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India: More Information
Food & Shopping :
On this vast sub-continent, each region has its own distinct specialties:
North: Meat dishes are common here. Rich creamy Mughal curries of lamb or chicken and spicy meat balls in yoghurt and rice. So is Tandoori cookingmarinated chicken, meat, or fish baked in a clay oven.
East: Bengali cooking is famous for its curried fish or prawns in yoghurt and coconut.
West: On the coast you will find a wide range of fish and shellfish ‑ Bombay duck (curried or fried fish) and Indian Salmon are famous ‑and Parsi dishes, such as Dhansak (chicken cooked in curried lentils).
South: The curries are mainly vegetable and inclined to be hot. Cooler local specialties include rice pancakes, and yogurt with cucumber and mint. Coconut is used in many dishes.
While rice is the staple food in the South, further North it is supplemented by a wonderful range of breads. Tropical and temperate fruit, wonderful “coolers” are abundant everywhere.
Shopping
India is a shopper’s paradise. The stupendous variety of crafts, colors, and creations is quite exceptional. Most articles are genuine handicrafts, of far superior quality to mass-produced goods, and being handmade, each is unique.
North: Magnificent carpets, silks, embroidery, precious stones, marble and ivory inlay work, tie-dye fabrics, leather goods, miniature paintings in silk, papier mache.
East: Gold and silver jewelry, Madhubani paintings, Bengali terracotta, leather-work, silks and cottons in breathtaking colors.
West: Bombay ready-made fashions, Gujarat mirror work and tie-dye fabrics, lacquer ware, soft leather.
South: World-famous Mysore and Kanchipuram silk, fine sandalwood & rosewood carving, gold filigree work, scents and spices.
Wildlife
The great geographical diversity of India has enabled a wonderful range of wildlife to flourish: more than 1200 species of birds and 350 species of mammals plus thousands offish, amphibians and reptiles. The great stretch of the Himalayas is home to the legendary snow leopard, musk deer, panther, ibex and a variety of pheasants. Further East, elephants, rhinoceros, and gibbons roam. Several reserves have only recently been opened up to visitors. On the upper slopes you can see Chinkara stag, barking deer and bear while, lower down, red pandas and blue sheep.
The vast, fertile Ganges plain supports deer, boar and elephants. Elephant herds are a breathtaking sight as they move about freely in several parts of the country. To the west, in Gujarat, lurks the Asiatic lion and, in the desert, you can see wild asses and the massive bustard. Plunge into the rainforests of the south and you’ll soon come across lion-tailed macaque, langur and civet.
But most dramatic of all, throughout India, in the Himalayan foothills, the mangrove swamps, the sandalwood forests and on the plains, is the tiger. Once under threat, the tiger now seems more secure thanks to a well developed sense of conservation. This has helped to create more than 200 sanctuaries and parks in all parts of the country, and make India unique in the entire world for those who truly love wildlife.
Each sanctuary and national park is open for a specific number of months between October and July, and is closed during the regional monsoon. Make sure to check before visiting.
