Introduction
Have you ever wondered how it is for people to live in India? My name is Kush Goyal, and I will tell you about my view of India. I will tell you about the atmosphere, the dichotomy, the monuments, and how it is like to live in India. First up, Atmosphere.
Atmosphere
Weather Change U.S. – India
India’s atmosphere is very different to the part of the U.S. we live in. The differences have to do with smoke and heat.
The atmosphere of India is extremely smoky. This is because of all the cars that are running. You can see the smoke in the air. The air smells bad, because of the smoke. I have seen people wearing dust masks while they are outside. Even I must cover my mouth sometimes when I am outside. Rarely ever is it not smoky. Sometimes when I am taking pictures, you can see the smoke blurring the main object of the picture.
In India, it is quite hot. It is much hotter, with temperatures averaging at around 97°Fahrenheit, per the mean of the data from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India. For me, it is hot. But it is bearable. But it is a lot different from the US.
It does not snow as much as the US but it still snows. Overall, India is much hotter than the US. I would like it to be a little colder weather but then you do not get colds very easily.
In a city called Mussoorie, it is very cold. This is because Mussoorie is on hills. Since the elevation is so high, it gets very cold. In Dehradun, it is a lot warmer than Mussoorie. When we were going to Mussoorie, right when we got out of our car, it was a lot colder. In New Delhi, it is almost the same temperature as Dehradun. It is a little bit warmer than Dehradun, but it feels the same. When we arrived at the New Delhi airport, it was very hot and humid, but that was because there were so many people in the airport. When we got out of the airport, it was very warm, even though it was night, and very humid. When the sun came out, it was quite hot for me. Soon, after a few days, I got used to the heat.
The atmosphere is much different from the US. But the dichotomy of india is amazing compared to the US. Next up, the different kinds of food.
Dichotomy: How India and the US are different
India’s dichotomy toward the U.S. is very different. The differences have to do with food, people, Bollywood, which is the the major part of India’s film industry, animals, clothing, sickness, news, technology, transportation, and politics.
Food
The food in India is amazing. There are many street food shops. The food is very good, but like I said, it is unhygienic to eat at them. Most of the restaurants are safe to eat in India, but you need to go to a reasonably hygienic restaurant to not get sick. An Indian meal has five or six dishes, all served on a thali, which is a round platter to serve a variety of dishes on. It holds many little bowls called katoris. Each bowl holds a different dish. Also, in some areas, food is also served on banana leaves. The food is usually eaten with the hand, preferably the right hand.
The word curry was used by Europeans to tell about the spicy foods they found India, but curries are not always spicy. The spiciness of the dishes comes from chilies. Other spices have cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, cardamom and cloves. Curries are eaten with lentils, which is called dal. In northern and western areas, meals are served with flatbreads called roti. Rotis are replaced with rice in east and south. Yogurt or, dahi, also can be eaten. Meals most of the time, end with many types of sweets. Many Hindus avoid consuming beef. The people of India are very kind, but when they get behind the wheel, they are a completely different person. Let’s talk about it.
People
The population of India is 1.334 billion. India has many people in the country. This means a lot of traffic. If you think that the traffic over here is bad, then look at the traffic in India. People are constantly honking as if it is a necessity to honk. I have some short videos about the traffic. I was driving around recording the traffic. The people of India are very nice and kind, but behind the wheel, it’s like they are a different person. This is because a lot of people are rushing to get to work, and
Bollywood
Bollywood is the name for the Hindi Film Industry in Mumbai. Although Bollywood is the largest film industry in India, it is only a part of the whole film industry in India although people often refer to Bollywood being the whole film industry in India, while it is not. Bollywood started way back to the year 1913 when the first silent feature film made in India, named Raja Harishchandra, about a king who always kept his promise and told the truth, who was given a test by God.
Over the next twenty years, the industry grew so quickly, that by the 1930’s, India was making over 200 films per year. It was 1931 when Alam Ara became the first Indian film with sound, but not until the late 1950s that a movie was made in color.
The highest worldwide grossing Bollywood film of all time is PK. Released in on December 18th, 2014, it has made about 46.52 million USD according to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PK_(film). It is the #1 grossing film in India. The film stars Aamir Khan in the title role. Bollywood is making over 1000 films every year. Bollywood films are watched by over 14 million Indians every day. A science fiction movie called Ra.One is the most expensive movie ever made in Bollywood, with a cost of about 27 million. Some very famous actors are Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai.
Animals
It is home to Bengal tigers, Indian lions, peacocks, deer, pythons, wolves, foxes, bears, crocodiles, wild kinds of dogs, monkeys, snakes, antelope, bison, the Indian rhinoceros, and the Asian elephant. India’s wildlife is preserved and kept safe in more than 120 national parks and 500 wildlife sanctuaries across India. India has some of the most biodiverse regions of the world with 35 hotspots. This is the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the Indo-Burma.
Since India has such extraordinary species, they attract attention to many hunters and poachers, which means that lots of people want to kill them for fur, skins, and many other bizarre features of animals. Since people like to hunt them, wildlife management in the country is essential to preserve these endangered or threatened species.
Clothing
The clothing style of India is very different to America. Many women traditionally wear a sari. Men wear a dhoti or a kurta. But nowadays, people would usually wear a shirt and pants. In schools they wear uniforms. The boys would wear a shirt and tie, and shorts because of the weather. A girl would wear a skirt.
Sickness
It is very easy to get sick in India. If you don’t watch what you are eating, you will get sick. The water in India is not safe to drink. If you drink from a tap, the water is not clean. The only kind of water you can drink is bottled and filtered water. There are many street shops for food, although, it is unsafe to eat from there, as it is unhygienic. Eat at a hygienic restaurant to stay safe. I have gotten sick many times in India because of food poisoning.
News
India had a currency change when I was there, the 500-rupee bill and 1000-rupee bill were banned, so there were lines of people by the banks to get their bills traded in.
Experience
I have learned a lot about India in this trip. India is a lot different than I ever imagined. The atmosphere, the people, it is just breathtaking going to India. It is a lot different from the united states, that is for sure.
Technology
The technology of India is less advanced compared to the U.S. In the big cities of India, like Mumbai, the technology is advanced. In the small cities, the technology is not very advanced. In the big cities, you would find BMWs, Mercedes, even Lamborghini or Bugatti. But in the small cities, you would find a Suzuki 1990 model.
Transportation
The transportation is pretty much warped in India. In the average bus in America, there might be 5-6 seats empty. In India, there will be twice as many people as there are people per seat. If the bus can hold 70 people, there will be 125 people in the bus.
Politics
The politics of India are very similar to the United States.
Monuments
There are many monuments in India. I will tell you about them the way I saw it.
The Surkanda Devi, a very beautifully built temple on top of a hill.
The Surkanda Devi is a temple on top of a hill in the Saklana range in India. You must walk up a path to get to the temple. It is about 3 kilometers to reach the top. But the challenge is that the whole way it is very uphill. The Surkanda Devi has an amazing view of the Himalayan range. You need to take your shoes off before you go near the temple. From my view, it is amazing how they made it. The view of the Himalayan range is absolutely breathtaking.
The Lotus Temple, a beautiful temple made by Fariborz Sahba.
It was made in 1936. It is made for meditation and worshipping. You walk on a path toward the temple. There are multiple water bodies next to the temple. Once you go inside the temple you cannot take pictures so I could not take pictures on the inside. Looking at the temple is just beautiful. It is not as big as I thought it would be, but it was very beautiful. You have to take your shoes off before you go inside the temple.
The Qutub Minar, the second highest architecture in India, was built by Qutab-ud-din Aibak in 1200 AD and was finished in 1368. Looking at how tall the Qutub Minar is just breathtaking. The Qutub Minar is very old, and you can see how old it is. A lot of the bricks around the Qutub Minar are broken. The Qutub Minar is 238 feet tall. There are a lot of monkeys around the Qutub Minar.
The Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world. It is not as beautiful in the pictures as it is in real life. There is a fort around the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical. There is a line that shows you the exact center of the Taj Mahal. It is completely incredible looking at the view. I got to take pictures on the inside of the Taj Mahal even though it is not allowed. Around the Taj Mahal, there are many monkeys. They don’t go near humans, though. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum, meaning that it holds the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Their graves are under the Taj Mahal, and they are not open to the public. A long time ago, maybe 30 years ago, the people of India were allowed to go underneath the Taj Mahal and look at the graves. But now it is closed. They have graves inside the Taj Mahal. We got a tour guide who told us about the Taj Mahal, how it was built, about Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal, and more. The Taj Mahal is absolutely beautiful to me. It is incredible how the workers made the Taj Mahal by hand.
Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham temple is a Hindu mandir, and a spiritual-cultural campus in New Delhi, India. Also referred to as Akshardham Temple, or Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex displays millennia of traditional Hindu and Indian Culture, spirituality, and architecture. The temple was officially opened on 6 November 2005. It sits near the banks of the Yamuna river in eastern New Delhi. According to Swaminarayan Hinduism, the word Akshardham means the abode of God and believed by followers as a temporal home of God on earth. We went inside and did a prayer, and then we went to a museum and learned about Swaminarayan’s life. We saw a musical water show which was really impressive. After the water show, we went on a boat ride. The Akshardham is very beautifully built.
The Agra fort is a fort of the Mughal empire from the 16th century. This city is encompassed with red sandstone walls. It was the imperial city of the Mughals. The Taj Mahal is 2.5 kilometers away from the Agra fort. You could see the full view of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort. It is amazing how they built the fort by hand. Inside the fort is absolutely huge. It is 380,000 square meters. That is equal to 236 square miles. You get a great view of the Taj Mahal from the fort.
How is it like to be in India?
6`Being in India is just amazing. It is very different from the U.S. I can’t believe how amazing it is to be in India, seeing all the different kinds of yummy food, the clothing, all of it is just amazing. As I mentioned, the sickness in india