GLIMPSES OF
BHARAT...
BHARAT KI
...JHALAK
PUNJAB- Land of the Five Rivers
Punjab, state of India, located in the northwestern part of the subcontinent DESERT It is bounded by Jammu and Kashmir union territory to the north, Himachal Pradesh state to the northeast, Haryana state to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan state to the southwest and by the country of Pakistan to the west. Punjab in its present form came into existence on November 1, 1966, when most of its predominantly Hindi-speaking areas were separated to form the new state of Haryana. The city of Chandigarh, within the Chandigarh union territory, is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
The word Punjab is a compound of two Persian words, panj (“five”) and āb (“water”), thus signifying the land of five waters, or five rivers (the Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, and Sutlej). The word’s origin can perhaps be traced to panca nada, Sanskrit for “five rivers” and the name of a region mentioned in the ancient epic the Mahabharata. As applied to the present Indian state of Punjab, however, it is a misnomer: since the partition of India in 1947, only two of those rivers, the Sutlej and the Beas, lie within Punjab’s territory, while the Ravi flows only along part of its western border. Area 19,445 square miles (50,362 square km).
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* TOURIST PLACES-
MUSEUMS
Jang-e-Azadi Memorial(Kartarpur)
The Partition Museum(Amritsar)
Virasat-e-Khalsa(Chandigarh)
HILL STATIONS
GARDENS
Nehru Rose Garden(Ludhiana)
AMUSEMENT PARK-
Thunder Zone Amusement And Water Park(Amritsar)
Sun City Water Park(Amritsar)
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Gurdialpura Wildlife Sanctuary(Patiala)
Moti Bagh Wildlife Sanctuary(Patiala)
Dosanjh Wildlife Sanctuary(Patiala)
Mehas Wildlife Sanctuary(Patiala)
RELIGIOUS PLACES
Durgiana Temple(Amritsar)
FORTS
Bahadurgarh Fort(Patiala)
Gobindgarh Fort(Amritsar)
Ram Bagh Palace(Amritsar)
Anandpur Sahib Fort(Rupnagar)
* LANGUAGES SPOKEN-
1) Punjabi
2) Majhi
3) Doabi
4) Malwaii
5) Puadh
*TRADITIONAL ATTIRE-
1) The traditional dress for Punjabi men is 'Punjabi Kurta' and 'Tehmat', especially the popular Muktsari style.
2) The traditional dress for women is the Punjabi Salwar Suit which replaced the traditional Punjabi Ghagra. The Patiala salwar is also very popular.
* CUISINE-
Butter Chicken - The king of all Punjabi dishes
Shakkar Para - A sweet, indulgent dish of Punjab
Parantha - The Staple Food of Punjab
* FAMOUS FESTIVAL-
Lohri
Lohri marks the New Year for Punjabi farmers. On this day, the farmers pray and show gratitude for their crops before the harvesting begins and pray to Lord Agni to bless their land with abundance. They chant “Aadar aye dilather jaye” i.e. “may honour come and poverty vanish” while moving around the fire.The festival of Lohri holds great significance as it marks the harvest of the rabi crops and the end of winter days. The people worship the sun and the fire and thank them for the good harvest. The day is observed by all communities with different names.
* TRADITIONAL SPORT-
Khuddo khoondi
Similar to field hockey, the game involves using a ball made of rags and a stick with a natural curve at one end. The stick would normally be a tree branch.
* FOLK DANCE-
Bhangra is the most famous dance form in Punjab and across the world. This dance form was originally associated with the harvesting season of Punjab and traditionally performed during the festival of Baisakhi. Dressed in brightly coloured plumed turbans, traditional tehamats, kurtas and waistcoats, the dancers perform to the robust rhythms of dhols, Punjabi folk songs and other traditional instruments.
