)
- Dibang River
- Upriver of the Dibang the Brahmaputra is known as the Dihang River and, China, the Yarlung Zangbo River
- Dorika River

Ganges River Basin

Map of the Ganges (orange), Brahmaputra (violet), and Meghna (green) drainage basins.

Yamuna River drainage basin map.

Ganges River
- Hooghly River (distributary)
- Meghna River (distributary)
- Padma River (distributary)
- Atrai River
- Mahananda River
- Kosi River
- Burhi Gandak River
- Punpun River
  - Falgu River
- Gandaki River (also Gandak, known as Narayani in Nepal)
- Son River
  - North Koel River
    - Amanat River
  - Rihand River
  - Gopad River
    - Goini River
    - Neur River
  - Banas River
- Ghaghara River (sometimes spelled Gogra), called Karnali River in Nepal
  - West Rapti River
    - Rohni River
  - Sarda River (also known as Chauka), called Mahakali in Nepal, also known as the Kali River along the India–Nepal border
    - Ladhiya River
    - Sarayu River, or Sarju River
    - Gori Ganga River (or Goriganga)
    - Darma River (also Dhauliganga, Darmaganga)
- Gomati River (also spelled Gomti)
- Yamuna River
  - Ban Ganga River
  - Ken River
  - Betwa River
  - Sindh River
    - Kwari River
  - Hindon River Ghaziabad in western Uttar Pradesh
  - Karban River Agra region Uttar Pradesh
    - Pahuj River in Bhind District Madhya Pradesh
  - Chambal River
  - Gambhir River
    - Parbati River (Rajasthan)
- Ramganga River
  - Khoh River
  - Mandal River
- Alaknanda River
- Bhagirathi River
  - Bhilangna River

West Bengal Coastal Rivers

Mahanadi River Basin

Godavari River Basin

Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra states
- Kolab River in Orissa State
- Indravati River in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra State and also in Chhattisgarh state^[1]
  - Bandiya River in Gadchiroli
    - Suvarnamukhi River
    - Veda River
    - Avathi River
  - Varada River
  - Tunga River
  - Bhadra River
- Bhima River in Karnataka and Maharashtra
- Malaprabha River
- Ghataprabha River
- Varma River
- Koyna River in Satara district of Maharashtra state

Andhra Pradesh Coastal Rivers

Rivers like vamsadhara and nagavalli are the two coastal rivers in srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh

Sharada river starts at Devarapally in visakhapatnam district and drains in to the Bay of Bengal

Penner River Basin

Penner River

Kaveri River Basin

Hogenakkal Falls, on the Kaveri River.

Kaveri River (Kaveri)
- Kollidam (distributary)
- Amaravati River
- Arkavathy River
- Mettur Dam
- Bhavani River
- Hemavati River
- Kabini River

Tamil Nadu Coastal Rivers

Rivers flowing into Arabian Sea

Karnataka Coastal Rivers

The rivers flowing through three coastal districts of Karnataka join Arabian sea.

Kerala Coastal Rivers

The rivers flowing through three coastal districts of Kerala to join Arabian sea.

Chaliyar

List of rivers of Kerala

Coastal rivers of Goa

Tiracol
Chapora
Baga
Mandovi River

Mandovi River,known as Mhadai in Western Ghats of Goa and Karnataka, has three sources viz., the Degao, the Nanevadichi Nhõi (nhõi means river in Konkani) and Gavali the last two sources go dry in summer season. The main origin of the river, in the form of a spring, even during Summer season, is at Bavtyacho Dongor hills near Degao village in Khanapur Taluka of Belgaum Dist in Karnataka State. The three streams confluence at the Kabnali village whereafter it is known as Mhadai, which has an easterly flow initially, then flows north and finally turns to the west on entering Goa. Mhadai River enters Goa between Krisnapur (Karnataka) and Kadval (Goa) villages. The tributaries of the Mhadai are the Nersa Nala, the Chapoli and Kapoli nala, the Bail Nala, the Volo Panshiro ( Karnataka), the Suko Panshiro, the Harparo, the Nanodyachi Nhõi, the Vellsachi Nhõi, the Valpoichi Nhõi, the Ghadghadyachi Nhõi, the Valvanti/ Volvot, the Divcholchi Nhõi, the Asnoddchi Nhõi, the Khandeaparchi Nhõi, the Mhapxechi Nhõi, Xinkerchi Nhõi etc. It is the longest River of Goa with a reported length of 105 km.

Zuari River
Sal
Talpona
Galgibag

Maharashtra Coastal Rivers

Shastri River
Gad River
Vashishti River
Savitri River
Patalganga River
Ulhas River
- Thane Creek (distributary)
- Vasai Creek (distributary)
Mithi River or Mahim River
Oshiwara River
Dahisar River
Tansa River in Thane
Vaitarna River
Surya River

Tapi River Basin

Tapti River and its tributaries

Tapti River (or Tapi) in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
- Gomai River in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra
- Arunavati River in Dhule district of Maharashtra
- Panzara River in Jalgaon, Dhule districts of Maharashtra
  - Kaan River in Dhule district
- Aner River in Jalgaon, Dhule districts
- Girna River in Nashik, Malegaon, Jalgaon districts
  - Titur River in Jalgaon district
- Waghur River in Jalgaon, Aurangabad districts
- Purna River in Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Jalgaon, Navsari districts of Gujarat, Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh
  - Nalganga River in Buldhana district
  - Vaan River in Buldhana, Akola, Amravati districts of Maharashtra
  - Morna River in Akola, Washim districts
  - Katepurna River in Akola, Washim districts
  - Umaa River in Akola, Washim districts
- Sangiya River in Amravati district of Maharashtra

Indus River Basin

Map of the main rivers of the Indus Basin.

Indus River (largely in Pakistan)
- Panjnad River (Pakistan)
  - Sutlej River (Northern India and Pakistan)
    - Beas River
      - Parbati River (Himachal Pradesh)
  - Chenab River (largely in Pakistan)
    - Ravi River (largely in Pakistan)
    - Jhelum River (in Pakistan and Indian Kashmir)
      - Neelum River or Kishanganga
    - Tawi River
- Shyok River
  - Nubra River, rising from the meltwater of the Siachen Glacier
  - Chang Chenmo River
  - Galwan River
- Suru River
  - Dras River
  - Shingo River
- Yapola River
- Zanskar River
  - Markha River
  - Khurna River
  - Tsarap River
  - Doda River
- Hanley River

Rivers flowing into inner part of India