What are some facts about India that Indians are generally unaware of?

 1.India has a temple named Karni Mata mandir where thousands of rats are worshipped.

2.India has a living bridge in Meghalaya made from tree roots.

3.India invented an early form of modern shampoo. The word shampoo itself comes from the Hindi/Urdu word chāmpo, meaning to massage or knead.

4.India has one of the world's wettest places that's Mawsynram located in Meghalaya.

5.India has a floating post office on Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir.

6.India has an ancient university Nalanda that attracted international students.

7.India has a cold desert in Ladakh region.

8.India has no national language. Hindi and English are used for official Union purposes.

9.India has an active volcano that's Barren Island, in the Andaman Sea.

Image source : Google

Which is the longest and fastest train in India?

 Train Nos. 22436/22435 and 22416/22415 New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express are among India’s longest and fastest daytime train service, covering approximately 758 km in around 8 hours.

The services operate as same-day return journeys, departing from New Delhi/Varanasi and returning to the same origin station on the same day.

India's first Vande Bharat Express 22436/22435 (originally called Train 18) was flagged off on February 15, 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It departs from New Delhi at 06:00 am and reaches Varanasi on 2:00 pm. And it's opposite pair was launched on December 18, 2023 due to high demand.

Currently, Train Nos. 12431/12432 Thiruvananthapuram Central- Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) Rajdhani Express is one of India’s longest-distance premium train and fastest overnight services, covering the South–North corridor via Konkan railway in around 41 hours 30 minutes, particularly during the non-monsoon timetable.

It departs at 07:15 pm from Trivandrum and reach Nizamuddin at 12:45 pm. Triweekly service operates on Tue, Thu and Fri

Which is the costliest train in India?

 (12431/12432) Thiruvanthapuram Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) Rajdhani Express is the costliest Regular Passenger service in Indian Railways.

In Rajdhani Express, 1st AC fare cost is approx Rs 8770 from End to End journey, despite longest Rajdhani service covering the distance 2848 km, it is the fastest and high priority train, takes 41 hours 30 min in non-monsoon time table.

It is operated by Northern Railway Zone in Indian Railways.

This fare is equivalent with Flight Fare From Kerala to Delhi, so one can reach by flight during emergency time, but the scenary, Monsoon journey, food options and getting priority in Indian Railways, no doubt Rajdhani Express offers alternative option.

3rd AC fare might be cheaper option if you feel that 1st AC fare is expensive.

Now coming to the most expensive luxury train in India, then probably Maharaja Express, operated by IRCTC.

Fares range from roughly Rs 5.16 lakh ($4,890) for short 3-night trips up to Rs 26.13 lakh ($26,800) per person for the exclusive Presidential Suite on week-long royal journeys.

The primary route of Maharaja Express is Delhi - Jaipur-Ranthambore and Fatehpur Sikri – Agra- Orchha and Khajuraho-Varanasi-Delhi

Mumbai-Udaipur-Jodhpur- Bikaner-Jaipur- Ranthambore and Fatehpur Sikri- Agra and Delhi

What are some of the interesting facts about India?

 Here are some interesting facts about India…

1. We were the first …

2. Proud on ISRO…

3. Do you know what's the reason

4. This tree is in West Bengal near Howrah…

5. They did it the best…

6. Wah. Taj

7. His name is Dasharat Manjhi and he was from Bihar…

8. Great Tribes

9. Yeah..

10. In 2007 Taj Mahal was the winner from all 7 wonders of the world for tourists attractions

What are some unsolved mysteries about temples in India?

 There are many temples which are very mysterious and even scientists have not been able to explain the mysteries surrounding the temple. Explaing about all the temples is an impossible feat, so I will explain about one temple.

Kailasa temple at Ellora caves :

• This temple seems to be built by a very advanced civilization.
• What’s special about this temple is it was not built by adding stone blocks but an entire mountain was carved to create this temple.

• This is the only temple in the whole world where a mountain was cut out from the top , to create a structure.
• In all other temples and caves, even in Ellora and the rest of the world, the rock was cut from the front and carved as they went along.

• The whole world has followed a rock cutting technique called “cut-in-monolith” while Kailasa temple is the only one that has used the exact opposite technique called “cut-out monolith” .
• To see why this technique is different , let’s take a look at the pillar , that is over 100ft tall.

• See how small human beings look , when compared to this pillar. Normally, to create such a huge pillar, it would take years of work, carving accurately on the huge rock. But this pillar was carved by scooping out all the pieces of mountain around it.

• You can imagine the amount of rock , which has been removed to create this pillar.
• Historians and archaeologists are confused because of the sheer amount of rock that was removed in this temple. Archaeologists confirm that over 400,000 tonnes of rock had to be scooped out , which would have taken not years, but centuries of human labour.
• Historians have no record of such a monstrous task and they think that this temple was built in less than 18 years !!!

• Let’s do a simple math and see if they are correct. I am going to assume that people worked everyday for 18 years and for 12 hours straight with no breaks at all. I am going to ignore rainy days, festivals, war time and assume that people worked like robots ceaselessly. I am also going to ignore the time taken to carve intricate carvings and complex engineering designs and planning and just focus on the removal of rocks.
• If 400,000 tons of rocks were removed in 18 years , 22,222 tons of rocks had to be removed every year. This means that 60 tons of rocks were removed every day, which gives us 5 tons of rocks were removed every hour.
• I think we can all agree that this is not even possible today to remove 5 tons of rock from a mountain every hour. Not even with the so called advanced machines we have. So if it is not humanly possible , was it done by the humans ??
• Now forget about creating such an extraordinary structure . Can human beings atleast destroy this temple? Infact Aurangzeb, a Jihadi king employed a thousand workers to completely demolish this temple.
• In the year 1682, the Jihadi who was disrobed by the Marathas and later had died a dog’s death , with no one beside him, had ordered the temple to be destroyed so that there would be no trace of it.
• Records show that a thousand people worked for 3 years , and they could only do a very minimal damage. They could break and disfigure a few statues here and there but they realized that it is just not possible to completely destroy this temple. Finally he gave up the plan of destroying this temple. Poor Dufferzeb! He realizes everything very late! At first he thought that he would subdue Marathas but poor Aurangzeb after getting beaten around by Marathas for 27 years , finally realized that he was no match for them! What a shame for Aurangzeb ! Finally died like a dog with no one beside him and even his treasury was empty, and later his descendants became a puppet of the great Peshwa Baji Rao. Poor Mughals !!! They could’nt even manage their treasury and some comedians think that they made our country rich!!!

• Infact archaeologists agree that Kailasa temple was created before any other temple in the Ellora cave complex. Could this have been built centuries before human beings started carving other temples nearby? Is this why the architecture , the design and the size of is so much better and bigger than other temples? If it was built by humans, it is logical to expect that the rock cutting tchniques and design would become better over time. People would gain more experience and knowledge and make better structures in the future. However, the Kailasa temple is the oldest and the biggest temple carved with engineering perfection.
• Unlike other temples , the Kailasa is the only temple that is visible from the air. Out of 34 temples , all carved side by side , Kailasa stands out and you can see it while flying over it.
• So the mystery is how was this temple made and who made it? If you vist this temple , there are many more features which might shock you. Unlike other temples of Ellora , notice how well its rectangular design is oriented with all the four directions. Its entrance faces perfectly to the west.

• Unlike most other temples of Ellora , this temple has bridges that connect towers , rainwater harvesting systems, drainage systems , hidden underground passages , secret peepholes that can show people walking in , elaborate balconies in different areas and complex stairways that connect multiple levels.

• And all of this had to be planned accurately before they started carving the mountain. For example, you cannot carve these two structures seperately and then decide to build a bridge later. No connecting rocks or external rocks were used at all, and everything was carved perfectly from one mountain. Do you still believe that this was done with chisels, hammers and pickaxes by people with limited mathematical and architectural knowledge? I hope we all can agree that the Kailasa temple was built by a much advanced civilization.

• So who do you think built this?

HAR HAR MAHADEVA.

Are narrow gauge trains still operational in India?

 Yes, but only a few

Most of the India’s Narrow Gauge network was converted to Broad Gauge under the Unigauge Project, narrow gauge trains mainly survives as heritage or tourist railways

Due to Uneven Terrain, challenging Ghat section, it is not possible to convert into broad Gauge and electrify, Some narrow gauge routes are certified as World UNESCO World Heritage Site.and con

⭐Some operational narrow-gauge lines include:

1. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (2 ft / 610 mm gauge) in West Bengal

From New Jalpaiguri Jn-Darjeeling

2. Kalka–Shimla Railway (2 ft 6 in / 762 mm gauge)

3. Matheran Hill Railway (2 ft / 610 mm gauge) in Maharashtra

From Nerul-Matheran

4. Kangra Valley Railway (2 ft 6 in / 762 mm gauge)

From Pathankot-Joginder Nagar

4. Bilimora–Waghai line in Gujarat (one of the last non-hill narrow-gauge routes).

In South India, Tamilnadu, there are no operational Narrow Gauge lines now.

The famous Nilgiri Mountain Railway is still running, but it is metre gauge (1,000 mm), not narrow gauge

In Future there Heritage railways such as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Kalka–Shimla Railway, and Matheran Hill Railway are likely to continue because they are major tourist attractions and have heritage value

whereas Non Hilly Region Narrow Gauge route especially Bilimora-Waghai Route might be converted into Broad Gauge line if Indian Railways find it economically Beneficial.