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May 28, 2009

The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.

INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age )

 

More INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT India

The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

 The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).

Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.

The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.

The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD)  during the reign of Rajaraja Chola

India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old). 

The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called  'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time,  the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

 

India has the most post offices in the world !

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.   

The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.

The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India.  Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C.  during the Vedic period.  Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).

 Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )

The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over  2600 years ago Sushrata & his team  conducted complicated surgeries like  cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

 

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,  physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.

 

Did you know ?

India also celebrates the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President and Vice-President and great statesman, as "Teachers' Day".

Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to become the most famous Indian teacher and philosopher of all times. In his honour, this day is celebrated as Teacher's Day.

He was also the Vice-President of India from 1952-1962. He held the office of the Chancellor, University of Delhi, before taking over as the President of India in May 1962.

 

"What makes a nation, is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past", says the noted historian Eric Hobsbawm.

 Hence, when talking of a nation, it becomes very imperative that the past should also be talked about. And the past of India is as fascinating and interesting as it is momentous.  
 

Proud to be Indian !

Jai Hind !

December 22, 2008

Tips for speaking English fluently! - Where do you get input from?
There is English input available everywhere. Here are a few tips and suggestions for you

to find input of English around you and improve your English speech:

1)Rent or buy an English movie DVD

Rent or buy an English movie DVD. Put the English subtitles on. Follow the movie.

This has many advantages:

You will be able to compare the written words to the correct pronunciations.
You will get a feel of how real English sentences are formed when speaking.
You will be learning English but it will not be frustrating and boring because you will be watching a movie.


Please note: When you watch the movie be sure to keep your dictionary handy. Whenever you

come across a new word, pause the movie and look it up in the dictionary. If you don’t do

this, the whole experience will be quite pointless.

 


2)Read about any subject that interests you

There are a lot of English magazines available on a lot of different topics.

No matter what subject interests you, there must be some magazine that talks about it.

There are English magazines about Business, Brides, Guns and Ammo, House Keeping, Stock

Market, Sports, Computers, Electronics, Linux, Graphic Designing, Cooking etc.

Find the magazine that interests you and read it cover to cover. Be sure to look out for

new words and new phrases and look them up in the dictionary as you go.

If you cannot find a magazine of your choice, look for information you are interested in

on the Internet. There is information available on every topic under the sun on the internet.

 

 


3)Read Internet forums of subject matter that interests you

Got to Internet forums of the subject matter that interests you. Generally most of the

forums are in English language and are a great source of English input.

For those of you who are not familiar with Internet forums, these are places where people

interested in a particular subject can get together and share their views and opinions

about a particular subject. You can also ask specific questions to other people and they

will help you out if they can. On the Internet, there are forums available about each and

every subject.

Forums are a great source of information. Also in forums real people talk about real

problems. Most of the information typed in forums is written in an informal way. Because

of this the forums make a good source for English input. Reading forums exposes you to a

lot of phrases of daily use.

You could find forums on any subject matter that interests you at: Google Groups

You could also go to "Google" and search for the forum of the subject matter you are

interested in by typing in something like “C programming forum” or “Cooking forum” etc.

When reading forums also make sure you find out the meaning of every new word or phrase

you come across or the whole exercise will be useless.

 


4)Read English fiction novels

Read English fiction of your choice. This is our India. Books are not costly here. You

get cheap book in every nook and corner. If you want to pick up an interesting cheap

English novel, go to the closest "raddi walla" (You know, the guy you sell your old daily

news papers to...) They will generally also have old novels, book and magazines. These

wont be good quality. They will all be second hand. But that’s okay, they will be nice

and cheap. Pick up some thing that interests you. Take it home and read it. Be sure to

look up all the new words you come across in the book.

 


5)Listen to the radio and TV

Our "All India Radio" has some good programs that are designed to teach English to the

listener.

Besides this, there are also many different radio stations available now-a-days in the

big cities. Some of these radio stations are in English. Listen to them to get a feel of

the language.

Besides the radio, you could also listen to the "News In English". It’s available on a

wide variety of channels. The news is a good place to get input of the English language

because it is spoken in a very clear, easy to understand way.

 


6)Chat with fluent English speakers

Chat with fluent English speakers real or online. Make friends with interesting English

speakers. Become pen-pals with a fluent English speaker.

While talking to them look at their lip movement for tips on how to pronounce words

correctly.

 


7)Most effective tip: "Think in English"

One of the most common mistakes that English learners make is, they think in their mother

tongue. When they want to say something in English, they think in their mother tongue,

translate it to English and then say it in English. The result is a very flawed English

sentence. Never do this!

If you want to speak in English fluently you will have to learn to "think" in English.

When you are constructing sentences in your mind before saying them, think in English and

form them in English in your mind.
GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

01:10 AM Jan 21 2009

LIFE2FAST

LIFE2FAST
Ukraine

Thanks for your tips:). But, you know, i found out that i actually use them all already!:) but thanks anyway:). It can be very usefull for others:)

06:56 PM Dec 25 2008

Angalie

Angalie
Pakistan

YOU PROFILE ROCKS:) btw i love your songs:)Kiss

November 17, 2008

Friendship . . .

. . . is you.
. . . is love.
. . . is shared.
. . . is forgiving.
. . . is understanding.
. . . is shared secrets.
. . . heals many hurts.
. . . is not judgmental.
. . . is shared laughter.
. . . is slow and steady.
. . . can be angry at times.
. . . is dependable and true.
. . . is more precious than silver or gold.
. . . is meant to be savored like fine wine.
. . . is not perfect, much like we are not perfect.
. . . does not hold grudges or demand perfection.
. . . makes all the wrong things in life, right somehow.
. . . is meant to be gulped like lemonade on a hot summer day.
. . . is always there, through times of trial, happy times and hard times.
. . . just happens, but once discovered, needs to be tended like a beautiful garden.
. . . is a road to be traveled slowly, remembering the sights and sounds.
. . . is strength when you are too weak to notice its there.
. . . is a cherished moment of mutual understanding.
. . . reaches into your heart and grabs a firm hold.
. . . is a refreshing rain on a hot day.
. . . is sunshine through the clouds.
. . . cannot be forced or induced.
. . . is relaxed and comfortable.
. . . is a shoulder to lean on.
. . . is an ear to whine to.
. . . gets better with age.
. . . is shared tears.
. . . is shared pain.
. . . is shared joy.
. . . is shared.
. . . is love.
. . . is you.