Kerala

It's an intricate network of innumerable lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries and the deltas of forty-four rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea. Over 900 km of this labyrinthine waterworld is navigable. The largest backwater stretch in Kerala is the Vembanad lake which flows through three districts and opens out into the sea at the Kochi port. The Ashtamudi Lake (literally, having eight arms), which covers a major portion of Kollam district in the south, is the second largest and is considered the gateway to the backwaters. The Ketturvallom: Showcasing a unique heritage The kettuvalloms (houseboats) of Kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 feet in length. It took great skill and meticulousness to construct these giants by tying huge planks of jack wood together, without the use of a single nail. Today, these goods carriers have been adapted to make the most exciting tourism product in India, the luxurious furnished houseboat. A kettuvallom usually has one or two bath attached bedrooms, an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising oarsmen, a cook and guide.

GOA

Goa, a tiny emerald land on the west coast of India, the 25th State in the Union of States of India, was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961. It was part of Union territory of Goa, Daman & Diu till 30 May 1987 when it was carved out to form a separate State. Goa covers an area of 3702 square kilometers and comprises two Revenue district viz North Goa and South Goa. Boundaries of Goa State are defined in the North Terekhol river which separates it from Maharashtra, in the East and South by Karnataka State and West by Arabian Sea. Goa lies in Western Coast of India and is 594 Kms (by road) away from Mumbai city. Goa, for the purpose of revenue administration is divided into district viz. North and South Goa with headquarters at Panaji and Margao respectively. The entire State comprises 11 talukas. For the purpose of implementation of development programmes the State is divided into 12 community development blocks. As per 2001 census, the population of the State is 13,42,998. Administratively the State is organised into two districts North Goa comprising six talukas with a total area of 1736 sq. kms. and South Goa comprising five talukas with an area of 1966 sq. kilometers. In all there are 383 villages of which 233 are in North Goa district and 150 in South Goa district. As per the 2001 census, there are 44 towns of which 14 are Municipalities and remaining are census towns.

India is the richest country in the world

Do you know that India is the richest country in the world!Right now, India is the richest country in the world!Wondering how? It's really amazing.It's due to Mr. G Vaidyaraj, who donated all his wealth, about which heactually did not know. He is a descendent of Raja Krishnadev Raya fromMysore district.For the last 300 years or so, three stones were worshipped in his house.But nobody tried to see what it was, except this person, who is a lawyer byprofession.One day, when there was nobody in his house, he took the stone out to seewhat it was that they worship. Due to the dust deposited on it, from manymany years, it looked only like a simple stone. But when he touched it,some portion of the stone was cleansed. And he saw a bright ray of light.He saw something which attracted his attention. And he was amazed when hecleaned all of them.The whole room was filled with light. He discovered they were diamonds ofabout 4600 carats each. He informed the Govt. of India and the news iscensored with its security. It's now deposited in a Swiss Bank. The cost ofsingle diamond exceeds the GDP of USA + UK. India can buy virtually 7developing nations.Even World Bank does not have enough money to buy it. One diamond coststhrice the debt of World Bank over India . One such diamond can buy 10 BillGates to you. And the World Bank has proposed the Indian Govt. that it canpay India in Installment if it wishes to do so. India's GDP is 34.25billion dollars.Bill Gates' property is 95 billion dollars approximate so that is the way"nature changes". Our Prime Minister has refused to sell it. He said itwill be sold or mortgaged for credit when we need it. Otherwise right nowwe have no problems. You can go through Times of India with a small columnon it a week ago. Star TV presented a 115 minute documentary on it about 15days ago. The Hindu with its half page article in it. After that it wascensored as classified.Another good news is that in the Desert of Thar a deposit of Oil andNatural gas have been found. This stores what Kuwait has in its stomach.India can go with this ONGC energy reserve with another 30 years. Andmoreover it! can export it to other counties. It's incredible!! But true.An Indian boy in his 12th standard has disproved Einstein's "Theory ofRelativity". Shocked?Read on... Sudarshan Reddy has theoretically proven the existence of asub-atomic particle, which can travel at speed greater than that of light,thereby challenging one of the fundamental postulates of the "Theory ofRelativity".In his recent research paper submitted to the Institute of Advanced Physics(IAP) at Trieste ( Italy ), Sudarshan has proved the existence of a classof sub-atomic particles called "leptons",which can travel faster thanlight.The international physics community is shocked by this discovery.Dr.Massimo Martelli, President of the IAP has this to say about the papersubmitted by Sudarshan. "After long, careful and critical analysis, I canconfidently say that Sudarshan's research papers show tremendous leap inour understanding of physics.His investigation mounts up on "leptons". His work builds substantially onthe work of Einstein and others in the field of relativity."When physicists from Princeton University tried to measure Sudarshan's IQwith an IQ-meter (at the American Embassy in Delhi ), the meter broke down.Sudarshan,incidentally, is the brother of Madhu Reddy, the Indian whiz kidwho developed an operating system superior to Microsoft Windows. We shouldall be very proud of these boys.

India's Latest Nuclear Missile Ready For Launch

by Staff WritersNew Delhi, India (AFP) Feb 03, 2006India on Friday announced it had completed all tests and was ready to deploy its latest nuclear-tipped missile, capable of striking targets at a distance of 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles).
"All technical parameters for the launch of the missile have been completed," M. Natarajan announced at a news conference in New Delhi.
"We are ready for the launch today... it is now for political leadership to give the nod," Natarajan said of the Indian-built missile codenamed Agni-111 (Fire).
Agni-III is the longest range missile of its type and can carry a one-tonne conventional or nuclear warhead.
Source: Agence France-Presse

Proude to be Indian(Indian STD)

An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to China. On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read "$10,000 per call". The American, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God. The American thanked the priest and went along his way. Next stop was in Japan. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in China and he asked a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 he could talk to God. "O.K., thank you," said the American. He then traveled to Pakistan, Srilanka, Russia, Germany and France. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same "$10,000 per call" sign under it.
The American, upon leaving Vermont decided to travel to India to see if Indians had the same phone. He arrived in India, and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read "One Rupee per call." The American was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign. "Father, I've traveled all over World and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but everywhere the price was $10,000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?" The priest smiled and answered, "You're in India now, son - it's a local call".

Indian Scientist

Shaleen Haralalka was a 12th standard student of St. John'r High School at Kota in Rajasthan when he developed equipment that can destroy landmines.He is among the four youngest Indian to be awarded a British Council scholarship to attend the two week internatinal science forum in London.

India has the second largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world.

Ten most admired Indians

According to a poll conducted by "The WEEK" in 2000 the list of most admiring Indians are :

1.A.B.Vajpayee
2.Lata Mageshkar
3.Sachin Tendulkar
4.Amitabh Bachchan
5.Kiran Bedi
6.Chandra Babu Naidu
7.Aishwarya Rai
8.APJ Abul Kalam
9.Saurav Ganguly
10.Amartya Sen

Look 30% are women


Poll methodology
Step 1: A list of 100 eminent Indians was collated jointly by The Week and market research and opinion polling agency TNS Mode.

Step 2: The list was given to 1047 persons in 6 cities, asking them to sort the names into four categories: people they admired a lot, people they admired somewhat, people they did not admire, and people they did not know. And then rank the top 10 from those whom they admired.

Step 3: The ranks were given a score, the topmost being 10. A mean rank score was computed for each contender. Based on the mean rank score, the 10 most admired Indians were shortlisted.

Great Son of India

Dhyan Chand

His quicksilver agility on the field as a centre-forward and captain of the Indian hockey team became legendary. It earned him the name 'hockey wizard'. Such was Dhyan Chand's reputation, that people thought he used a special hockey stick. Olympic officials in Holland took it apart to see if there was a magnet inside. In Japan, they decided he used some sort of super glue. German dictator Adolf Hitler offered to buy Dhyan Chand's hockey stick. A Vienna sports club has a statue of Dhyan Chand depicting him with four arms holding four hockey sticks!Dhyan Chand was a member of the Indian hockey team which won a gold medal in its first appearance in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. He played a stellar role in its win in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. In the 1936 Berlin Games, Dhyan Chand was the captain and led India to victory over Germany in the final. Out of the 338 goals scored by the Indians in 37 matches in 1932, Dhyan Chand contributed an astounding 133! In 1947, at the age of 42, and semi-retired, he accompanied a young Indian team to East Africa and scored 61 goals in 22 games!A team-member, Olympic gold medallist Keshav Dutt says,"Dhyan Chand knew where each player was without having to look. It was almost psychic." Another team-mate Gurbux Singh recounts how even in 1959, when he was way past his best, no Indian player could win the ball in a bully-off with Dhyan Chand.India issued a stamp in his honour in 1980.

Great Son of India

Amitabh Bachchan born 11-10-1942 is a renowned Indian film actor, popular mostly in the India and the Middle East. Bachchan's acting career began in 1969, reaching heights in the mid 70-80s. After withdrawing from acting career, Bachchan returned in 2000 as the host of the television show Kaun Banega Crorepati . He is presently active in the Indian film industry.
Bachchan was also a member of Indian Parliament (MP), being elected in 1984 from Allahabad. His political career was short lived as he resigned from this post after only 3 years.

Amitabh's 10 Best Dialogues:
10. Kaalia
"Hum jaha pe khade ho jaate hein , line wahin se shuru hoti hai."
9. Trishul
"Sahi baat ko sahi waqt pe kiya jaye to uska maza hi kuch aur hai, aur main sahi waqt ka intezaar karta hoon."
8.Satte Pe Satta
"Chain kuli ki, main kuli ki chain! Chain kuli ki, main kuli ki chain! Chain kuli ki, main kuli ki chain!"
7.Chupke Chupke
"Jis tarah gobhi ka phool phool hokar bhi phool nahi hota, waise hi gainde ka phool bhi phool hokar phool nahi hota."
6.Zanjee
"Yeh tumhare baap ka ghar nahin, police station hai! Is liye sidhi tarah khade raho!"
5. Agneepath
"Pura naam, Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Baap ka naam, Dinanath Chauhan; Maa ka naam, Suhasini Chauhan, gaon Mandwa; umar chhattis saal..."

4.Namak Halal
"I can talk English, I can walk English, I can laugh English because English is a very phunny language."

3.Shahenshah
"Rishte me to hum tumhare baap lagte hain , naam hai Shahenshah."
2. Deewar
"Haan, main sign karoonga, lekin pehle us aadmi ka sign le ke aao, jisne mera baap ko chor kaha tha ; pehle us aadmi ka sign le ke aao jisne meri maa ko gali deke naukri se nikal diya tha; pehle us aadmi ka sign le ke aao jisne mere haath pe ye ('mera baap chor hai') leekh diya tha. Uske baad... Uske baad, mere bhai, tu jo kahega us par main sign karoonga."
1.Sholay
"Tumhara naam kya hai, Basanti?"

Proud to be Indian (India in USA)

According to a survey

38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians.

We can rule the world any time .....

India Pakistan Wars

The first test for the Indian armed forces came shortly after independence with the first Indo-Pakistani conflict (1947-48). The military was called upon to defend the borders of the state of Jammu and Kashmir when tribals--principally Pathans--attacked from the northwest reaches of Kashmir on October 22, 1947. India's 161st Infantry Brigade was deployed and thwarted the advance of the tribal forces. In early November 1947, the 161st counterattacked and successfully broke through the enemy defenses. Despite early successes, the Indian army suffered a setback in December because of logistical problems. The problems enabled the forces of Azad Kashmir (Free Kashmir, as the part of Kashmir under Pakistani control is called) to take the initiative and force the Indian troops to retreat from the border areas. In the spring of 1948, the Indian side mounted another offensive to retake some of the ground that it had lost. No doubt fearing that the war might move into Pakistan proper, regular units of the Pakistani army became more actively involved. As the conflict escalated, the Indian leadership was quick to recognize that the war could not be brought to a close unless Pakistani support for the Azad Kashmir forces could be stopped. Accordingly, on the advice of Governor General Earl Louis Mountbatten (Britain's last viceroy in India in 1947 and governor general of India, 1947-48), the Indian government sought United Nations (UN) mediation of the conflict on December 31, 1947. There was some opposition to this move within the cabinet by those who did not agree with referring the Kashmir dispute to the UN. The UN mediation process brought the war to a close on January 1, 1949. In all, 1,500 soldiers died on each side during the war.

Proud to be Indian(Indian Mirchi)

The Tezpur Chilli called after the area where it is grown is the hottest chilli on earth.It has highest Scoville units per capsaicin (a unit to measure hottness).

We Indians are hot......

Proud to be Indian( Indian Post)

India Possesses the largest postal network in the world.It comprises 154149 post offices of which 89% are located in 604341 villages.Letters are collected from 564701 letterboxes and processed by a network of 573 Railway Mail Services(RMS).

Proud to be Indian (Record)

There are more than 5000 dailies,16000 weeklies and over 6000 fortnightlies in Indian language,higher then any other country.

This shows Indians read more than others in world.

Proud to be Indian (Indian Woman Leads in Business)

Indra Nooyi was born in India and become the highest ranking Indian-born woman in corporate world.Nooyo was ranked 43rd in Fortune's list of 50 powerful women in business.

Proud to be Indian (Top of World)

The Indian Astronomical observatory (IAO) is situated 4,517 m above mean see-level in Ladakh,Jammu and Kashmir.This Observatory-commissioned in the year 2002 is highest in the world.Himank situated near Ladhak is the world's highest motorable road at an altitude of 18,380 feet above sea level.

Proud to be Indian (Highest Conference Hall)

Indian Army's Conference Hall on the border at Nathula near Gangtok is built at a height of 14,600 ft.Maj.Gen.PPS Bindra and 104 engineers of the army worked for 7 months to complete the task in May 1998.