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Geography of India

India is the seventh largest country on earth, with a total land are of 3.29 million square kilometers. It is 3214 km north to south and 2993 km east to west. It is flanked by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east. To the south is the Indian Ocean, and all three seas meet at Kanyakumari at the tip of the Indian peninsula. The northern parts of India are protected by the Himalayas.

The Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India, while the northern, central, and eastern regions of India are occupied by the fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain. To the west of the country is the Thar Desert, consisting of a mix of rocky and sandy desert. India's east and northeastern region consists of the high Himalayan range. Climate ranges from equatorial in the far south, to Alpine in the upper reaches of the Himalayas. The highest point in India is K2, which is also the second tallest mountain in the world, at 8598 m.

Indian Political Geography

India today is made up of 28 states and seven union territories. The political divisions generally follow linguistic and ethnic boundaries rather than geographic transitions. The larger states in the Deccan plateau and the Indo-Gangetic Plain are relatively prosperous while the smaller states in the easternmost part of the country are poorer and devoid of natural resources. The major cities of India are Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai and Bangalore.

India is the cradle of civilization and culture. It spawned some of the earliest civilizations on earth as well as the oldest religion. Its natural beauty is unparalleled, and its people have produced the grandest monuments. Its people are as varied as its landscapes, from the dark-skinned Dravidians in the south to the fair-skinned Aryans in the north. Hinduism is the defining feature of India, but it is also home to Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Jews and Zoroastrians.

From the confluence of three oceans in Kanyakumari to the foothills of the Himalayas, and from the Ganges delta in east to the deserts of the west, India is diverse as a country can be. But it is one country, and there is a distinct identity to India that is not found anywhere else. India is colorful and vibrant, its people religious and cultured.

Poverty still exists, and it cannot be missed. But skyscrapers now crop up where there used to be slums, and yet are still surrounded by other slums. There are those who claim that India’s prosperity is detrimental to its culture, the Western values will replace Eastern ones, and Western materialism will invade Eastern spirituality. But India has been invaded, by the armies of the most powerful countries eager to exploit India’s beauty and wealth, but they could not change India. India absorbed values it found to be good, but maintained its identity.

Mark Twain said, "India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great-grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only." India is as rich culturally as any other nation on this planet. And yet for the most part, world history ignores India as it does most Eastern countries and traditions.

There is beauty in India that is unmatched anywhere. India had sewage systems in its cities in 2000 BC, one thousand years before London was settled. Its many wonders are the epitome of magnificence. It is my wish here to present the beauty of India through photographs and images, and some passages.