India is unique – How often have you heard this? Probably not that infrequently, if you have conversations about India regularly. No?

And what makes India unique? Its culture? It’s landscapes? It’s history? It’s cuisine? Languages? Or something else?

Well, we reckon it is a mix of everything.

India is one of the most heterogenous countries in the world in terms of everything above. There is no specific answer to questions like –

What is Indian culture?

What constitutes Indian cuisine?

How are the landscapes in India?

Which places should one explore in India?

True, there are some connecting threads, but most of the above questions don’t have one answer. Rather they have a collection of answers.

As you move from north to south or east to west, kind of people, their cultures, their lifestyles, their cuisine – everything begins to change. And this reflects the diversity that India has to offer. Chole Bhature and Paranthas start giving way to Idli-Sambhar and Dosa. And one type of fish curry starts giving way to another type of fish curry. And from theplas you move on to pohas and kachoris!

One wonderful way to experience this is taking a long train journey. As the train crisscrosses the stretches of the country, you’ll notice how people, their lifestyle, their food habits and everything changes. In a country so huge, landscape and weather also change considerably as one traverses through the stretches of the country.

The diversity in the cultures and lifestyles of people can be attributed to history. And many places in India have a long, long history. With hundreds and thousands of kingdoms – small and big, over the period of history coupled with geographical variance and numerous invasions led to evolution of people in different parts in a different ways. And all this can be reflected in the lifestyles, cuisines, art, architecture, literature and many other parameters.

Words are not enough to tell about the diversity in India. You need to discover it for yourself. And this is a long process, given the variety that India has to offer!