Our very own garbage patch
A few thousand kilometres south of India lies the Indian Ocean Gyre within which is a vast soup of degrading plastic garbage dubbed the Indian Ocean garbage patch.
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Did you know?
Middle English Ynde
The Middle English spelling for India was Ynde. The word Indies is derived from this variant.
Curry, the national dish of Japan
Curry is considered to be one of the national dishes of Japan. It was introduced by the British in the late 19th century, and, until relatively recently, was believed to be a Western dish.
Swahili Kachumbari
A popular dish of Kenya is Kachumbari, a fresh tomato and onion salad. The dish (and the word) is derived from the Hindi Kachumber (or Koshumbri).
Tomatoes and Potatoes
Tomatoes and potatoes, staples of Indian cuisine, were not present in India before European colonisation. They are native to the New World, the Americas which were discovered only in the 15th century.
Ravi and John Coltrane
John Coltrane, the legendary jazz saxophonist, had a son named Ravi who was named after Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ravi Coltrane is also a saxophonist.
Painting the Black Hole of Calcutta
In 1936, Syrie Maugham, a leading interior decorator, left for India to, in her words, "paint the Black Hole of Calcutta white". She was famous for popularising rooms styled entirely in white and was nicknamed The Princess of Pale.
Cochinchina
For a few centuries before independence, a part of southern Vietnam was called Cochinchina. It was so named by 16th century Portuguese traders to distinguish its Malay name, Kuchi, from their Indian base in Cochin/Kochi in Kerala.
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