I've been asked on more than one occasion in the last week what happened to my country blogs. Basically, I've just been SUPER lazy about getting them up. So in an effort not to get any further behind, I'm hoping to catch up today. Asa is working from home, but he's busy, so he won't distract me. And Calib just paid all kinds of points to get out of work for today because he HAS to know what is going on in Free Agency today. (Of course he still has to do our country, a Religion pop quiz, and his Duolingo if he wants to keep his streak alive, but he see's it as getting out of his work for the day, so he's happy).
Anyway, I don't even remember when we did India, but we did, somewhere a couple of days ago.
India was part of Religion Week, but not in the obvious way. India is basically Hinduism. 80% of the world's second largest population (China is first of course) are Hindus. More than that, India is home to 90% of the global population of Hindus. But, oddly enough it is ALSO home to 90% of the Sikh population. I needed a country for Sikhism, the fifth most practiced religion in the world, and as far as Sikhism goes, it's found primarily in the Punjab region of India. I mean, there's a decent Sikh population in Canada and the UK apparently, but the numbers just point to India, with about 22 million Sikhs. Canada and UK each have somewhere around half a million.
So while we got to recap Hinduism (with sacred cows; the three gods of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu; and Holi, the festival of colors), we also talked about all that India has to offer.
India's culture and heritage is a mix of past and present. With 438 living languages (although Hindi & English are used for official purposes) and monuments that have been around for thousands of years, India offers a unique look into the past of the Indus Valley civilization. But it is also one of the world's fastest growing economies and one of the fastest developing countries.
And the tourist destinations, my gosh! Almost every state in India has over ten major tourist destinations.
Some of our favorites we learned about?
Leh, one of the highest inhabited cities in the world. It's considered by many to be 'the top of the world'.
Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest and delta in the world. It's also home to estuarine crocodiles those Bengal tigers we talked about during Bangladesh day (Sundarbans is in BOTH India and Bangladesh).
And Varanasi, one of (if not THE) oldest living city in the world. It was part of the Indus Valley Civilization, located right there along one of our important places for Hinduism, the Ganges river. It's been continuously inhabited since somewhere around 1000 BC, even though India itself has only been a country in current day terms since 1947.
Other places we would totally do/see if we made a trip to India?
Mumbai, with it's wealthy residents and clash of old and new right there on the Arabian Sea. Although, we have issues with Disney crowds, so one of the world's most populous urban regions in the world, might not be for us.
But we could total go for a camel safari through the desert, or a hike in the Indian Himalayas.
And my internet loving family would be pretty happy in any of the 109 cities in India who are or are going to be 'smart cities' including the capital of New Delhi.
But of course, out of everything India has to offer our landmark was the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world.The mausoleum built by emperor Shah Jahan as a final resting place for his favorite (third) wife, is one of the most well-known buildings in the world.
A couple other fun India facts for you:
It's home to the man with the world's longest mustache (16 feet)
It is the largest consumer of tea (mostly black tea, that as been brewed in boiling water for at least 4 minutes- that's supposedly the best!)
We actually did Sikhism over two days, but only had one country. Asa was in the office, so it worked out fine.
The Sikhism symbol is the Khanda. Obviously you can see the swords within the symbol. It is the military emblem of the Sikhs.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion with one God, called 'Ik Onkar', who is indescribable and has no gender. A core belief is Sikhism is that everyone is treated equally. Sikh's do not look down upon other people, or other religions. Sikh's can worship Ik Onkar on their own, without any sort of rituals. They serve God by caring for each other, living an honest life, and working hard.
The purest of the Sikh community is the Khalsa community, and they follow the five 'K's.
The various sects really depends on which of the Guru lineage you follow.
There were 10 living Guru's. The first was Guru Nanak, the last was Guru Singh. Guru Singh designated the 11th and final Guru as the religious scripture of Sikhism. It is called Guru Granth Sahib. As far as their place of worship goes, they are called Gurdwaras, and can really be any building with a kitchen, a gathering place and Guru Granth Sahib. Those who lead the services are called Granthi's.
Sikh's share some holidays with Hindus, like Holi and Diwali. They also have various festivals to remember the birth and death of the gurus, as well as a festival to celebrate the founding of the Khalsa.
Our important places for Sikhism was the Punjab region, where most Sikhs reside, and the Golden Temple. It is a square building, that sits on a reflecting pool with doors on all sides to show that they are open to everyone from every corner of the world.
Some other important things to know:
Sikhs do not mourn death, as it is all a part of life. There are no headstones or monuments are allowed, and Shiks are cremated. They believe in reincarnation until you reach mukti (liberation), and then you are one with God and free from the cycle of reincarnation.
In an effort to remember the five K's, the boys all had five minutes to do their best to represent the five 5's and Sikhism with their dress. They did pretty good (I'm not sure where the horse head came from for Calib, other than I think he knew I was taking his picture, and he's not a fan).
I'm hoping this game doesn't seem disrespectful, it was more of an effort to help them remember some things, and for that purpose it totally worked.
The boys did an awesome job on their India postcards, so I posted them on Facebook so people could vote for their favorites, and the boys were awarded a dime for their jars for each vote.
For dinner we used a recipe out of our 'Around the World in 450 Recipes' book with Balti Chicken Curry, along with some help from the Publix frozen food section with Samosas.
Along with those things, strawberries and bananas are in season in India, and Aloo Palak (basically spinach and potatoes).
This dinner earned FIVE spoons up!
We all really, really enjoyed it. The somosas were a total hit (Asa even made a yogurt dip for them), and the potatoes were some of my favorites we've had. The main dish was also pretty awesome and with a familiar favorite veggie like broccoli, the kids ate it right up.
And we had another big country colored in (India is the 7th biggest by area)!
33 Down, 160 to go!
Next Up: Judaism and Israel
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