There is a lot to learn and discover about India — amazing stories that we can all be proud of. You can read, learn and travel to discover more about our country. In fact it is the joy of chancing upon something unexpected during our journeys, that delights us beyond compare. Sterling Holidays launched the India Unveiled campaign to inspire you as well as your family and friends to explore our country’s rich heritage, achievements and potential, one story at a time.

We are part of a nation where everything — culture, tradition, language, food and lifestyle — changes every 200 kilometres. If that isn’t the most mind-blowing fact about India, then what is? The team at Sterling Holidays realised that our nation has so much to offer, yet so much of it is relatively unknown. Thus, the India Unveiled campaign was born — an initiative to share, with everyone, obscure and incredible facts about India that fill us all with immense pride and encourage people to learn and discover more about our nation’s legacy. The campaign is an ongoing effort on our social media channels. The India Unveiled stories compiled so far can be viewed and downloaded on www.indiaunveiled.org

India Unveiled Stories Sterling HolidaysHistory – a proud legacy

Whether it is the glory of the Mahabharata being the world’s longest epic or the fact that Indian cities that organised waste management, traffic rules and privacy laws more than 2,200 years ago, India’s history is rich with facts that are certain to leave you amazed! At 1.8 million words, the Mahabharata is 10 times longer than Iliad and Odyssey and is one of our greatest sources of literary pride. What’s even more pride-inducing is that India was once the richest country in the world and had the world’s largest economy during 1000 BCE and 1 CE! Who thought that history could be so interesting!

Diversity in geography

India is well known for her diverse landscapes and terrains, with all extremes of climate and weather.. We are surrounded by water bodies on three sides, with rich coastlines fuelling beautiful tropical landscapes, while our northern borders are flanked by mighty mountain ranges that surpass many others in terms of beauty and grandeur. However, did you know that the Himalayas are the source of life for half of the world’s population?According to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), the combined drainage basin of the Himalayas is home to some three billion people in 18 countries, almost half the world’s population. It is the source of six of Asia’s great rivers, including the Yangtze, Indus and Ganges It is also home to thousands of plant and animal species many of which are endangered too!

Scientifically sound

It’s no new news that India has pioneered many innovations and discoveries that have affected the world and changed the way we live. However, what is fascinating is that India’s scientific research and advancement happened long before the Western world even dreamt of being so technologically advanced! Much before Hippocrates was bringing about the advent of modern medicine, Sushruta demonstrated expertise in conducting a plethora of medical treatments.Some of the surgical procedures he conducted were facial reconstructions, cataract surgeries, caesarian deliveries and even the earliest forms of plastic surgery! In the 2nd Century BCE, philosopher Kanada explained the concept of the atom, whereas the discovery of the atom is credited to John Dalton in 1803.Mathematician Baudhayana calculated the approximate value of pi long before it was used by anyone else!

Unknown personalities of steel

India has given birth to some extraordinary individuals who have committed their lives to a cause and contributed to the greatness of the nation. While India has many celebrated heroes, there are those unknown, whom we would like to recognize. Be it Jaswant Singh, a soldier of the Indian Army who single-handedly held off a Chinese attack at an altitude of 10,000 feet during the Sino-Indian war of 1962, or Indian physicist and biologist Jagdish Chandra Bose, who, during the years 1894–1900, performed research on radio waves and eventually created the foundation for wireless communication — Indian achievers are plenty to showcase. Take for instance Jadhav Molai, the man who dedicated his life to converting a barren piece of land into a jungle by single-handedly planting trees over an area of 1,360 acres. Today, it flourishes as a beautiful jungle in Assam.

Another Indian who we can be proud of is Savitribai Phule. In 1852, she opened a school for Dalit girls in Pune and went on to open 17 more schools for girls. She was the first female teacher of the first women’s school in India and is also considered one of the pioneers of modern Marathi poetry. Indeed, so much to be proud of!

Still unveiling India

After 10 months of sharing incredible stories about our great country, we are now taking a break, to come back with more such exciting stories soon. Let’s keep this zeal alive within us; may this journey towards discovering the hidden secrets of India never end.

Download all #IndiaUnveiled stories in a PDF here www.indiaunveiled.org

To explore the India Unveiled campaign, you can visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/sterlingholidays or download the entire India Unveiled e-book from www.indiaunveiled.org