Anamala

Wednesday, 21 November 2012

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Abbey Falls
Coordinates: 12°27′32.4″N 75°43′10.5″E / 12.459°N 75.719583°E / 12.459; 75.719583 Abbey Falls (also spelled Abbi Falls and Abbe Falls) (Kannada: ಅಬ್ಬೆ ಜಲಪಾತ / ಅಬ್ಬೆ ಫಾಲ್ಸ್) is in Kodagu, in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India. It is located 8 km from the town of Madikeri and 268 km from Bangalore.
In the mountains of the Western Ghats, several streams combine, swelling with the monsoon rains and plunging down the mountain slope at enormous speed, hitting the huge boulders hard and forcing through the crevices and ravines. A misty cloud hangs over the falls. From here the water flows into the Kaveri River. During the monsoon season the water flow is very high. During the dry seasons the flow is considerably diminished.One can find a lot of leeches inside the water.
The waterfall is located between private coffee plantations with stocky coffee bushes and spice estates with trees entwined with pepper vines. The falls appear suddenly, the water cascading over rocks into calm pools. A hanging bridge constructed just opposite the falls comes in handy for the Tourists. There is a Kali Mata temple on the other side of the bridge and Coffee and Black Pepper trees on the other side.

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Alappuzha
Alappuzha (Malayalam: ആലപ്പുഴ pronunciation (help·info)), also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India.This town is considered to be the oldest planned town in this region and the lighthouse built on the coast of the town is the first of its kind along the Arabian coast(refer encyclopedia of Kerala in Malayalam language). As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated 62 kilometres (39 mi) to the south of Kochi and 155 kilometres (96 mi) north of Trivandrum. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, it was described as the one of the places known as "Venice of the East" by Lord Curzon . It is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha District. Malayalam is the most spoken language. Hindi, English and Tamil are also widely spoken in the town.^{[citation needed]}
Alleppey is an important tourist destination in India.Backwaters of Alleppey are world famous and is the most popular tourist attraction in Kerala. A houseboat cruise in these backwaters is a delightful experience. It connects Kumarakom and Cochin towards north and Quilon to the South. Alappuzha is also the access point for the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race, held on the Punnamada Lake, near Alappuzha, held on the second Saturday of August every year, is the most competitive and popular of the boat races in India. The mullackal chirap is also one of the attractions of Allapuzha which is the festive season held ten colorfull days every year in the month of December.

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Aravalli Range
The Aravalli Range literally meaning 'line of peaks', is a range of mountains in western India and eastern Pakistan running approximately 800 km from northeast to southwest across Indian states of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat and Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. It is also called Mewat hills locally.
The northern end of the range continues as isolated hills and rocky ridges into Haryana state, ending in Delhi. The famous Delhi Ridge is the last leg of the Aravalli Range, which traverses through South Delhi and terminates into Central Delhi where raisina hill is its last extension . It is one of the world's oldest maountain ranges. It's dates back to pre-Indian subcontinental collision with the mainland Asiatic Plate. The southern end is at Palanpur near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar in Mount Abu. Rising to 5650 feet (1722 meters), it lies near the southwestern extremity of the range, close to the border with the Gujrat District. The city of Udaipur with its lakes lies on the south slope of the range in Rajasthan. Numerous rivers arises amidst the ranges including, Banas River, Luni River, Sakhi, Sabarmati River.

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Athirappilly Falls
Athirappilly Falls is situated in Athirappilly panchayath in Thrissur district of Kerala, on the southwest coast of India. Located on the west-flowing Chalakudy River near the Vazhachal Forest Division and the Sholayar ranges, this 24-metre (80 ft) waterfall and the nearby Vazhachal Falls are popular tourist destinations. Controversy about a state-proposed hydroelectric dam on the Chalakudy River above the waterfalls began in the 1990s and has continued through 2011.
The 145 kilometres (90 mi) long Chalakudy River, originates in the Anamudi mountains of the Western Ghats and flows through the Vazhachal Forest toward the Arabian Sea. The river initially runs smoothly but becomes more turbulent as it nears Athirappilly. At Athirappilly Falls, the water surges around big rocks and cascades down in three separate plumes. Below the falls, the river remains turbulent for about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) until it reaches Kannamkuzhi. Then it calms and flows smoothly until reaching the dam at Thumburmuzhi.

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Battle of Plassey
Coordinates: 23°48′N 88°15′E / 23.80°N 88.25°E / 23.80; 88.25
The Battle of Plassey (Bengali: পলাশীর যুদ্ধ, Pôlashir Juddho), 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years. The battle took place at Palashi, Bengal (Plassey is the anglicised version of Palashi), on the river banks of the Bhagirathi River, about 150 km north of Calcutta, near Murshidabad, then capital of undivided Bengal. The belligerents were Siraj-ud-daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and the British East India Company.
The battle was preceded by the attack on British controlled Calcutta by Siraj-ud-daulah and the Black Hole incident. The British sent reinforcements under Colonel Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson from Madras to Bengal, and recaptured Calcutta. Clive then seized the initiative to capture the French fort of Chandernagar. Tensions and suspicions between Siraj-ud-daulah and the British culminated in the Battle of Plassey. The battle was waged during the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and, in a mirror of their European rivalry, the French East India Company sent a small contingent to fight against the British. Siraj-ud-Daulah had a numerically superior force and made his stand at Plassey. The British, worried about being outnumbered, formed a conspiracy with Siraj-ud-Daulah's demoted army chief Mir Jafar, along with others such as Yar Lutuf Khan, Jagat Seths (Mahtab Chand and Swarup Chand), Omichund and Rai Durlabh. Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh and Yar Lutuf Khan thus assembled their troops near the battlefield but made no move to actually join the battle. Siraj-ud-Daulah's army was defeated by roughly 3,000 soldiers of Col. Robert Clive, owing to the flight of Siraj-ud-daulah from the battlefield and the inactivity of the conspirators.

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Bhadra River
The Bhadra River (Kannada: ಭದ್ರಾ ನದಿ) is a river in Karnataka state in southern India.
The Bhadra originates at Gangamoola near Kudremukha, Western Ghats range, and flows east across the southern part of Deccan Plateau, joined by its tributaries the Somavahini near Hebbe, Thadabehalla, and Odirayanahalla. It flows through the towns of Horanadu, Balehonnur,Balehole and NR Pura. A Dam is built across the river near Lakkavalli which forms the Bhadra reservoir. From here the river continues its journey through the city of Bhadravathi, Karnataka. The Bhadra meets the Tunga River at Koodli, a small town near Shivamogga. The combined river continues east as the Tungabhadra, a major tributary of the Krishna, which empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Coordinates: 14°00′N 75°39′E / 14°N 75.65°E / 14; 75.65

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Bhavani River
The Bhavani is the second largest river in Tamil Nadu, South India and a major tributary of the Kaveri River, the longest river in Tamil Nadu.
The Bhavani is a 217 km. long perennial river fed mostly by the southwest monsoon and supplemented by the northeast monsoon. Its watershed drains an area of 6,200 km² spread over Tamil Nadu (87%), Kerala (9%) and Karnataka (4%).
The main river courses through entire of the North-Western Erode district of Tamil Nadu. About 90 per cent of the river's water is used for agriculture irrigation. 6 million people live along its banks. Textile, leather, sugar, paper, slaughterhouse and distilling industries are located along the river and its tributaries at many points.
Industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution of the river results in poor water quality and negative impacts on the health of people, plants and animals dependent on the river water.
12 major rivulets join Bhavani draining the southern Nilgiri slopes. The west and East Varagar tributaries coming from the Nilgiris are the largest and each have dams in Tamil Nadu. At Mukkali, Bhavani takes an abrupt 120° turn towards the northeast and flows for another 25 km through Attappady plateau and for 7 km. along the inter-State border

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Brahmagiri (hill)
Brahmagiri, is a mountain range in the Western Ghats of south India. It is situated on the border between Kodagu district in Karnataka state in the north and Wayanad district of Kerala state on the south . Brahmagiri Hill, at 1608 m height, is a scenic tourist attraction. The top of Brahmagiri Hill is well forested and has a lot of wildlife.
Thirunelli Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, lies on the Kerala side of Brahmagiri. This temple is known as Dakshina Kasi or the Kasi of the South. The temple was constructed in an ancient style and includes 30 granite pillars. According to legend, the temple was constructed by Lord Brahma himself.
Pakshipathalam at an altitude of 1740 m is another attraction on the Kerala side. Pakshipathalam has a cave that is said to have been used by rishis in ancient times. On the Karnataka side it is also known by the name of Munikal cave.
Iruppu (or Irpu or Lakshmana Tirtha) Falls of the Lakshmana Tirtha River lies on the Karnataka side of Brahmagiri. According to legend, when Rama and Lakshmana were searching for Sita, they became thirsty. Lakshmana shot an arrow into the Brahmagiri from which the river sprang. Rama is said to have dedicated a Shiva Kshethra known as Rajeshwara Temple on the banks of river Lakshmana Tirtha. The Lakshmana Tirtha river eventually flows into the Kaveri River.

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Chittar River
Chittar River and its five tributaries and numerous other contributing streams originate in the Courtallam hills of Tirunelveli District in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Together with its tributaries and streams, the Chittar River serves as an important source of irrigation for the region and is a major tributary of the Tambaraparani River along with the Manimuthar River. The Chitter River, though little, is a beautiful river, making many turns and twists and providing spectacular waterfalls and cascades.
The Chittar runs for about 80 km before it meets with its first tributary which has an anicut and irrigates about 293.40 hectares of land. One of its next tributaries has a reservoir provided by an anicut, feeding 141.64 hectares. The next tributary has seven anicuts and a reservoir and irrigates 465.39 hectares of land altogether. This pattern continues as each tributary and other contributing rivers has anicuts and reservoirs that provide irrigation for the adjacent land.

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Climate of Hong Kong
The climate of Hong Kong is a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa), just short of being a tropical wet-and-dry climate.
In the winter, the weather is generally cool by local standards, with temperatures hovering between 15°C and 20°C. However, northeast winter monsoons bring frequent cold fronts which can cause the temperature to dip below 10°C, despite Hong Kong's tropical latitude and coastal location. Conversely, warm maritime airstreams also commonly raise the temperature well above 20°C. Temperatures as high as 29°C have been recorded in February. Winter starts sunny in December and becomes cloudier towards February.
Spring brings warmer and more humid weather. There is a sharp increase in rainfall around April. Spring is the cloudiest time of the year, with March and April both averaging only around 100 hours of bright sunshine.
Summer weather is hot, humid and unstable. Thunderstorms and brief showers are common, as well as sunny conditions. August has the highest average rainfall of any month. Temperatures usually exceed 30°C during the day, which, coupled with a high humidity, can result in an extreme heat index. Extreme heat indices are also caused by continuous sunshine and low breeze, usually last long around July and August, is a result in subtropical high pressure areas. This also occurs before typhoons hitting Hong Kong or nearby regions in the northeast, e.g. Taiwan or Eastern Coast of China, such outbound airstream bring even hotter weather, in addition to dirtier air. Nights are also warm with an average minimum temperature of 26°C. Hong Kong is frequently hit by typhoons in summer.

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Cochin
Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി, Kocci ^?[koˈtʃːi] ( listen)), formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala.
Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the eastern part of the mainland Kochi. The civic body that governs the city is the Corporation of Cochin, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the Goshree Islands Development Authority.
The city of Kochi (pop. 601,574) is Kerala's largest city and is part of an extended metropolitan region (pop. 2.1 million), which is the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. It is the most densely populated city in the state. Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin region and is classified as a B-1 grade city by the Government of India, making it the highest graded city in the state. Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine.

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Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up most of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, and more than a kilometer high in the south, forming a raised triangle within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of the Indian subcontinent's coastline.
It extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and southern India.
It is located between two mountain ranges: the Western Ghats form its western boundary, and the Eastern Ghats its eastern boundary. Each rises from their respective nearby coastal plains and nearly meet at the southern tip of India. It is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges, which form its northern boundary.
The name Deccan is an anglicised form of the Prakrit word dakkhin, itself derived from the Sanskrit word dákṣiṇa, meaning "south".
The Deccan Plateau lies south of the Indo-Gangetic plain. The Western Ghats Mountain Range is tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest monsoon from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall. The eastern Deccan Plateau is at a lower elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India. Its forests are also relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins and then into the Bay of Bengal.

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Ganges Delta
The Ganges Delta (also known as the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta, the Sunderbans Delta, or the Bengalla Delta) is a river delta in the South Asia region of Bengal, consisting of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, India. It is the world's largest delta, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world, thus earning the nickname The Green Delta. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River on the west to the Meghna River on the east. It is approximately 350 km (220 mi) across at the Bay of Bengal.Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Haldia in India and Mongla and Chittagong in Bangladesh are the principal seaports on the delta.
A number of large rivers flow through the Ganges Delta, including the Padma (main distributary of the Ganges) and the Jamuna (main distributary of the Brahmaputra), which merge and then join the Meghna before entering the sea.
The Ganges delta has the shape of a triangle, and is considered to be an "arcuate" delta (arc-shaped). It covers more than 105,000 km² (41,000 sq mi), and although the delta lies mostly in Bangladesh and India, rivers from Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal drain into it from the north. Approximately two-thirds of the delta is in Bangladesh. Most of the delta is composed of alluvial soils made up by small sediment particles that finally settle down as river currents slow down in the estuary. Rivers carry these fine particles with them, even from their sources at glaciers as Fluvio-glacial. Red and red-yellow laterite soils are found as one heads farther east. The soil has large amounts of minerals and nutrients, which is good for agriculture.

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Garo Hills
The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited mainly by tribal dwellers, the majority of whom are Garo people. Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is located in this range. It is one of the wettest places in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion.
Garo Hills comprises 3 districts. Tura is the largest town with a population of about 70,000 located at the foothills of often cloud covered Tura peak. The town is centrally located to other popular game/wild life sanctuaries in the district such as Balpakram and Nokrek, natural caves (the Siju cave being one of the longest in Asia). These places are rich reserves of natural flora and fauna.
Garo Hills known for its abundance of wildlife attracts naturalists and photographers to capture the multifaceted sights of a unique range of flora and fauna. Two mountain ranges - the Arabella range and the Tura range, pass through the Garo Hills, forming the great Balpakram valley in between. The headquarter town of Tura is 323 km via Guwahati, at an altitude of 657 km. The highest point in the Garo Hills is Nokrek Peak with elevation of 1412 m.

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Geography of Bahrain
Bahrain (from the Arabic word for "two seas" — itself an inaccurate folk etymology for the much older, Semitic term, Bahran) comprises an archipelago of thirty-three islands in the Persian Gulf, situated close to the shore of the Arabian Peninsula. The islands are about twenty-four kilometers from the east coast of Saudi Arabia and twenty-eight kilometers from Qatar. The total area of the islands is about 691 square kilometers, or about four times the size of the District of Columbia. The largest island, accounting for 83% of the area, is Bahrain Island (aka Al Bahrayn), which has an extent of 572 square kilometers. From north to south, Bahrain is forty-eight kilometers long; at its widest point in the north, it is sixteen kilometers from east to west.
Around most of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of the Persian Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain. The seabed adjacent to Bahrain is rocky and, mainly off the northern part of the island, covered by extensive coral reefs. Most of the island is low-lying and barren desert. Outcroppings of limestone form low rolling hills, stubby cliffs, and shallow ravines. The limestone is covered by various densities of saline sand, capable of supporting only the hardiest desert vegetation – chiefly thorn trees and scrub. There is a fertile strip five kilometers wide along the northern coast on which date, almond, fig, and pomegranate trees grow. The interior contains an escarpment that rises to 134 meters, the highest point on the island, to form Jabal ad Dukhan (Mountain of Smoke), named for the mists that often wreathe the summit. Most of the country's oil wells are situated in the vicinity of Jabal ad Dukhan.

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Geography of Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a sovereign nation, located towards the eastern extreme of the Himalayas mountain range. It is fairly evenly sandwiched between the sovereign territory of two nations: first, the People's Republic of China on the north and northwest. There are approximately 470 kilometres of border with that nation's Tibet Autonomous Region. The second nation is the Republic of India on the south, southwest, and east; there are approximately 605 kilometres with the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, and Sikkim, in clockwise order from the kingdom. Bhutan's total borders amount to 1,075 kilometres. The Republic of Nepal to the west, the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the south, and the Union of Myanmar to the southeast are other close neighbours; the former two are separated by only very small stretches of Indian territory.
Bhutan is a very compact nation, but with just a small bit more length than width. The nation's territory totals an approximate 46,500 square kilometres. Because of its inland, landlocked status, it controls no territorial waters. Bhutan's territory used to extend south into present-day Assam, including the protectorate of Cooch Behar, but, starting from 1772, the British East India Company began to push back the borders through a number of wars and treaties, severely reducing Bhutan's size until the Treaty of Sinchula of 1865, when some border land was ceded back. Later, many of these territories were permanently lost to British India under the Treaty of Punakha.

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Geography of Cyprus
The geography of Cyprus included both the physical and human geography of Cyprus, an island country situated in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus is third largest island in the Mediterranean (after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia) and the world's 81st largest. It is located south of Asia Minor, the Anatolian peninsula of the Asian (or Eurasian) mainland (now part of modern-day Turkey), so it may be included in Western Asia or the Middle East: At a confluence of Western Asia, Southern Europe, and Northern Africa, Cyprus has had lengthy periods of mainly Greek and intermittent Anatolian, Levantine, Byzantine, and Western European influences. It is sometimes included in Europe, and has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004.
Cyprus measures 240 kilometres latitudinally and 100 km (62 mi) longitudinally, with Turkey 75 km (47 mi) to the north. Other neighbouring territories include Syria and Lebanon to the east (105 km and 108 km (67 mi), respectively), Israel 200 km (124 mi) to the southeast, Egypt 380 km (236 mi) to the south, and Greece to the west-northwest: 280 km (174 mi) to the small Dodecanesian island of Kastellórizo (Meyísti), 400 km (249 mi) to Rhodes, and 800 km (497 mi) to the Greek mainland.

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Geography of Egypt
Coordinates: 27°00′N 30°00′E / 27°N 30°E / 27; 30
The Geography of Egypt relates to two regions: Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Egypt has coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The country borders Libya to the west, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east, and Sudan to the south. Covering 1,001,449 km², Egypt has a land area about the same as that of Texas and New Mexico combined, four times bigger than that of the United Kingdom, and twice as big as that of France. The longest straight-line distance in Egypt from north to south is 1,024 km, while that from east to west measures 1,240 km. More than 2,900 km of coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea constitute Egypt's maritime boundaries.
Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (sometimes called provinces), which include four city governorates: Alexandria (Al Iskandariyah), Cairo (Al Qahirah), Port Said (Bur Said) and Suez. Also included are the nine governorates of Lower Egypt in the Nile Delta region, the eight governorates of Upper Egypt along the Nile River south from Cairo to Aswan, and the five frontier governorates covering Sinai and the deserts that lie west and east of the Nile.

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Geography of Haryana
Haryana /ˌhɑriˈɑːnə/ is a state in India. Constituted in 1966, it is one of two newly created states carved out of the greater Punjab province as a means of creating a stronger national identity. It has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189-1230). It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region. The capital of the state is Chandigarh which is administered as a union territory and is also the capital of Punjab.
Sites in Haryana were part of the Indus Valley and Vedic Civilizations. Several decisive battles were fought in the area, which shaped much of the history of India. These include the epic battle of Mahabharata at Kurukshetra mentioned in the Hindu mythology (including the recital of the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna), and the three battles of Panipat. Haryana was administered as part of the Punjab province of British India, and was carved out on linguistic lines as India's 17th state in 1966. Haryana is now a leading contributor to the country's production of foodgrain and milk. Agriculture is the leading occupation for the residents of the state, the flat arable land irrigated by submersible pumps and an extensive canal system. Haryana contributed heavily to the Green Revolution that made India self-sufficient in food production in the 1960s.

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Geography of Iran
Iran is located in southwest Asia and borders the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Caspian Sea. Its mountains have helped to shape both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries. Stories of Iran having 20 square kilometers of glaciers are false and were started by students at Aberystwyth University in 2012; Iran is the largest procider of Glacier Mints in the world and it is the factory that covers an area of 20 square kilometers. The mountains enclose several broad basins, or plateaus, on which major agricultural and urban settlements are located. Until the 20th century, when major highways and railroads were constructed through the mountains to connect the population centers, these basins tended to be relatively isolated from one another.
Typically, one major town dominated each basin, and there were complex economic relationships between the town and the hundreds of villages that surrounded it. In the higher elevations of the mountains rimming the basins, tribally organized groups practiced transhumance, moving with their herds of sheep and goats between traditionally established summer and winter pastures. There are no major river systems in the country, and historically transportation was by means of caravans that followed routes traversing gaps and passes in the mountains. The mountains also impeded easy access to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.

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Geography of Iraq
The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into four main regions: the desert (west of the Euphrates), Upper Mesopotamia (between the upper Tigris and Euphratesh rivers), the northern highlands of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Lower Mesopotamia, the alluvial plain extending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf.
The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans through southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, eventually reaching the Himalayas. The desert is in the southwest and central provinces along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan and geographically belongs with the Arabian Peninsula.
Iraq holds a special distinction in the history of geography: a clay tablet generally accepted as "the earliest known map" was unearthed in 1930 during the excavation of Ga-Sur at Nuzi Yorghan Tepe, near the towns of Harran and Kirkuk, 200 miles (322 km) north of the site of Babylon. The tablet, measuring 6.8 × 7.6 in (173 × 193 mm), is usually dated from the dynasty of Sargon of Akkad between 2500-2300 BC; an even earlier date for the tablet was promulgated by archeologist Leo Bagrow, placing it in the Agade Period (3800 BC).

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Geography of Jordan
Jordan is situated geographically in Southwest Asia, south of Syria, west of Iraq northwest of Saudi Arabia and east of Israel and the West Bank; politically, the area has also been referred to in the West as the Middle or Near East. The territory of Jordan now covers about 91,880 square kilometers. Between 1950 and the Six Day War in 1967, although not widely recognized, Jordan claimed and administered an additional 5,880 square kilometers encompassing the West Bank; in 1988 and with continuing Israeli occupation, King Hussein relinquished Jordan's claim to the West Bank in favor of the Palestinians.
Jordan is landlocked except at its southern extremity, where nearly twenty-six kilometers of shoreline along the Gulf of Aqaba provide access to the Red Sea. A great north-south geological rift, forming the depression of Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee), the Jordan Valley, and the Dead Sea, is the dominant topographical feature.
Geographic coordinates: 31°00′N 36°00′E / 31°N 36°E / 31; 36
Except for small sections of the borders with Israel and Syria, Jordan's international boundaries do not follow well-defined natural features of the terrain. The country's boundaries were established by various international agreements, and, with the exception of the border with Israel, none was in dispute in early 1989.

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Geography of Laos
Laos is a landlocked nation in Southeast Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam, that covers 236,800 square kilometers in the center of the Southeast Asian peninsula, is surrounded by Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its location has often made it a buffer between more powerful neighboring states, as well as a crossroads for trade and communication. Migration and international conflict have contributed to the present ethnic composition of the country and to the geographic distribution of its ethnic groups.
Geographic coordinates: 18°00′N 105°00′E / 18°N 105°E / 18; 105
Most of the western border of Laos is demarcated by the Mekong River, which is an important artery for transportation. The Dong falls at the southern end of the country prevent access to the sea, but cargo boats travel along the entire length of the Mekong in Laos during most of the year. Smaller power boats and pirogues provide an important means of transportation on many of the tributaries of the Mekong.

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Geography of Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°50′N 35°50′E / 33.833°N 35.833°E / 33.833; 35.833
Lebanon stretches along the east side of the Mediterranean Sea, its length almost three times its width. As it stretches from North to South, the width of its terrain becomes narrower. Lebanon's mountainous terrain, proximity to the sea, and strategic location at a crossroads of the world were decisive factors in shaping its history. The political, economic, and religious movements that either originated in the region or crossed through to leave an imprint upon Lebanese society give form to that history.
The country's role in the region, as indeed in the world at large, was shaped by trade. The area, formerly part of the region known as Greater Syria, served as a link between the Mediterranean world and India and East Asia. The merchants of the region exported oil, grain, textiles, metal work, and pottery through the port cities to Western markets. The linkage role of Lebanon was further enhanced by the nomads of the Syrian and Arabian deserts who visited the cities of Syria to trade. The caravans developed limited routes that often led to the coastal cities of Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon, or Tyre. This created a merchant class and brought wealth to the inhabitants of the region. The trade between East and West led to the development of a cosmopolitan culture in Lebanon's port cities, whose inhabitants became known for their multilingualism, flexibility, moderation, and commercial acumen.

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Geography of Oman
Oman is a country situated in Southwest Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Oman is located in the southeastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula and covers a total land area of 309,500 square kilometers. The land area is composed of varying topographic features: valleys and desert account for 82 percent of the land mass; mountain ranges, 15 percent; and the coastal plain, 3 percent.
The sultanate is flanked by the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, and the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia, all of which contributed to Oman's isolation. Historically, the country's contacts with the rest of the world were by sea, which not only provided access to foreign lands but also linked the coastal towns of Oman. The Rub al Khali, difficult to cross even with modern desert transport, formed a barrier between the sultanate and the Arabian interior. The Al Hajar Mountains, which form a belt between the coast and the desert from the Musandam Peninsula (Ras Musandam) to the city of Sur at Oman's easternmost point, formed another barrier. These geographic barriers kept the interior of Oman free from foreign military encroachments.

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Geography of Russia
Coordinates: 60°N 100°E / 60°N 100°E / 60; 100
The geography of Russia entails the physical and human geography of Russia, a country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Comprising much of eastern Europe and northern Asia, it is the world's largest country in total area. Due to its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is taiga. The country contains 40 UNESCO Biosphere reserves.
Located in the northern and middle latitudes a of the Northern Hemisphere, most of Russia is much closer to the North Pole than to the equator. Individual country comparisons are of little value in gauging Russia's enormous size and diversity. The country's 17.1 million square kilometers include one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Its European portion, which occupies a substantial part of continental Europe, is home to most of Russia's industrial and agricultural activity. It was here, roughly between the Dnieper River and the Ural Mountains, that the Russian Empire took shape. It is also located on the northernmost tip of Asia.

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Geography of Vietnam
Vietnam is located on the eastern margin of the Indochinese peninsula and occupies about 331,211.6 square kilometers, of which about 25 % was under cultivation in 1987. It borders the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia. The S-shaped country has a north-to-south distance of 1,650 kilometers and is about 50 kilometers wide at the narrowest point. With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers, excluding islands, Vietnam claims 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) as the limit of its territorial waters, an additional 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) as a contiguous customs and security zone, and 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) as an exclusive economic zone.
The boundary with Laos, settled, on both an ethnic and geographical basis, between the rulers of Vietnam and Laos in the mid-seventeenth century with the Annamite Range as a reference, was formally defined by a delimitation treaty signed in 1977 and ratified in 1986. The frontier with Cambodia, defined at the time of French annexation of the western part of the Mekong River Delta in 1867, remained essentially unchanged, according to Hanoi, until some unresolved border issues were finally settled in the 1982-85 period. The land and sea boundary with China, delineated under the France-China treaties of 1887 and 1895, is "the frontier line" accepted by Hanoi that China agreed in 1957- 58 to respect. However, in February 1979, following China's limited invasion of Vietnam, Hanoi complained that from 1957 onward China had provoked numerous border incidents as part of its anti-Vietnam policy and expansionist designs in Southeast Asia. Among the territorial infringements cited was the Chinese occupation in January 1974 of the Paracel Islands, claimed by both countries in a dispute left unresolved in the 1980s.

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Goa
Goa ⁱ/ˈɡoʊ.ə/ is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. It was ranked the best placed state by the Eleventh Finance Commission for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the best quality of life in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators.
Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants and conquered it soon thereafter. Goa is a former Portuguese colony, the Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.

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Gokak Falls
Coordinates: 16°11′30.0″N 74°46′35.4″E / 16.19167°N 74.7765°E / 16.19167; 74.7765
The Gokak Falls is a waterfall located on the Ghataprabha River in Belgaum district of Karnataka, India. The waterfall is six kilometers away from Gokak
After a long winding course, the Ghataprabha river takes a leap of 52 metres (171 ft) over the sand-stone cliff amidst a picturesque gorge of the rugged valley, resembling Niagara Falls on a smaller scale. The waterfall is horse shoe shaped at the crest, with a flood breadth of 177 metres (581 ft). During rainy season, the thick reddish brown water sweeps far over the brink of the cliff with a dull roar that can be heard from some distance. There is a hanging bridge across the river, measuring about 201 metres (659 ft). Its height above the rock bed is 14 metres (46 ft). There is an old electricity generation station and electricity was generated here for the first time in Asia in 1887.
One interesting feature of this place is the monuments from the Chalukya era that are found on either bank of the rocky gorge. Another attraction of this place is the very old river-front temple dedicated to Lord Mahalingeshwara, built in the Later Chalukyan style of architecture.

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Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Kerala, India for a period of 5 years. The state government is headed by the Governor of Kerala as the nominal head of state, with a democratically elected Chief Minister as real head of the executive. The state government maintains its capital at Thiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum). The Government of Kerala was formed on November 1, 1956 after merging of Royal States of Travancore-Cochin with Malabar as part of States Reorganization Act-1956.
The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of five years. The executive and legislative powers lie with the Chief Minister and his council of ministers, who are by the Governor. The Governors of the states and territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level. Only Indian citizens above 35 years of age are eligible for appointment. Governors discharge all constitutional functions such as the appointment of the Chief Minister, sending reports to the President about failure of constitutional machinery in a state, or with respect to issues relating to the assent to a bill passed by legislature, exercise or their own opinion.

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Gujarat
Gujarat /ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt/ (Gujarati: ગુજરાત Gujǎrāt [ɡudʒ(ə)ɾat] ( listen)) is a state in western India. It has an area of 75,686 sq mi (196,030 km²) with a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east and the Arabian Sea as well as the Pakistani province of Sindh on the west. Its capital is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India.
The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the world's first ports. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat, served as ports and trading centers in the Maurya and Gupta empires. Mahatma Gandhi, India's "father of the nation", who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule was a Gujarati.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister was also from Gujarat.

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Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains ( /ˌhɪməˈleɪ.ə/ or /hɪˈmɑːləjə/;Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya, is a mountain range immediately to the north of the Indian subcontinent. By extension, it can also refer to the massive mountain system that additionally includes the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and other lesser ranges that extend out from the Pamir Knot. Some of the world's major river systems arise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basins are home to some 3 billion people (almost half of the Earth's population) in 18 countries. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Geologically, the Himalayas originate from the northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate at 15 cm^{[citation needed]} per year to impact the Eurasian continent, with first contact about 70 million years ago, and with movement continuing today. This caused the formation of the Himalayan arc peaks: the lighter rocks of the seabeds of that time were easily uplifted into mountains. An often-cited fact used to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made of marine limestone.

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Hindu Kush
Coordinates: 35°N 71°E / 35°N 71°E / 35; 71
The Hindu Kush (Pashto/Persian: ھندوکُش‎, Urdu: سلسلہ کوہ ہندوکش) is an 800 km (500 mi) long mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir (7,708 m or 25,289 ft) in Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a sub-range of the Himalayas.
The names Hindu Kush (Persian: ھندوکُش‎), Hindu Kūh (ھندوکوه) and Kūh-e Hind (کوهِ ھند) are usually applied to the entire range separating the basins of the Kabul and Helmand rivers from that of the Amu River (ancient Oxus) or more specifically to that part of the range, northwest of the Afghan capital Kabul. Sanskrit documents refer to the Hindu Kush as Pāriyātra Parvata (पारियात्र पर्वत). Greek geographers adapted the Sanskrit to "Paropanisadae" by Greeks in the late first millennium BC.
The Persian-English dictionary indicates that the word 'Kush' is derived from the verb Kushtar - to slaughter or carnage. Kush is probably also related to the verb Koshtan, meaning to kill.

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Hogenakkal Falls
Hogenakkal Falls or Hogenakal Falls is a waterfall in South India on the river Kaveri. It is located in the Dharmapuri district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, about 180 km (110 mi) from Bangalore and 46 km (29 mi) from Dharmapuri town. It is sometimes referred to as the "Niagara of India". With its fame for medicinal baths and hide boat rides, it is a major site of tourist attraction. Carbonatite rocks in this site are considered to be the oldest of its kind in South Asia and one of the oldest in the world. This is also the site of a proposed project to generate drinking water.
The word Hogenakal is formed of two Kannada words hoge and kal. When the water falls on the rocks it appears as if hoge (smoke) is emanating from the top of the kal (rock) because of the force of the water, hence Hogenakkal (smoking rocks). It is also called as Marikottayam by the people of Tamil Nadu.
The Kaveri is considered to form at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri hills in Kodagu district in Karnataka and gathers momentum as the land drops in elevation. It becomes larger as various tributaries feed into it on the way down. At Hogenakkal, the Kaveri, now a large river, drops and creates numerous waterfalls as the water cuts through the rocky terrain. In places the water falls as much as 20 m (66 ft) and is said to sound like continual thunder.^{[citation needed]} Soon after the falls the river takes a southerly course and enters the Mettur Reservoir. The river carries sediment which makes the downriver land fertile.

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Idukki district
Idukki is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state, India. The district headquarters is located at Kuyilimala in Painavu.

The name of the district is derived from the Malayalam word Idukki, meaning narrow gorge.
Idukki has an area of 4,479 km² (1,729 sq mi) and is the second largest District of Kerala (the largest being Palakkad). Rugged mountains and forests cover about 97 percent of the total area of the District. The district borders the Kerala districts of Pathanamthitta to the south, Kottayam to the southwest, Ernakulam to the northwest and Thrissur to the north and Coimbature, Dindigul and Theni Districts in Tamilnadu to the east.
Anamudi, the highest peak in India south of Himalayas, is in the Kuttampuzha Panchayat of Adimali Block, in the Kannan Devan Hills Village of Devikulam taluk. Thirteen other peaks in the district exceed a height of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The Periyar, Thodupuzhayar and Thalayar are the important rivers of the district.
The four taluks (subdistricts) in the district are Devikulam, Udumbanchola, Peerumade and Thodupuzha. The taluks contain 65 villages between them.

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India
India (ⁱ/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

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Kalhatti Falls
Coordinates: 13°33′N 75°45′E / 13.55°N 75.75°E / 13.55; 75.75
Kalhatti Falls (ಕನ್ನಡ : ಕಲ್ಹತ್ತಿ ಜಲಪಾತ) or Kalahasti Falls is located at Kallattipura in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. The waterfall is only 10 kilometers away from Kemmangundi hill station. It offers an excellent view of the cascading water from the Chandra Drona Hill from 122 meters (400 ft) above in front of the Veerabhadreshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Legends say that sage Agastya had prayed for a long time in this place.The Veerabhadra temple is supposed to be built in the Vijayanagar times. The temple is with three stone carvings of three elephants at the entrance. Water cascade water over these elephants and devotees believes that these waters have the power to cure diseases.
An annual fair of Lord Veerabhadra is held here for three day during March/April which attracts pilgrims from many parts of the state.
Its also hot spot among the trekkers who carry out their trekking exercises on the adjoining hills and mountains. Trekkers climbing along the mountainous terrains enjoy the picturesque view. With base in Tarikere which is 35 km from Kemmangundi, trekkers climb the hill slopes to enjoy the panoramic view of the verdant valleys below.

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Kallayi River
Kallayi River is one of the rivers in Kerala, India. It originates in Cherikkulathur in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 45 m and is 40 km long. It is linked to the Chaliyar River by a man-made canal on the south side of the small timber village of Kallayi lying on its banks.
Its basin is located in the Kozhikode District.
Coordinates: 11°13′N 75°47′E / 11.217°N 75.783°E / 11.217; 75.783

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Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum (simplified Chinese: 喀喇昆仑山脉; traditional Chinese: 喀喇崑崙山脈; pinyin: Kālǎkūnlún Shānmài; Hindi: काराकोरम, Kārākōrama; Urdu: سلسلہ کوہ قراقرم), is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit–Baltistan (Pakistan), Ladakh (India), and Xinjiang region, (China). It is one of the Greater Ranges of Asia, a part of the greater Himalaya while north of the actual Himalaya Range.
The Karakoram is home to the highest concentration of peaks over eight kilometres (five miles) in height to be found anywhere on earth, including K2, the second highest peak of the world (8,611 m/28,251 ft). K2 is just 237 m (778 ft) lower than the 8,848 m (29,029 ft) tall Mount Everest.
The range is about 500 km (311 mi) in length, and is the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier at 70 km and the Biafo Glacier at 63 km rank as the world's second and third longest glaciers outside the polar regions.

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Karnataka
Karnataka /kɑrˈnɑːtəkə/ is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore /maɪˈsɔər/, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the Kannadigas, Tuluvas, Konkanis and Kodavas. The capital and largest city is Bangalore.
Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres (74,122 sq mi), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area. With over 61 million inhabitants (2011), Karnataka is the ninth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state.
The two main river systems of the state are Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavati, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra) in the north, and the Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the Bay of Bengal.

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Kemmangundi
Kemmannugundi (Kannada: ಕೆಮ್ಮಣ್ಣುಗುಂಡಿ) is a hill station in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is 1434m above sea level. This was the summer retreat of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and as a mark of respect to the king, it is also known as Sri Krishnarajendra Hill Station. The station is ringed by the Baba Budan Giri Range, with cascades, mountain streams, and lush vegetation, Kemmangundi’s has ornamental gardens and mountains and valleys views. There is a spectacular sunset view from the Raj Bhavan.
Kemmannugundi (or Kemmannagundi) derives its name from three Kannada words - Kempu (red), mannu (soil) and gundi (pit) and means a place with red soil.
Kemmannugundi is 53 km from Chikkamagaluru and 17 km from Lingadahalli by road. The nearest National Highways, NH-206 or NH-48, connect to Bengaluru. There is another route via Mullayanagiri, a scenic drive.
The nearest railway station is 35 km away at Tarikere.
The nearest airports are at Mangalore (150 km) and Bangalore.

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Kerala
Kerala or Keralam /ˈkɛrələ/ is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.
The state has an area of 38,863 km² (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Arabian Sea on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala.
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, higher than that of most developed countries The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 93.91 percent. It hopes to be the first e-literate state in India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala is also ranked as India's cleanest state. Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.

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Kerala Backwaters
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.

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Khasi Hills
The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in the Indian state of Meghalaya, and is part of the Patkai range and of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion. In older sources in particular, the alternative transcription Khasia Hills is seen. Khassi Hills Is Located in India The region is inhabited mainly by tribal Khasi dwellers, which are traditionally in various chieftainships, petty states known as the Khasi Hill States. One of its capitals, Cherrapunji, is considered one of the wettest place in the world.
The region came under the Khasi Hills district, which was divided into West Khasi Hills and East Khasi Hills districts on 28 October 1976.
The highest peak is Lum Shyllong which is 1968 meters high. It is situated a few kilometers south of Shillong town.
Administratively, the Khasi Hills used to be a part of the Khasil Hills district. The district was dividied into East Khasi Hills district and West Khasi Hills district on 28 October 1976. On 4 June 1992, the Ri-Bhoi District was carved out of the of East Khasi Hills District.

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Koyna River
The Koyna River rises in Mahabaleshwar and is a tributary of the Krishna River in western Maharashtra, India. It rises near Mahableshwar, a famous hill station in the Western Ghats. Unlike most of the other rivers in Maharashtra which flow East-West direction, the Koyna river flows in North-South direction. The Koyna River is famous for the Koyna Dam and the Koyna Hydroelectric Project. Today the Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest completed hydroelectric project in India. The reservoir — Shivasagar Lake, is a huge lake of 50 km in length.
Due to its electricity generating potential through Koyna Hydroelectric Project, Koyna river is known as the Life Line of Maharashtra
The river meets the Krishna River, which is one of the three largest rivers in southern India by Karad.
The river is just about 100 meters in width and is slow-flowing. It is an olive shade of green during the dry months and a bluish-brown in the monsoon months attributed to much algae and aquatic plant life.The impounded water of the Koyna Dam though has submerged a significant amount of Rain forest of the Western Ghats, it has helped a lot to the surrounding forest by supplying water all round the year. Hence a wide biodiversity of plants and animals is observed in the evergreen forest surrounding the river.

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Kudremukh
Kudremukh (Kannada: ಕುದುರೆಮುಖ) also spelled Kuduremukha is a mountain range in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station town situated near the mountain, about 48 kilometers from Karkala and about 20 kilometers from Kalasa. The name Kuduremukha (as it is known by the natives) literally means 'horse-face' (in the local language Kannada) and refers to a particular picturesque view of a side of the mountain that resembles the same. It was also referred to as 'Samseparvata', historically since it was approached from Samse village.
The town of Kudremukh is primarily an iron ore mining town where the government run Public Sector Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL) operated till the last decade. It is noted for its scenic beauty. Owing to the dense forests, sighting wildlife can be challenging, though the area is rich in wildlife. Nonetheless the drive through the forest ranges can be enchanting and exhilarating. Three important rivers, the Tunga, the Bhadra and the Nethravathi are said to have their origin here. A shrine of goddess Bhagavathi and a Varaha image, 1.8 m within a cave are the main attractions.

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Ladakh
Ladakh (Wylie: la-dwags, Ladakhi [lad̪ɑks], Hindi: लद्दाख़, Urdu: لدّاخ [ləd̪ˈd̪aːx]; "land of high passes") is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in the control of the Republic of India. It is however disputed territory between Pakistan and India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Historically, the region included the Baltistan (Baltiyul) valleys, the Indus Valley, the remote Zangskar, Lahaul and Spiti to the south, Aksai Chin and Ngari, including the Rudok region and Guge, in the east, and the Nubra valleys to the north.
Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti to the south, the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west, and the trans–Kunlun territory of Xinjiang to the far north. Ladakh is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture. It is sometimes called "Little Tibet" as it has been strongly influenced by Tibetan culture.

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Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep /ləkˈʃɑːdwiːp/ (Malayalam: ലക്ഷദ്വീപ് Lakṣadvīp (help·info), Mahl: ލަކްޝަދީބު Lakshadīb), formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands /ˌlækədaɪv ˌmɪnɨkɔɪ/ & /ˌæmɨnˈdiːvi/, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group.
The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India. The total surface area of the islands is just 11 sq mi or 32 km². However, the lagoon area is about 4,200 square kilometres (1,600 sq mi), the territorial waters area is 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) and the exclusive economic zone area is 400,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi).
Lakshadweep is the northern part of the erstwhile Lakshadweepa.^{[clarification needed]} The islands are the northernmost among the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are actually the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, in the Indian Ocean, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge.

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Mahabharat Range
The Mahabharat Range (Nepali: महाभारत श्रृंखला mahābhārat shrinkhalā) – also called the Lesser Himalaya – is a major east-west mountain range with elevations 1,500 to 2,700 meters (5,000 to 9,000 feet) along the crest, paralleling the much higher Great Himalaya range from the Indus River in Pakistan across northern India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan but then the two ranges become increasingly difficult to differentiate east of Bhutan as the ranges approach the Brahmaputra River. The Mahabharat range also parallels the lower Siwalik or Churia Range (Outer Himalaya) to the south.
Southern slopes of the Mahabharat Range are steep and nearly uninhabited due to a major fault system called the 'Main Boundary Thrust". The crest and northern slopes slope gently enough to support upland pastures and terraced fields. Nepal's densely populated Middle Hills begin along the crest, extending north through lower valleys and other "hills" until population thins out above 2,000 meters and cereal-based agriculture increasingly gives way to seasonal herding and cold-tolerant crops such as potatoes.

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Maharashtra
Maharashtra /mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/ (Marathi: महाराष्ट् mahārāṣṭra [məharaːʂʈrə] ( listen)) is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India. Maharashtra is the richest state in India, contributing 15% of the country's industrial output and 13.3% of its GDP (2006–2007 figures).
Maharashtra is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Gujarat and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the northwest, Madhya Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Karnataka to the south, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, and Goa to the southwest. The state covers an area of 307,731 km² (118,816 sq mi) or 9.84% of the total geographical area of India. Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation. Nagpur is the second capital of the state. Marathi is the official language.
Maharashtra is the world's second most populous first-level administrative country sub-division. Were it a nation in its own right, Maharashtra would be the world's tenth most populous country ahead of Mexico.

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Makran
Makran (Persian: مکران‎) (pronounced [mæk'rɑːn]) is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh and Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The name Makran derives from Maka, borne by an overlapping satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire.
Maka was an important early eastern satrapy of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Makra corresponds to modern day Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates, plus the northern half of Oman as well as Balochistan and the Sindh province of Pakistan.Cyrus the Great united several ancient Iranian tribes to create an empire.

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Mallalli Falls
Mallalli Falls (Kannada:ಮಲ್ಲಳ್ಳಿ ಜಲಪಾತ) is situated in the Western Ghats region of Kodagu District, Karnataka. Mallalli falls is situated in the foothills of pushpagiri, around 25 km from Somwarpet and 265 km from Bangalore. The Kumaradhara river is the main watercourse for this waterfall. It later flows through Kukke Subrahmanya and merges with the Netravati -the lifeline of Mangalore at Uppinangadi

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Marunthuvazh Malai
The Marunthuvazh Malai (Tamil:மருந்துவாழ் மலை) also known as the Maruthuva Malai,nearer to VAIKUNDA PATHI (Marunthu vazum Malai– the abode of medicinal herbs) forms the part and the southernmost tip of the Western Ghats.
According to tradition, the Maruthuva Malai is a fragment of the Sanjeevi Mountain, a piece of which fell down here, and it was carried by Hanuman from Mahendragiri to Lanka for healing the fatal wounds of Lakshmana, the brother of Rama, the epic hero. It stretches for more than a km, reaching a height of 800 feet at the highest point. It is about 2 km from Swamithoppe and 11 km from Nagercoil.
This hill is also believed to be noted in Ayyavazhi mythology as Parvatha Ucchi Malai. Apart from the Mythology, this hill is historically related to the life of Vaikundar. So few theologians consider this hill as sacred and consider it one among the Ayyavazhi holy sites. Backing some quotes from Arul Nool and Akilam some even argue that Marunthuvazh Malai is one among the Pathis.

There is a mention about this Marunthu Vazh Malai in Sri Pada Sri Vallbha Charithamrutham written during thirteenth century in Sanskrit, which is a biography of Lord Sri Pada Sri Vallabha(first avatar of Sri Dattatreya).This place is mentioned as Maruthuva Malai and the legend about this mountain is captured. It is also said in the holy book that this is a Holy land and Siddhas and saints live in this Mountain

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Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire, Shahan-e-Gurkhani, Shahan-e-Mughal, Sultanate-e-Mughliya, Daulat-e-Mughliya (Persian: شاهان گورکانی‎ Shāhān-e Gūrkānī; Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت; self-designation: گوركانى Gūrkānī ),‎ or Mogul (also Moghul) Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were direct descendants of Genghis Khan through Chagatai Khan and Timur. The Mughal Empire began in 1526; at the height of their power in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they controlled most of the Indian Subcontinent—extending from Bengal in the east to Balochistan in the west, Kashmir in the north to the Kaveri basin in the south. According to "Babur-Nama", Kazakh tribal aristocracy along with number of other Turkic soldiers participated actively in the campaign of Babur, which made great influence over the development of Mughal Empire. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 110 and 150 million, over a territory of more than 3.2 million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).

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Munnar
Munnar is a hill station in Kerala and in southern India. Munnar is located on the Western Ghats, situated in the Idukki.
The name Munnar is believed to mean "three rivers", referring to the town's strategic location at the confluence of the Madhurapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers. The town has shared a strong cultural link with Tamil Nadu.
The Munnar town is in Kannan Devan Hills ( KDH ) Village in Devikulam taluk and is the largest panchayat in the Idukki district having an area measuring nearly 557 km².
The nearest major railway stations are at Ernakulam and Aluva (approximately 120 km by road). The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, which is 140 km away.
The region in and around Munnar varies in height from 1,450 meters (4,760 ft) to 2,695 meters (8,842 ft) above mean sea level. Munnar enjoys a salubrious climate. The temperature ranges between 5 °C (41 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in winter and 15 °C (59 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in summer. Temperatures as low as −4 °C (25 °F) have been recorded in the Sevenmallay region of Munnar.The mean maximum daily temperature is at its lowest during the monsoon months with the highest temperature being 19 C.

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Naga hills
Naga hills, reaching a height of around 3825 metres, lie on the border of India and Burma (Myanmar). These hills are part of a complex mountain system, and the parts of the mountain ranges inside the Indian state of Nagaland and the Burmese region of Sagaing are called the Naga Hills.
In British India, the major part of the hills came under the Naga Hills district.
The hills, due to their complexity and position form a barrier between the two countries. The Naga Hills are part of the Arakan Range (Rahkine Range) which to the north rise to 12,552 feet.
The term Naga refers to the Naga people who were called Naga or Naka in the Burmese language, which means 'people with pierced ears'.
A part of the Naga Hills under the British Indian control was coalesced into a district in 1866. The boundaries of this Naga Hills District were gradually expanded by annexation of the territories of several Naga tribes including the Aos (1889), the Semas (1904) and the Konyaks (1910). In 1912, the district was made part of the Assam province. After independence of India, it was merged with the Tuensang Division to create the state called Nagaland in 1963.

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Nelliampathi

Nelliampathi is a popular hill station 60 km away from Palakkad in Kerala, a small state in south India. It is surrounded by tea and coffee plantations and has excellent weather conditions. The journey to Nelliampathi itself is an experience. The only route is from Nemmara, from where the first town of Nelliampathi, namely Kaikatty junction, is at a distance of 26 km. At the 9th kilometer is the Pothundi Dam, a small irrigation dam which provides water for the rice fields in the surrounding area. The dam is at the foot of the Nelliampathi hills. From here, the road winds up for the next 17 km, with many hairpin turns on the way. Immediately after Pothundy dam, comes the government forest, where one can see massive teak trees. The road is very narrow and requires a skilled driver behind the wheel. On the way, one can see wild animals like monkey, deer and porcupine. The view of the Pothundy dam from the height is a breathtaking sight. There will be many waterfalls by the roadside during the rainy season.

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Nilgiri Hills
The Nilgiri (Tamil: நீலகிரி, Badaga: நீலகி:ரி or blue mountains), often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India. They are part of the larger Western Ghats mountain chain making up the southwestern edge of the Deccan Plateau.
The hills are separated from the Karnataka plateau to the north by the Moyar River and from the Anaimalai Hills and Palni Hills to the south by the Palghat Gap. The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu lies within these mountains. Its latitudinal and longitudinal dimensions are 130 km (Latitude: 11° 08' to 11° 37' N) by 185 km (Longitude: 76° 27' E to 77° 4' E). Central location is: 11°22′30″N 76°45′30″E / 11.375°N 76.75833°E / 11.375; 76.75833. It has an area of 2,479 square kilometres (957 sq mi).
The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000⁺ km²), including all of Mukurthi National Park in the south-eastern corner of the Nilgiris, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

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Nilgiri mountains
The Nilgiri (Tamil: நீலகிரி, Badaga: நீலகி:ரி or blue mountains), often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India. They are part of the larger Western Ghats mountain chain making up the southwestern edge of the Deccan Plateau.
The hills are separated from the Karnataka plateau to the north by the Moyar River and from the Anaimalai Hills and Palni Hills to the south by the Palghat Gap. The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu lies within these mountains. Its latitudinal and longitudinal dimensions are 130 km (Latitude: 11° 08' to 11° 37' N) by 185 km (Longitude: 76° 27' E to 77° 4' E). Central location is: 11°22′30″N 76°45′30″E / 11.375°N 76.75833°E / 11.375; 76.75833. It has an area of 2,479 square kilometres (957 sq mi).
The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000⁺ km²), including all of Mukurthi National Park in the south-eastern corner of the Nilgiris, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

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Nilgiris (mountains)
The Nilgiri (Tamil: நீலகிரி, Badaga: நீலகி:ரி or blue mountains), often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India. They are part of the larger Western Ghats mountain chain making up the southwestern edge of the Deccan Plateau.
The hills are separated from the Karnataka plateau to the north by the Moyar River and from the Anaimalai Hills and Palni Hills to the south by the Palghat Gap. The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu lies within these mountains. Its latitudinal and longitudinal dimensions are 130 km (Latitude: 11° 08' to 11° 37' N) by 185 km (Longitude: 76° 27' E to 77° 4' E). Central location is: 11°22′30″N 76°45′30″E / 11.375°N 76.75833°E / 11.375; 76.75833. It has an area of 2,479 square kilometres (957 sq mi).
The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000⁺ km²), including all of Mukurthi National Park in the south-eastern corner of the Nilgiris, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

wn.com/Nilgiris_(mountains)
North Malabar
North Malabar (Malayalam: ഉത്തര മലബാര്‍/വടക്കേ മലബാര്‍), is a historic as well as geographic distinction in India used to refer the area covering; present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad District and Koyilandy & Vatakara taluks of Kozhikode District in modern Kerala and the entire Mahé Sub-Division of Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Majority of North Malabar (except Mahé) remained as one of the two administrative divisions of Malabar District (an administrative district of British India under Madras Presidency) till 1947 and later part of India's Madras State till 1956. Mahé remained under French jurisdiction until 13 June 1954. On November 1, 1956, the state of Kerala was formed by the States Reorganisation Act merging the Malabar District, Travancore-Cochin [excluding four southern taluks, which were merged with Tamil Nadu], and the of Kasaragod taluk of South Kanara District.
The area of North Malabar begins at Korapuzha in the south and ends at Manjeshwaram in the north of Kerala and traditionally comprises erstwhile princely principalities and fiefdoms of Kolathu Nadu, Kadatha Nadu and southern parts of Tulu Nadu.

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Palni Hills
The Palni Hills (Tamil: பழனி மலை) (also Palani Hills) are a mountain range in Tamil Nadu state of South India. The Palni Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palni Hills adjoin the high Anamalai range on the west, and extend east into the plains of Tamil Nadu, covering an area of 2,068 square kilometres (798 sq mi). The highest part of the range is in the southwest, and reaches 1,800-2,500 metres (5,906-8,202 feet) elevation; the eastern extension of the range is made up of hills 1,000-1,500 m (3,281-4,921 ft) high.
It is also home to one of the shrines of Lord Karthikeyan or Murugan, who is worshipped as a god in Tamil Nadu.
The range lies between the Cumbum Valley on the south, which is drained by the Vaigai River and its upper tributaries, and the Kongunadu region to the north. The northern slopes are drained by the Shanmukha River, Nanganji River, and Kodavanar River, which are tributaries of the Kaveri River. The range lies mostly within Dindigul district, except in the western portion, where it forms the boundary between Dindigul district and Theni district to the south. The hill station of Kodaikanal lies in the southern central portion of the range.

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Pokhran-II
Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states.
On 18 May 1974, India exploded its first nuclear device code named Operation Smiling Buddha. After about a quarter century, on 11 May 1998, Operation Shakti was carried out. Shakti was the codename of a thermonuclear device that was exploded in Pokhran as part of Pokhran-II.
The Indian nuclear programme dated back to 1944 when Homi Bhabha established the Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945. Under the long premiership of Nehru, the nuclear programme's infrastructure was carefully established, and much of the weapon related facilities given commissioned in 1950s, most notably Bhabha Atomic Research Centre that operates the CIRUS which was commissioned in 1960.

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Ranipuram
Ranipuram (ooty of kerala Malayalam: റാണിപുരം) is a hill station located within Kasargod district of Kerala state [Panathady Panchayat, Hosdurg Taluk], south India. It is located about 48 kilometres (30 mi) east of Kanhangad on the Panathoor road branching off at Panathady and lies 750 m (2,460 ft) above sea level adjacent to Bhagamandala forest range. Panathady-Ranipuram 10km.
Evidence of pre-settlement traditions exist in the form of 'Theyyam', a folk dance to please the mother goddess held in the month of May. This place was formerly known as Madathumala until the 1970s, when it was purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Kottayam for the purpose of settlement. Settlers renamed it as Ranipuram in memory of the virgin mother.

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Satpura Range
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat state near the Arabian Sea coast, running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to the east till Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these two east-west ranges divide Indian Subcontinent into the Indo-Gangetic plain of northern India and the Deccan Plateau of the south. The Narmada River originates from north-eastern end of Satpura & runs in the depression between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges, draining the northern slope of the Satpura range, running west towards the Arabian Sea. The Tapti River originates from eastern-central part of Satpura, crosses the range in the center & further runs at the southern slopes of Satpura towards west meeting the Arabian Sea at Surat, draining central & the southern slopes of the Satpura Range. The Godavari River and its tributaries drain the Deccan plateau, which lies south of the range, and the Mahanadi River drains the easternmost portion of the range. The Godavari and Mahanadi rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal. At its eastern end, the Satpura range meets the hills of the Chota Nagpur Plateau.

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Savitri River
Savitri River (Marathi: सावित्री नदी) is one of the 5 rivers which originate from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra state in India. It originates in Mahabaleshwar and flows through Raigad district and eventually meets Arabian Sea at Harehareshwar. It passes through Poladpur, Mahad, Mangaon and Shrivardhan taluks. There are a number of Shiva temples along the banks of river Savitri.
Coordinates: 17°58′N 73°02′E / 17.967°N 73.033°E / 17.967; 73.033

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Sholayar Dam
Upper Solaiyar or Upper Sholayar Dam (சோழையார் Shozhaiyaar) is situated 20 km (12 mi) from Valparai, a hill station in the Anaimalai Hills of the Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu India. It is the second deepest dam in Asia.^{[citation needed]} A part of the hydroelectric project of Tamil Nadu, special permission is required to visit the dam.
Valparai is located 64 km (40 mi) from Pollachi and 55 km (34 mi) from Chalakudy. The nearest railway station is Chalakkudy.
The Solaiyar dam is a vital reservoir under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project and has a water storage capacity of 160 ft (49 m). The reservoir's overflowing waters are let into the Parambikulam Reservoir through the saddle dam.
Coordinates: 10°19′17″N 076°44′07″E / 10.32139°N 76.73528°E / 10.32139; 76.73528 (Sholayar Dam)

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Sulaiman Mountains
Coordinates: 30°30′N 70°10′E / 30.5°N 70.167°E / 30.5; 70.167
The Sulaiman Mountains (Pashto: د سليمان غر; Balochi/Urdu/Persian: کوه سليمان Koh-e Sulaimān), or the Kesai Mountains (Pashto: د كسي غرونه), are a major geological feature of southeastern Afghanistan (Zabul, most of Loya Paktia and northeastern Kandahar province), South Waziristan, and most of northern Balochistan province of Pakistan. The Sulaiman Mountains form the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau where the Indus River separates it from the Indian Subcontinent. Bordering the Sulaiman Range to the north are the arid highlands of the Hindu Kush, where more than 50 percent of the lands lie above 2,000 meters.
In Balochistan, the most famous peaks of the Sulaiman Mountains are Takht-e-Sulaiman (3,487 meters), Taunsa Sharif, the Khilafat Hills (3,475 meters) in Ziarat, Kesai Ghar (3,444 meters) near Zhob and Zarghun Ghar (3,578 meters) near Quetta.
Rivers that flow from the Sulaiman mountain system include the Dori River and the Gomal River. Takht-e-Sulaiman at 3,483 metres (11,427 ft), Koh-i-Takatu at 3,472 metres (11,391 ft), the Kesai Ghar at 3,444 metres (11,299 ft) and Giandari are some of the mountain peaks in the Sulaiman range. The mountain range runs north in Loya Paktia and meets the Spin Ghar range northeast of Gardez in Paktia province. To the east, the mountain range enters Punjab in Dera Ghazi Khan district and Dera Ismail Khan(Khyber Pakhtoon Khawa), and approaches the Indus River near Mithankot in Rajanpur district of Punjab. The eastern slopes drop very quickly to the Indus River, but towards west, the mountain range drops more gradually to the Sistan Basin.

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Sundarbans
The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন, Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sunderbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering parts of India and Bangladesh.
The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve located in the Sundarbans delta in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sundarbans South and Sundarbans West are two protected forests in Bangladesh. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger.
The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language (Shundor, "beautiful" and bon, "forest"). The name may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name is a corruption of Samudraban (Bengali: সমুদ্রবন Shomudrobôn "Sea Forest") or Chandra-bandhe (name of a primitive tribe). However, the generally accepted view is the one associated with Sundari trees.

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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu /ˈtæmɨl ˈnɑːduː/ (Tamiḻ Nāṭu [t̪amɨɭ naːɖɯ] ( listen)) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital is Chennai, the largest city. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south.
Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and the seventh most populous state. It is the fourth largest contributor (as of 2010) to India's GDP and ranks tenth in Human Development Index as of 2006. Tamil Nadu is also the most urbanised state in India. The state has the highest number (10.56%) of business enterprises and stands second in total employment (9.97%) in India, compared to the population share of about 6%.
The region has been the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE. Its official language Tamil has been in use in inscriptions and literature for over 2000 years. Tamil Nadu is home to many natural resources, Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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Tapti River
The Tapi River (Hindi ताप्ती, Marathi तापी, Gujarati: તાપ્તી) ancient original name Tapi River (Sanskrit: तापी), is a river in central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with a length of around 724 kilometres (450 mi). It is one of only three rivers in peninsular India that run from east to west - the others being the Narmada River and the Mahi River. The river rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state, and flows westward, draining Madhya Pradesh's Nimar region, Maharashtra's Kandesh and east Vidarbha regions in the northwest corner of the Deccan Plateau and south Gujarat, before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the Surat District of Gujarat. The river, along with the northern parallel Narmada river, form the boundaries between North and South India. The Western Ghats or Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Tapti (Tapi) River empties into the Gulf of Khambhat near the city of Surat in Gujarat.

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Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu (IAST: Tuḷu nāḍɯ) is a Tulu-speaking region spread over parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River.Mangalore (Kudla), Udupi (Odipu) and Kasaragod (Kasrodu) are its important cities.
According to Census of India 2001, the population of this region was 3,005,898.
The majority of the population in Tulu Nadu are Tuluvas. Other ethnic groups who settled here include Konkanass, and Bearys.
Tulu is spoken by the vast overwhelming majority of the populace. Konkani speakers constitute the second largest followed by speakers of Beary bashe.
Tulu Nadu lies along the Konkan Coast. Tulu Nadu is bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Western Ghats. Tulu Nadu spans an area of 8,441 km² (3,259 sq mi), roughly 4.4 per cent of the total geographical area of present-day Karnataka.
Tulu Nadu also experience heavy rainfalls during Monsoon season. The coastal area of Tulu Nadu is very rich with respect to rainforests and backwaters. The region has a tropical climate; summer and winter months experience similar temperate conditions, with average temperatures ranging from 24 °C to 33 °C.

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Tunga River
The Tunga River (Kannada: ತುಂಗಾ ನದಿ) is a river in Karnataka state, southern India. The river is born in the Western Ghats on a hill known as Varaha Parvata at a place called Gangamoola. From here, the river flows through two districts in Karnataka - Chikmagalur District and Shimoga District. It is 147 km long and merges with the Bhadra River at Koodli, a small town near Shimoga City, Karnataka. The river is given the compound name Tungabhadra from this point on. The Tungabhadra flows eastwards and merges with the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh.
The river is famous for the sweetness of its water. There is a belief that " Thunga pana Ganga snana" which means we should drink the water of river thunga and take bath in river Ganga.
It has a dam built across it at Gajanur, and a larger dam has been built across the compound Tungabhadra river at Hospet.
Sringeri, on the banks of the Tunga, has several temples, the most important being the Śhāradā temple and the Vidyāśhankara temple.
A depiction of the snake guarding a frog on the banks of the river at Sringeri.

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Vagamon
Vagamon (Malayalam: വാഗമണ്‍) is a hill station located in Kottayam-Idukki border of Idukki district of Kerala, India. It has a cool climate with the temperature between 10 and 23 °C during a summer midday. It is situated 1,100 meters above sea level. Vagamon also known as the 'Scotland of Asia', was discovered by the Britishers who found the place ideal for tea plantations and they were followed by Christian missionaries who built their abode of service at Kurisumala in Vagamon. National Geographic Traveler has listed Vagamon on their directory of the '50 most attractive places to visit in India’.
Still untouched by commercialisation, the sleepy town with its scenic valleys, beautiful green meadows, enchanting pine forests, mists, fogs, tea estates, waterfalls with the overall greenery is really striking. The landscape is mostly hilly bald with green meadows. Vagamon is also home to a large variety of flowers and orchids. Cuddled up within three striking hills Thangal, Murugan and Kurisumala hills which are the representation of the chief religions in Kerala, i.e. Hindu, Muslim, and Christian which represent the cultural harmony. Vagamon has amenities for trekking, paragliding, mountaineering and rock climbing. However business interests are trying their best to exploit and sell and market vagamon for tourists. How much benefits the local people are receiving from tourism boom is to be seen. The efforts made by the Kurishumala Ashram have helped the farmers of vagamon to improve their earnings by ensuring better price for milk and marketing opportunities.

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Vindhya Range
The Vindhya Range (Sanskrit: विन्‍ध्य) is a range of older rounded mountains and hills in the west-central Indian subcontinent, which geographically separates the Indian subcontinent into northern India (the Indo-Gangetic plain) and Southern India.

The western end of the range is in the state of Gujarat at the eastern side of the Gujarat peninsula, near the border with the modern states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Reaching the sub-continent proper, the range runs east and north nearly to the Ganges River at Mirzapur. The area to the north and west of the range are arid and inhospitable, located in the shadow of both the Vindhya and the higher Aravalli range to the south blocking the prevailing winds.
The southern slopes of the range are drained by the Narmada River, which proceeds westward to the Arabian Sea in the wide valley between the Vindhya Range and the parallel Satpura Range farther to the south. The northern slopes of the range are drained by tributaries of the Ganges, including the Kali Sindh, Parbati, Betwa, & Ken (both are tributary of the yamuna, ), Son & Tamsa or Tons both are tributary of the Ganges, drains the southern slopes of the range at its eastern end.

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Wayanad
Wayanad District (Malayalam: വയനാട്) in the north-east of Kerala, India, was formed on November 1, 1980 as the 12th district by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Kalpetta is the district headquarters as well as the only municipal town in the district. The region was known as Mayakshetra (Maya's land) in the earliest records. Mayakshetra evolved into Mayanad and finally to Wayanad. The Folk etymology of the word says it is a combination of Vayal (paddy field) and Naad (land), making it 'The Land of Paddy Fields'. There are many indigenous tribals in this area. It is set high on the majestic Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2100 m.
It is the least populous district in Kerala (out of 14).

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Adivasi
Adivasi (Sanskrit: Nepali: Hindi: आदिवासी; ādivāsī) is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India. The word is used in the same sense in Nepal as is another word janajati (Nepali: जनजाति; janajāti), although the political context differed historically under the Shah and Rana dynasties.
Adivasi societies are particularly present in the Indian Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Mizoram, and other northeastern states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many smaller tribal groups are quite sensitive to ecological degradation caused by modernization. Both commercial forestry and intensive agriculture have proved destructive to the forests that had endured swidden agriculture for many centuries. Officially recognized by the Indian government as "Scheduled Tribes" in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India, they are often grouped together with scheduled castes in the category "Scheduled Castes and Tribes", which is eligible for certain affirmative action measures.

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Cochin Royal Family
The Cochin royal family were rulers of Cochin, India.

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Dravidian people
Dravidian people or peoples or is a term used to refer to the diverse groups of people who natively speak languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. Populations of speakers of around 220 million are found mostly in Southern India. Other Dravidian people are found in parts of central India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The most populous Dravidian people are the Telugus, Tamils, Kannadigas and the Malayalis. Smaller Dravidian communities with 1–5 million speakers are the Tuluvas, Gonds and Brahui.
There are two definitions for Dravidian ethnicity which are generally divided between proposing that Dravidian people are an ethnic group in their own right, or Dravidian peoples are a collective group of ethnolinguistic ethnicities. The World Book encyclopedia, Volume 10 says: "Most southern Indians belong to the Dravidian ethnic group;" referring to them as one ethnic group, while the The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Volume 8; Volume 21 refers to 'Dravidian ethnic groups', suggesting the latter definition. Hence, depending on the definition and context, both 'Dravidian people' and 'Dravidian peoples' may be used.

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Kerala Iyers
Kerala Iyers, colloquially called Pattars, are Tamil Iyers of the Indian state of Kerala who migrated from present day Tamil Nadu in different waves starting from the medieval period onwards. The community consists of two groups - the Palakkad Iyers and Iyers of the Cochin and Travancore regions.
The first wave of Iyers settled down in Palakkad district at the beginning of the medieval period. Migrations to the Travancore and Cochin regions took place mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries AD. Many of the Diwans or Prime Ministers of the princely state of Travancore were Tamil Brahmins.
Kerala Iyers, like the Iyers of Tamil Nadu, belonged to the Pancha Dravida classification of India's Brahmin community. They mostly belonged to the Vadama and Brahacharanam sub-sects. Kerala Iyers and other Tamil Brahmins ranked below the orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins in the Malayali caste hierarchy and the touch of a Tamil/Kerala Iyer meant that the Nambudiri was defiled by Eda Shudam which required the Nambudiri to bathe before resuming rituals.

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Mahajanapadas
Mahājanapadas (Sanskrit: महाजनपद, Mahājanapadas), literally "great realms", (from maha, "great", and janapada "foothold of a tribe", "country") were ancient Indian kingdoms or countries. Ancient Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics (Solas Mahajanapadas) which had evolved and flourished in a belt stretching from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent and included parts of the trans-Vindhyan region, prior to the rise of Buddhism in India. The sixth century BCE is often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history.
The political structure of the ancient Indians appears to have started with semi-nomadic tribal units called Jana (meaning "people" or by extension "ethnic group" or "tribe"). Early Vedic texts attest several Janas or tribes of the Indo-Aryans, living in a semi-nomadic tribal state and fighting among themselves and with other Non-Aryan tribes for cows, sheep and green pastures. These early Vedic Janas later coalesced into the Janapadas of the Epic Age.

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Malayali
Malayali (also spelled Malayalee; Malayalam: മലയാളി, Malayāḷi ^?) is the term used to refer to the native speakers of Malayalam, originating from the Indian state of Kerala. The Malayali identity is primarily linguistic, although in recent times the definition has been broadened to include emigrants of Malayali descent who partly maintain Malayali cultural traditions, even if they do not regularly speak the language. While the origins of the Malayali people are in the state of Kerala, significant populations also exist in other parts of India, the Middle East, Europe and North America. According to the Indian census of 2001, there were 30,803,747 speakers of Malayalam in Kerala, making up 96.7% of the total population of that state. Hence the word Keralite is often used in the same context, though a proper definition is ambiguous.
Malayalam, the Malayalis' native language, has its origin from the words mala meaning mountain and alam meaning land (Tamil/Malayalam) or locality (which lies alongside the mountain). Hence 'Malayali' means people from the mountains who lived beyond the Western Ghats, and Malayalam the language that was spoken there.

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Mappila
Mappila (Malayalam: മാപ്പിള Māppiḷa, alternatively Mopla, Moplah) refers to the largest Muslim community in Kerala state, India primarily distributed in the northern region called Malabar, which arose as a result of the pre and post Islamic Arab contacts.
Muslims of Kerala, of which Mappilas constitute a majority, also make up the largest community in Kerala state, 24.70% of the population. As a religious group they are the second largest after Hindus (56%). They share the common language called Malayalam with the other inhabitants of Kerala. Islam reached Malabar Coast as early as 7th century AD and was assimilated with the culture and traditions of the local people. Over the centuries, the strong relations of the Mappilas with the traders from Arabia have created a profound impact on their life and culture. This has resulted in the formation of a unique tradition in literature, art, music, and history of the Mappilas. They form an integral part of the unique blend of the culture of the Malayalam language speaking population. Most of the Mappilas follow Shafi`i School, while a large minority follow movements arose within Sunni Islam.

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Namboothiri Brahmin
The Nambudiri Brahmins, also transliterated Namboothiri, are Hindu Brahmins from the Indian state of Kerala.
Nambudri nambũdiri is derived from nambuka "to trust" and tiri (from Sanskrit śrī) "blessed". Popular etymology derives the name from Malayalam nambu "the Veda", ōthu "to teach" and tiri "holy".
Nambudiri mythology associates their immigration to Kerala from the banks of Narmada, Krishna and Kaveri rivers with the legendary creation of Kerala by Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu. In the Travancore State Manual, Nagam Ayya also says that they came from the region between Krishna and Godavari.

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Pulayar
The Pulayar, also Pulayar, Pulaya, or Pulayas or Holeya or Cheramar, are one of the main social groups found in Kerala, Karnataka and in historical Tamil Nadu or Tamilakam.
Their marriage rituals were described by Edgar Thurston,. Nowadays many of these customs have fallen into disuse. Traditionally women of this caste are more independent compared to the women of other caste. The spiritual life of the Pulaya includes certain ancient magic rituals and practices that have a certain reputation. Members of the mainstream community may consult Pulaya sorcerers (Manthrikavadi) in Kerala, for advice.
Pulayas are noted for their music, craftsmanship, and for certain dances which include Kōlam-thullal, a mask dance which is part of their exorcism rituals, as well as the Mudi-āttam or hair-dance which has its origins in a fertility ritual.
Snake worship (nagaradhana) was prevalent among many Pulaya families all over Kerala.^{[citation needed]}
They did use surnames like other groups. But off late many have been identified calling themselves as Cheramar or Cheraman Pulayan or Cheramar Pulayar or Cheramar Christian.^{[citation needed]}

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Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War (Hindi: भारत-चीन युद्ध Bhārat-Chīn Yuddh), also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict (simplified Chinese: 中印边境战争; traditional Chinese: 中印邊境戰爭; pinyin: Zhōng-Yìn Biānjìng Zhànzhēng), was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when India had granted asylum to the Dalai Lama. India initiated a Forward Policy in which it placed outposts along the border, including several north of the McMahon Line, the eastern portion of a Line of Actual Control proclaimed by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1959.
Unable to reach political accommodation on disputed territory along the 3,225-kilometer-long Himalayan border, the Chinese launched simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line on 20 October 1962, coinciding with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Chinese troops advanced over Indian forces in both theatres, capturing Rezang la in Chushul in the western theatre, as well as Tawang in the eastern theatre. The war ended when the Chinese declared a ceasefire on 20 November 1962, and simultaneously announced its withdrawal from the disputed area.

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anamala churam

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anamala churam and dam

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Aliyar Dam Anamala

Aliyar Dam Anamala...

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Trip to Anamala

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ana mala.wmv

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Anamalai Hills
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Elevation	2,695 m (8,842 ft)
Prominence	Anamudi
Location
Location	Kerala & Tamil Nadu, South India
Range	Western Ghats
Coordinates	10°22′N 77°07.5′E / 10.367°N 77.125°E / 10.367; 77.125
Topo map	(Terrain)
Geology
Type	Fault ^[1]
Age of rock	Cenozoic 100 to 80 mya
Climbing
Easiest route	SH-17 = old rt. 4

Branches of Mathematics

Pure mathematics

Applied mathematics

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Contents

Geography [link]

Fauna [link]

Hydrology [link]

Visitor information [link]

Further reading [link]

References [link]

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