Land area: 1,147,949 sq mi (2,973,190 sq km); total area: 1,269,346 sq mi (3,287,590 sq km)

Population (2006): 1,095,351,995 (growth rate: 1.4%); birth rate: 22.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 54.6/1000; life expectancy: 64.7; density per sq mi: 954

Capital City: New Delhi

Monetary unit: Rupee

Languages: Hindi (official), English (official), Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Assamese, Sanskrit, Sindhi (all recognized by the constitution). Dialects, 1,600+

Ethnicity/race: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)

Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Islam 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other (including Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis) 2.5%(2002)

The subcontinent of India lies in south Asia. To the north it is bordered by the world's highest mountain chain, where foothill valleys cover the northernmost of the country. Further south, plateaus, tropical rain forests and sandy deserts are bordered by palm fringed beaches.

Side by side with the country's staggering topographical variations is its cultural diversity, the result of the coexistence of a number of religions as well as local tradition. Thus, the towering temples of south India, easily identifiable by their ornately sculptured surface, are associated with a great many crafts and performing arts of the region.

All great Indian festivals have religious, social and seasonal elements to them. Celebrations are done with religious sanctity, making traditional food and celebration of the season. Indian festivals are a good way to get-together for social functions. To create an awareness of the heritage and culture that has been handed down to us for generations.

Deepawali or Diwali (the Festival of Lights) is one such celebration that brings joy and all jubilation for one and all - the young and the old, men and women for the entire Hindu world.

Civilisation in India had flourished along the banks of her rivers, off the sea-shores & in semi arid regions. Depending on the locale, materials like wood, mud, bricks, tatches woven of palm & coconut leaves have been used. Huge stones had also been used to create archways, and temples.

India is the home of one of the Seven Wonders of the world - Taj Mahal.

The prominent forms of temple designs are the North Indian Temples & Southern Indian Temples. There were changes in styles, but certain basic rules fundamental to Hinduism were followed regarding the position of the garba griha and directions of the other deities.

In the North Indian style, the shrine is a square at the centre, but there are projections on the outside leading to cruciform shape. The Central Indian temples, basically evolved from the North Indian style. The South Indian Style is a style that developed in the Dravida Desam. The Vimana and the Gopurams are the distictive characteristics of the Southern style. The Vimana is a tall pyramidal tower consisting of several progressively smaller storeys.