"If there is one place on the face of this earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when Man began the dream of existence, it is India" - Romain Rollan, French philosopher
India is a land which has inspired many! It is a home to countless natural riches and artificial marvels that would astound one and all. Let's see some interesting facts about Indian cities. These lesser known and amazing facts about Indian cities will definitely grab your interest.
Mumbai
PC : Arian Zwegers
The present city of Mumbai is built on what was originally an archipelago of seven islands namely - Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli and Old Woman's island. These islands were Portuguese territories and was given to British as dowry when Princess Braganza married Charles II of England. Around 60 years (1784-1845) were taken to merge these 7 islands into a coastal city.
Delhi
PC : Panoramas
The national capital of our country was, originally, a walled city! Delhi had 14 gates of which only 5 are remaining namely Turkman Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Delhi Gate, Lahori Gate, and Kashmiri Gate. It is the world's second most bird-rich capital city after Nairobi in Kenya.
Kolkata
PC : Rajarshi MITRA
How many of you know that it was Kolkata, and not Delhi, which was India's capital till 1912!? Kolkata is one of the few rail tram cities in the world. It is also a heaven for bookworms with Kolkata book fair being recognised as one of the world's largest conglomeration of books and is also the most-attended book fair in the world!
Bangalore
PC : Brian Evans
Founded by Kempe Gowda of Vijayanagara empire, the comparatively younger city of Bangalore has many sobriquets like 'The Silicon Valley of India', 'The Garden City of India' etc. It's not just cats and dogs, in Bangalore, you could also see raining engineers! The IT hub has the highest percentage of engineers in the world and houses 212 software companies in its heart.
Chennai
PC : Vinoth Chandar
Citing the blend of both modern and traditional values, Chennai is the 'hottest' city (worth visiting, and worth living in for long term) to live in, according to BBC. It is a home to one of the longest beaches in the world - Marina! National Geographic ranked Chennai's food as second best in the world; it was the only Indian city to feature in the list.
Hyderabad
PC : Masrur Ashraf
Hyderabad, also known as the city of pearls, is home to the world famous Biriyani, world's biggest monolithic Buddha statue, film studio and snow themed park, and the rarest of rare - Kohinoor diamond! It is considered as one of the oldest rock formations on the planet, around 2500 million years old, and boasts of an opulent heritage. The last Nizam of Hyderabad is considered to be the all time richest Indian; he had a diamond paperweight worth £50 million!!
These are some of the amazing and lesser known facts about Indian cities. Next time when you visit any of these cities, try to startle someone with these astounding facts. Happy Travelling :)