Amazing India- A State- by- State Guide

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Just what is so amazing about India, the seventh largest country in the world?

With 29 states, 7 Union Territories, more than 400 languages, prehistoric art, historic monuments, varied geography, fragile ecosystems, beautiful music, dance, art and craft forms, India is a treasure trove of wonders.

Discover a chariot-shaped temple to the sun, one of the world's oldest mosques, Buddhist Stupas, monolithic statues and rock-cut cave temples.

Meet the rare dugong and the endangered Olive Ridley turtle.

Find out about one of the world's tallest grasslands and one of its largest mangrove forests. Discover Amazing India!

Filled with interesting facts and figures, maps, and more than 250 hand-drawn illustrations, Amazing India takes you on a fascinating journey through this large and diverse country. Get set to be amazed!

Shiver in the snowy desert of Ladakh, or sweat in the hot, sandy desert of the Rann of Kutchch. Walk among models of prehistoric animals in the fossil park of Saketi, or take a living root bridge across a river in Meghalaya. Watch butterfly fish flit in and out of atolls—the coral islands of Lakshadweep-or explore a haunted fort inside one of Rajasthan's tiger reserves. See the many ways in which prehistoric man left his mark in the ancient caves of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Kerala; or walk through the snaking corridors of underground caves in Andhra Pradesh, where a rock formation looks like a banyan tree.

Come with us and explore the cultural, artistic, historic and geographic diversity of India, the seventh largest country of the world. India is dotted with mountain ranges, snowy deserts, sandy deserts, plains, marshes, coral islands, coasts and grasslands. Each of these geographical features has a unique ecosystem, with an astonishing variety of animals, birds, plants and flowers.

In Amazing India, you can meet a few of them. Read about the binturong of Northeast India which isn't a bear or a cat-but is sometimes called a 'bearcat'. Or the hoolock gibbon—the subcontinent's only ape—which swings from tree to tree and 'sings' to its mate! Lion-tailed macaques (no relations of the big cats), dancing deer, clouded leopards, dugongs, hornbills, sooty terns, kaleej pheasants, tragopans and pitcher plants—all await you inside these pages!

Naturally, India's geographical diversity is also reflected in its regional art forms as well. The birds, insects, animals, flowers, soil

or trees found in each region influence its dances, arts and crafts. Clothes, music, food and religious practices also seem to magically change with the changing landscape.

Sadly, a lot of India's beauty and diversity are at risk today. Many languages and art forms are being forgotten slowly. People are being forced to give up ways of living which protected their forests and their land. Tigers, red pandas, giant squirrels, Olive Ridley turtles and binturongs are just a few of the many species that are dying out because their habitats are being destroyed.

In Amazing India we share and celebrate the joy of being a part of India's dazzling diversity. Come with us to take a peek into the lives of the different people who live here--along with the birds, plants, and insects whose songs they have sung and drawn for centuries.

**Contents and Sample Pages**