Largest democracy of the world, and home to various traditions and cultures, India has always been a hotspot for Travelers. There is so much to explore in this country that one lifetime would fall short. India is a whole world in itself, with such diverse people living in the same country, that speak different languages, eat different food, believe different values, and yet call themselves Indian.
There is a lot that many people do not know about India. So here we have created this blog for people who want to know the most bizarre facts about this Country. I am sure even many Indians also would not know that these facts existed.
1 – India has a meteor lake in Buldhana
India has Lonar Lake located in the Buldhana District of Maharashtra that was formed 52000 years ago by a meteor. Lonar lake is the largest and the only hyper velocity created crater in Basalt Rock on earth. It also house couple of temples that often frequented by the locals. Region around Lonar Lake is also popular for trekking. The lake is comprised of both alkaline and salt water.
2 – Varanasi is believed to be a 5000 year old city
Varanasi located on the holy bank of Ganges, is close to 3000 years old. It is believed that it was formed some 5000 years ago by Lord Shiva. Varanasi is the oldest city of India. In the words itself of Mark Twain, ‘Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together’.
3 – There is a magnetic hill in Ladakh, India
India has a magnetic hill in Ladakh that has strong enough power to pull up your car when lefty in neutral, uphill. The magnetic hill is located at the height of 14,000 feet. It is experienced that the force of magnetic hill is so powerful that it can draw the vehicle up to the speed of 20 kmph. The origin of the source of magnetic power of this hill is though still a mystery.
4 – Srinagar of India has worlds only floating post office
Dal Lake of Srinagar has the world’s only floating post office. The post office is built inside a huge houseboat. It is a popular attraction for tourists, and people visit it for viewing the stamp collection, buying souvenirs, for sending postcards, and knowing its fascinating history. It is estimated that thefloating post office has been operational for 200 years now.
5 – The village of Shingnapur has houses without doors and locks
A village named Shingnapur in Maharashtra is known to have houses without doors and locks. It is located in close vicinity to the religious site of Shirdi. It has a 300 year old tradition and inhabitants believe to be protected by Lord Shani. It is believed that if somebody steals from the houses of this village, they will suffer with bad luck for seven years.
6 – There are thousands of rats in Karni Mata Temple of Rajasthan
Karni Mata temple in Rajasthan houses thousands of rats whom devotees worship. The devotees come to this temple to find good luck by spotting the white rats amidst the black ones. It is estimated that the temple houses almost 20,000 rats. The ‘prasad’ that is given in this temple is first offered to the rats. If by any chance you happen to crush a rat, you will be penalized for a 24 carat gold rat.
7 – Khardung La has highest motorable road of World
Khardung La which is 19300 feet above the sea level has the world’s highest motorable road. The only second to Khardung La is a road built in Bolivia. The road passes through the Umlingla Pass in Ladakh. The road is built at an altitude which is higher than of even Siachen glacier. This place is very popular amidst the biking community.
8 – Hindi is the third most spoken language of the world
Hindi is the third most spoken language in the world with close to 615 million speakers. The only languages that exceed the Hindi speakers are English and Chinese Mandarin. Interestingly Bengali and Punjabi languages that too are originated from India also have more than 100 Million speakers individually, and some of the most spoken languages in world.
9 – India is the second largest english speaking country in the world
India is also the second largest English Speaking country in the world, with an estimated 125 million English speakers, which is only roughly 10% of the Indian population. India is only second to United States when it comes to English speakers. It is to be noted that majority of Indians speak Hinglish, which is a blend of English and Hindi the native language.
10 – Freddie Mercury and Ben Kingsley have Indian origin
Freddie Mercury the rock star was of Indian origin. His real name was Farrokh Bulsara. The parents of Freddie Mercury had an origin tracing back to Parsi community from Western India. The Hollywood actor Ben Kingsley also has Indian origin and his real name was Krishna Pandit Bhanji. The father of Ben Kingsley was from Gujarat, India.
11 – 70 percent of worlds spices are produced in India
70% of all the spices in the world come from India. It is estimated that more than 75 varieties of spices are grown in India which are listed in the 1089 varieties of spices by International Organization for Standardization (ISO). India is not only the largest producer of spices but also the largest exporter of spices in the world.
12 – India is the worlds largest arm importer
India is also known to be the world’s largest arms importer. The status for arms import has been consistent since 1993 for India. India is also the world’s third largest military spender. In the recent times Russia has been the biggest source of arms supply for India. The other two countries that follow from where India buys its arms are France and United States.
13 – Chenab bridge is the tallest railway bridge in the world
Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir is the tallest railway bridge in the world. This engineering marvel is 35 meter taller than Eiffel Tower, and is built 1178 feet above the Chenab river. The Chenab bridge is more than 1300 meter long and the objective of building this bridge is for better connectivity of rails in Jammu and Kashmir.
14 – India has the worlds second largest military
Having close to 1.5 million troops, India also has the world’s second largest military. India also boasts of having the world’s largest volunteer army. The top spot is occupied by China, but the country is not much ahead of India. It is interesting that the Indian Army which is a part of Indian Defense, ranks fourth as according to the latest Global Firepower Index.
15 – Kumbh Mela is the worlds largest festival
Kumbh Mela is the world’s largest festival, and the gathering of crowd can go up to 75 Million people which can also be seen from outer space. It is a major festival in Hinduism and repeats every 12 years. All across India it is celebrated in four spots with river banks. It is believed that by taking bath ion the rivers the devotees can cleanse their sins.
16 – Chess was invented in India
Many few people know but Chess was invented in India around 6th century AD. It was during the Gupta Dynasty, and in thees 1500 years, it has gained popularity to be played in more than 170 countries. It was built as a strategic game to be played by kings, but now is a professional sport. Back in the days, when it was invented it was known as ‘Chaturanga’.
17 – Cows of West Bengal have a photo identity card
It is mandatory in West Bengal India that cows have a Photo ID Card. It is estimated that the West Bengal government was able to tag more than 3 million cows with this unique Photo ID. In fact Indian Government is rolling out plans for ID card of all the cows in India. As per the plan every cow will; have ID that will contain cattle’s age, tail switch, breed, body colour, sex, height, horn type and special marks.
18 – There is a voting booth in India which was opened for just one person
In a village called Banej, in the dense Gir Forest region of Gujarat, there is a voting booth which was opened by the election commission for just one voter. The move was made to encourage voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections. The name of the voter was Mahant Haridasji Udasin. There is apparently no cellular network in the region and wireless systems of the forest department were used to set up the polling booth.
19 – There are more Indian Restaurants in London thank in Mumbai or Delhi
There are more Indian restaurants in London than in Mumbai or Delhi. The estimated count of Indian restaurants in London is 3600. In Britain, Indian food establishments employ more people than that in British shipping. The turnover owed to Indian food is estimated to be more than 3 billion dollars each year. This is when many of the Indian restaurants in London are not registered.
20 – Hinduism is world’s oldest religion
Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion in the world which is proven by scriptures and documents dating back to 5500 BC. It is followed by around 1 billion people. Hinduism is also the third largest religion followed by Christianity, and Islam. Hinduism is also referred to as Sanatana Dharma which implies that the origin of Hinduism is even beyond the human history.
21 – Only 1 percent of Indians pay Income Tax
Due to low income households, just above 1% of Indians pay income tax. It is also because of the relaxed income rates slabs that less population pays income taxes in India. It is estimated that only 1% of the taxpayers in India earn more than 5 Million INR. Indian income tax department has also started to issue certificates of appreciation to the honest tax payers.
22 – India has the world’s largest family
India is home to world’s largest family, of a man with 39 wives and 94 children. The name of the family is Ziona family, and the name of the man is Ziona Chana. At the time of the record there were total of 181 members in the family. His house which is a four storey building is also a major tourist destination in Mizoram.
23 – World’s highest cricket ground is in India
Located at 2144 meters above the sea level, Chail in Himachal Pradesh has the world’s highest cricket ground, as recognized by Guinness Book Records. The cricket ground was built in the year of 1893, by Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh. Interestingly it is also used a polo ground, and is also the school playground of the Chail Military School.
24 – There is a spa for elephants in Kerala, India
Punnathoor Cotta Elephant Yard Rejuvenation Centre in Kerala is a spa just for Elephants. It is popular for hosting elephants and to give them body massage, body scrubs, and nourishing meals. The place is also known by the name of Aanakotta and was a former palace. At a single point of time it can host up to 60 elephants.
25 – Golden temple feeds 100,000 people every day in India
Golden temple of India feeds 100,000 people a day without discriminating them on religion, caste, or background, for free. The best thing about the Golden Temple kitchen is that it runs for 24 hours a day and for all 7 days of the week. This free community kitchen service is also known by the name of ‘Langar’. The eating area of the temple can accommodate 5000 people at a time.
26 – Himalaya has 9 out of 10 tallest peak of the world
Himalaya has 9 world’s tallest peaks out from the top 10. The Himalayan range of mountains cover approximately 2400 kilometer. It is also note worthy that Himalayas are the third largest deposit of snow regions in the world, only after Arctic and Antarctica. It is estimated that it contains around 15000 glaciers. With a length of more than 70 kilometer Siachen is the largest glacier if the world outside of the northern and southern poles.
27 – India was the first country to mine diamond
India was the world’s first country to mine diamonds and the practice is known to have existed in the 4th century BC. The earliest diamond mining region back in 4th century BC was Godavari delta region. Up till 18th century India was the only known source of diamonds. It was after that the diamonds were discovered in Brazil and Africa.
28 – There are 19500 languages and dialects spoken in India
We all know about the regional and official languages of India. But there are close to 19500 languages and dialects that are spoken in India. Out of them 121 are recognized as language as they meet the criteria of having more than 10,000 speakers. Officially Indian Constitution recognizes 22 languages.
29 – Shampoo was invented by Indian sages
Shampoo was invented in India by ancient sages. The word comes from Hindi word Champu, which is derived from Sanskrit word chapyathi which means ‘to press’. Sake Dean Mahomed who was born in 1759 had a barber shop in India who later went on to open a spa in Brighton, was the one who popularized the Indian shampoo. He was also the shampoo surgeon for two British Kings.
30 – Technical production of sugar was first started in India
India is the world’s first country that developed the techniques of extracting sugar, and consume it. The process of extracting crystals of sugar from sugarcane in India dates back to Gupta Dynasty in 350 AD. Today India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only next to Brazil. In present days 1/3rd of sugarcane production is used to prepare the traditional sweeteners like ‘Gur’.
31 – Shakuntala Devi of India is also known ax the Human Calculator of the World
Shakuntla Devi of India also known as human calculator of the world is known to have multiplied two random 13 digit numbers in just 28 seconds with her mind. She has also written various books on making arithmetic calculations simpler for people. She was also an author of ‘The World of Homosexuals’ which was the first official study of home sexuality in India.
Surprisingly India!
