India is a strange land
India is a strange land where people are loved not because they have power, but because they give up power.
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Quotable quotes
The concept of dynastic succession
The concept of dynastic succession is altogether foreign to a parliamentary democracy like ours, besides being repugnant to my own mind.
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Did you know?
Anaconda, the elephant killer
The name of the Anaconda, one of the most impressive snakes in the world, is said have its origins in Tamil where Anaikondran translates to something along the lines of elephant killer.
Vulture Peak / Griddhraj Parvat
Griddhraj Parvat or Vulture Peak in Madhya Pradesh was the final destination of the classic Chinese epic, Journey to the West. Hieun Tsang and his companions travel from China to a temple on Vulture Peak to retrieve Buddhist sutras in order to enlighten their country.
Shantih Shantih Shantih
T.S. Eliot's bleak poem, The Waste Land, ends with Shantih shantih shantih. The word, according to him, can be feebly translated to the Peace which passeth understanding.
The Alien and the Extraterrestrial
Satyajit Ray contended that Close Encounters of the Third Kind and ET, would not have been possible without his 1967 script of The Alien being available throughout America in mimeographed copies.
Alam Ara
India's first talkie was Alam Ara (1931) starring Zubeida, who, as the daughter of the Nawab of Sachin, was a princess in real life. The film is now lost.
The Rupee vs. The Dollar
On Aug 15, 1947, one Indian Rupee was equal to one US dollar as it was linked to the British Pound. It fell to 4.79 in 1966 and prior to the 1991 liberalisation, it stood at 17.90 to the dollar.
Ganges River Dolphin
The Ganges River Dolphin is essentially blind as its eyes lack lenses. It uses echolocation to locate its prey and uniquely swims sideways.
Uranus
Some Indian languages have chosen to name the planet Uranus, Prajapati, after the Hindu/Vedic Creator persona. Some prefer the term Harshal, an Indianisation of Herschel. Uranus was discovered by William Herschel in 1781 and named after the Greek god of the sky, father of the Titans, and grandfather of the Greek pantheon.
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