Thursday, September 24, 2009

Miss India is an annual, national beauty pageant held in India and organized by Femina & Pantaloons.

Simran Kaur Mundi of Mumbai was crowned Miss India Universe 2008 at a glittering function held at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai on Saturday night.

Parvathy Omanakuttam of Kerala won the Miss India World crown while Harshita Saxena of Goa was declared Miss India Earth.

=> More information - Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2008 (Photo credits: PTI Photo by Girish Srivastav / TOI / offical web site)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

WHO INVENTED INDIA?

Alexander the Great in India

In 325 BC, northern India View map

was conquered by Alexander the Great, a Macedonian (and also an Indo-European) king. Alexander had already conquered the whole Persian Empire, and he also conquered northern India (modern Pakistan View map

) as part of that. Alexander didn't stay very long though. He left after a couple of years and went back to Babylon, where he died.

Still, Alexander had a lasting effect on India. Alexander left behind several thousand Greek soldiers, to keep an eye on things. These soldiers had with them writers, artists, sculptors, and teachers, and they built Greek cities in Afghanistan View map

and in the Indus valley View map

. The Indians learned about a lot of Greek culture this way, and the Greeks learned a lot of Indian ideas too.

delhi sultanate

Delhi Sultanate in India

Around 1100 AD, the Mamluks who had already conquered Persia (modern Iran) came to conquer India as well. By 1192 AD, the Mamluks were able to beat the Indians and take over northern India (and modern Pakistan).

In 1192 AD, the Muslim general Muhammed Ghor captured Delhi and started a dynasty of rulers which, together with some later dynasties, is called the Delhi Sultanate. The first dynasty was called the Slave Dynasty because the first leaders had been slave soldiers, or Mamluks Little by little, many Hindus and Buddhists in northern India decided to convert to Islam, the religion of their conquerors..

When the Slave Dynasty ended in civil war in 1290, the Khalji Dynasty took over. This was the time of the greatest power of the Delhi Sultanate, when the Sultans in Delhi could control even the most southern part of India, at least some of the time.

Tomb of a Tughluq sultan

Under the Tughluq Dynasty, however, beginning about 1325, the Delhi Sultans began to weaken. There were a lot of rebellions and civil wars, and by 1351 southern India regained its independence as a Hindu state. The Deccan, or central India, also broke away and became independent, although as an Islamic state.

Tamerlane

In the end, Delhi was sacked by the Mongol invader Tamerlane or Timur in 1398, which pretty much ended the power of the Delhi Sultanate.

ancient india

Harappan (3000 - 1500 BC/BCE)
Aryan (1500 - 800 BC - Vedic)
Aryan push to the Ganges (800-600 BC/BCE)
Alexander invades India
Mauryan Empire (ca. 325-184 BC)
Period of small kingdoms (184-320 AD)
Guptas (320-550 AD) (Huns invade)
Post-Gupta golden age (600-1100)
Muslim invasions and Delhi Sultanate (1100-1526)
Tamerlane and the Mongols invade (1397)

To find out more about Indian history, check out these books from your local library or from Amazon:

wonders of the world

Main article: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence

The Colosseum in Rome

The Great Wall of China

Old City of Jerusalem

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights

Grand Canyon

The Great Barrier Reef

The London sewerage system's original Abbey Mills pumping station

Machu Picchu

The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of Seven wonders but their writings have not survived, except as references. The seven wonders included:

The earliest lists had the Ishtar Gate as the seventh wonder of the world instead of the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The Greek category was not Wonders but "thaumata"(Greek: Θαύματα), which translates closer to "things to be seen". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence. Today, the only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Wonders of the Medieval World

Many lists of wonders of the world are said to have existed during the Middle Ages, although it is unlikely that these lists originated at that time because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a Middle Age did not become popular until the 16th century. Brewer's refers to them as "later list[s]"^[2] suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages.

Many of the structures on these lists were built much earlier than the Medieval Ages, but were well known.^[3] These lists go by names such as Wonders of the Middle Ages (implying no specific limitation to seven), Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages, Medieval Mind and Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages.

Typically representative of the seven greatest wonders of the Medieval world are:^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Other sites included on such lists:

Wonders of the modern world

Many lists have been made of the greatest structures built during modern times or of the greatest wonders existing today. Some of the most notable lists are presented below.

American Society of Civil Engineers

The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled a list of wonders of the modern world:^[10]

Wonder	Date Started	Date Finished	Location
Channel Tunnel	December 1, 1987	May 6, 1994	Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom and France
CN Tower	February 6, 1973	June 26, 1976, tallest freestanding structure in the world 1976-2007.	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Empire State Building	January 22, 1930	May 1, 1931, Tallest structure in the world 1931-1967. First building with 100+ stories.	New York, NY, U.S.
Golden Gate Bridge	January 5, 1933	May 27, 1937	Golden Gate Strait, north of San Francisco, California, U.S.
Itaipu Dam	January 1970	May 5, 1984	Paraná River, between Brazil and Paraguay
Delta Works/ Zuiderzee Works	1950	May 10, 1997	Netherlands
Panama Canal	January 1, 1880	January 7, 1914	Isthmus of Panama

New 7 Wonders Foundation's seven wonders of the world

Main article: New Seven Wonders of the World

In 2001 an initiative was started by the Swiss corporation New7Wonders Foundation to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments for profit.^[11] Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006.^[12] Egypt was not happy with the fact that the only original wonder would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, and other landmarks; and called the project absurd. To solve this, Giza was named an honorary Candidate.^[13] The results were announced on July 7, 2007 in Benfica's stadium in a big ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal,^[14] and are listed here:

Wonder	Date of construction	Location
Great Wall of China	5th century BCE – 16th century CE	China
Petra	c.100 BCE	Jordan
Christ the Redeemer	Opened 12 October 1931	Brazil
Machu Picchu	c.1450	Peru
Chichen Itza	c.600	Mexico
Roman Colosseum	Completed 80 CE	Italy
Taj Mahal	Completed c.1648	India
Great Pyramid (Honorary Candidate)	Completed c.2560 BCE	Egypt

USA Today's New Seven Wonders

In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of New Seven Wonders as chosen by six judges.^[15] The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November 24 from viewer feedback.^[16]

Number	Wonder	Location
1	Potala Palace	Lhasa, Tibet, China
2	Old City of Jerusalem	Jerusalem, Israel
3	Polar ice caps	Polar regions
4	Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument	Hawaii, United States
5	Internet	N/A
6	Maya ruins	Yucatán Peninsula, México
7	Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara	Tanzania and Kenya
8	Grand Canyon (viewer-chosen eighth wonder)	Arizona, United States

Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:^[17]

New7Wonders of Nature is a contemporary effort to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll, organized by New Open World Corporation (NOWC), which ran the New Seven Wonders of the World campaign.

Seven Natural Wonders:^[18] is a not for profit endeavour created to protect the seven natural wonders that have already been established.

Seven Wonders of the Underwater World

The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World was a list drawn up by CEDAM International, an American-based non-profit group for divers, dedicated to ocean preservation and research.

In 1989 CEDAM brought together a panel of marine scientists, including Dr. Eugenie Clark, to pick underwater areas which they considered to be worthy of protection. The results were announced at The National Aquarium in Washington DC by actor Lloyd Bridges, star of TV's Sea Hunt:^[19]^[20]

Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

Main article: Seven Wonders of the Industrial World

British author Deborah Cadbury wrote Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, a book telling the stories of seven great feats of engineering of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2003 the BBC made a seven-part documentary series on the book, with each episode dramatising the construction one of the wonders. The seven industrial wonders are:

Travel wonders of the world

Travel writer Howard Hillman is one of many who have compiled lists of the top man-made^[21] and natural^[22] tourist travel wonders of the world:

Man-made travel wonders

Natural travel wonders

Great Barrier Reef
Victoria Falls
Bora Bora
Cappadocia

madinat habu

In ancient times Madinat Habu was known as Djanet and according to ancient belief was the place were Amun first appeared. Both Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III built a temple dedicated to Amun here and Later Rameses III constructed his larger memorial temple on the site.

First Pylon - the temple of Rameses III

During his time Djanet became the administrative centre of Western Thebes. The whole temple complex was surrounded by a massive fortified enclosure wall, with an unusual gateway at the eastern entrance, known as the pavilion gate. This structure, a copy of a Syrian migdol fortresses is something you would no expect to see in Egypt. Rameses III, a military man probably saw the virtue in such a structure. It is likely Rameses resided here from time to time because a royal palace was attached at the

south of the open forecourt of this temple, while priests' dwellings and administrative buildings lay on either side of the temple. Originally a canal with a harbour outside the entrance, connected the temple to the Nile. But this was obliterated by the desert long ago.

In later times, because of its strong fortifications, it was the place of refuge during the civil war between the High Priest of Amun at Karnak and the viceroy of Kush. In the period of the Twenty Fifth and Twenty Sixth Dynasties (700 BC) the wives of Amon were worshipped in the Chapels called the Divine Adoratrices of Amun. During the Greek and Roman periods the site was expanded and between the 1st and 9th centuries AD a Coptic city was built and the temple was used as a Christen church.

The exterior walls are carved with religious scenes and portrayals of Rameses III's wars against the Libyans and the Sea Peoples. The first pylon depicts the king smiting his enemies and also has a list of conquered lands. The interior walls also have a wealth of well preserved bas-reliefs some of which still retain their original paint work.

click the three images above to see larger versions.

View Madinat Habu with your mouse or click on the text links below.

Temple Entrance

Migdol tower

The small temple

The First Pylon

Gateway - First Pylon

The First court

The Chapel

The Second court

View from the rear

The Hypostyle Hall

luxor

The modern town of Luxor is the site of the famous city of Thebes, (Waset in ancient Egyptian) the city of a hundred gates. It was the capital of Egypt from the 12th dynasty (1991 BC) and reached its zenith during the New Kingdom. It was from here that Thutmose III planned his campaigns, Akenaten Map of Thebes showing the Temples of Karnak and Luxor

first contemplated the nature of god and Rameses II set out his ambitious building program. Only Memphis could compare in size and wealth, but Memphis was pillaged of its masonry to build new cities and little remains. Although the mud brick palaces of Thebes have disappeared the stone built temples have survived.

The temple of Luxor is close to the Nile and parallel with the riverbank. King Amenhotep III who reigned 1390-53 BC built this beautiful temple and dedicated it to Amon-Re, king of the gods, his consort Mut, and their son Khons.

Obelisk of Rameses II

This temple has been in almost continuos use as a place of worship right up to the present day. It was completed by Tutankhamun and Horemheb and added to by Ramses II. Towards the rear is a granite shrine dedicated to Alexander the Great.

During the Christian era the temple's hypostyle hall was converted into a Christian church, and the remains of another Coptic church can be seen to the west.

Then for thousands of years, the temple was buried beneath the streets and houses of the town of Luxor. Eventually the mosque of Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al-Hajjaj was built over it. This mosque was preserved when the temple was uncovered and forms an integral part of the site today.

View Luxor with your mouse or click on the text links below.

Temple of Luxor showing the Avenue of Sphinxes.

1. Great pylon of Ramses II

2. Great court of Ramses II, which includes a shrine to Thutmose III.

3. Mosque of Sufi Shaykh Yusuf Abu al-Hajjaj

4. Pylon and colonnade of Amonhotep III.

5. Court of Amonhotep III

6. Hypostyle hall

7. Chapel of Alexander the Great.

8. Holy of Holies - Sanctuary

temple of karnak

The temple of Karnak was known as Ipet-isut (Most select of places) by the ancient Egyptians. It is a city of temples built over 2000 years and dedicated to the Theben triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu.

This derelict place is still capable of overshadowing many of the wonders of the modern world and in its day must have been awe inspiring.

For the largely uneducated ancient Egyptian population this could only have been the place of the gods. It is the mother of all religious buildings, the largest ever made and a place of pilgrimage for nearly 4,000 years. Although todays pilgrims are mainly tourists. It covers about 200 acres 1.5km by 0.8km Karnak Reconstruction

The area of the sacred enclosure of Amon alone is 61 acres and would hold ten average European cathedrals.The great temple at the heart of Karnak is so big, St Peter's, Milan and Notre Dame Cathedrals could be lost within its walls. The Hypostyle hall at 54,000 square feet with its 134 columns is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. In addition to the main sanctuary there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake.
Karnak page two >>

(Amenhotep III 1390 - 1352 BC & Akhenaten 1352 - 1336 BC)

Amenhotep III (right) was an 18th dynasty king who ruled at a time when Egypt was at the peak of her glory. He lived a life of pleasure, building huge temples and statues, but unlike his predecessors, encouraged realism in art. A rarity among Egyptian kings, he married Tiyi, (below) a non-royal. Most royal marriages were not ordinarily love matches they were normally a politically motivated. But there is evidence of Amenhotep’s genuine regard for Tiyi. It is recorded that, in her Town of T’aru he made for her a lake 3600 cubits long by 600 cubits wide. He then held a festival on this lake with himself and Tiyi sailing a boat called the ‘Disk of Beauties’.

Queen Tiy

One of Amenhotep’s greatest surviving achievements is the Temple of Luxor on the east bank of the river. Unfortunately, his mortuary temple on the west bank, the largest of its kind ever built, was destroyed when Rameses II used it as a quarry for his own temple. Only the two colossal statues that stood at the entrance survive.

His son Akhenaten was an even more unusual character. He was an intellectual and philosophical revolutionary who had the power and wealth to indulge his ideas. He tried to change the Egyptian people to a concept of godhead which was both monotheistic and abstract. He worshiped the sun (Aten) as the one true god and it is possible that the Hebrew prophets' concept of a universal God was derived in part from this cult.

Akhenaten

However, the ancient Egyptians were a deeply religious people who loved their ancient traditions and were not ready to embrace such radical changes. It would not be until the Christian era that the Egyptians would finally reject the old gods in favor of a single universal deity

Akhenaten (right) also introduced an entirely new and more intimate form of expression into Egyptian art. Among the surviving works of this period are the colossal statues of Akhenaten, the paintings from his private residence, the bust of his wife, Nefertiti and his mother Queen Tiyi. These works are unique in Egyptian art; they do not flatter the king and his family but reveal the real people in all their beauty and decay. They demonstrate a sophistication and creative freedom which was certainly revolutionary in their time.

However, this artistic renaissance was short lived; Akhenaten made himself unpopular by closing the temples and his lack of enthusiasm for the practical duties of kingship was to the detriment of Egypt's Imperial interests. Towards the end of Akhenaten’s reign, senior court officials like the civil servant Ay and the commander of the army Horemheb realized that the empire, and indeed Egyptian society, was disintegrating.

Tutankamun

Soon after Akhenaten’s death his son Tutankhaten, as he was then called, was crowned at Mamphis. He was only nine years old at the time, and had few close relatives left. His wife, Ankhesenpaaten, was older, and he was probably the political puppet of Ay and Horemheb. Under their tutelage, he changed his name to Tutankhamun; restored Amenhotep III’s Theban palace; issued a decree restoring the temples, images, and privileges of the old gods; and admitted the errors of Akhenaten’s political and religious policies.

Tutankhamun (left) died in his ninth year as pharaoh. He was eighteen, and modern medical analysis of his mummy shows that he may have received a blow to the head—but we can only speculate as to whether he was murdered or the victim of an accident such as a fall from his chariot.

It was a sad end for a family that produced such a great cast of characters: king Hatshepsut, who was actually a woman dressed in men clothes; Thutmose III, the Napoleon of Egypt; Thutmose IV, the young man who dreamt of the sphinx and became king; and Amenhotep III, the Magnificent.

Parade - etching

get ur knowledge...