Siddharth Bajrang PARDESHI

Hello! My name is Sid. I am a member of the FINA Diving Scholarship Programme in Kazan! Let's explore India!

India is the seventh largest country in the world by area. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with seven countries.

Tourism. Everybody likes travelling and India is one of the best country where you can find many new things. For example, Indian food which differs from other world cuisines as we use lots of spice.

Languages. There are 22 languages in India: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, etc. Also Urdu, which is written in 13 different scripts, with over 720 dialects. The official Indian languages are Hindi (with approximately 420 million speakers) and English, which is also widely spoken.

Culture. The culture of India refers collectively to the thousands of distinct and unique cultures of all religions and communities presented in India. Indian languages, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country. Indian culture, often labelled as an amalgamation of several cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old and has a profound impact across the Indosphere, Greater India and the world.

Festivals. India is a land of festivals, where people from different religions coexist harmoniously. While the celebrations happen all over the year, from October to January – it is the time when the country can be seen with its best vibrants. India is one country where every religion and community celebrates their culture. So, every day is a new celebration. The biggest festivals celebrated in India are: Holi, Diwali, Maha Shivaratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc.

Sports. Our national sport is hockey. Other popular sports in India are badminton, football, shooting, wrestling, boxing, tennis, squash, weightlifting, gymnastics, athletics, table tennis, basketball, volleyball and cycling. Popular indigenous sports include chess, kho kho, kite-fighting, leg cricket, polo, snooker and Jillidanda. However, people love to play cricket more.