India is so vast, so diverse, so ancient, and so incredible, that most of us, caught up in our every day lives, don’t pause to consider how wonderful it is. We see stuff on India on TV or youtube, read things on our smartphones and forward those, diligently on whatsapp to our friends. But, India is far more interesting than a whatsapp forward.
Here are three incredible things you must know about your country
Ancient India was into Astronomy. While most of us have heard about how much ancient Indians were into astrology, very few of us actually know that astronomy was far more prevalent. There were observatories built across the country, by interested kings and astronomers. One of the most famous observatories is Jantar Mantar, Jaipur. Btw, Jantar Mantar means Calculation Instrument. Jantar Mantar, however, is a relatively new observatory - about 500 years old.
The oldest Astronomical Observatory discovered in Muduma village in Telangana is about 7000 years old
archeologists described it as ”the only megalithic site in India, where a depiction of a star constellation has been identified”. The ancient observatory dates to 5,000 BC and the researchers believe that it is the earliest astronomical observatory discovered in India and perhaps even in the whole of South Asia.
source : here
Malpua is India’s oldest dessert
Who doesn’t like the Malpua - the yummy desert that goes best with Rabri. Each part of India has a variant of the Malpua. Ever thought to consider, where the Malpua came from or how old it is?
The first reference to the Malpua is in the Rigveda, where it is called apupa. You can read more about the malpua here.
The Lal Bagh Rock
Those of you who live in Bengaluru would have passed by the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens. One of the key attractions in the gardens, is the Lalbagh rock formation.
The rocks are approximately 3000 million years old. It is a national geological monument. So the next time you are passing by the area, you may want to check out the rock, which was around when the dinos walked the earth …
