National Symbols of India:

Anthem
Animal

Jana-gana-mana
Tiger (Panthera Tigris)

Bird

Peacock

Calendar
Emblem

Sarnath Lion capital erected by

Ashoka.

Flag

Dharma Chakra-24 spokes

Flower

Lotus

Rabindranath Tagore

Fruit

Mango

Game

Hockey
The Golden Era of hockey in India
was the period from 1928 - 1956
when India won 6 successive gold
medals in the Olympic Games.

Song

Vande Mataram

Tree

Banyan

Bankim Chandra Chaterjee

Indian Monuments:
Name
Buland Darwaza

Location
Fatehpur Sikri,
Uttar Pradesh

Built By
great Mughal
emperor,
Akbar

Char Minar

Hyderabad

Mohammed
Quli Qutab
Shah

Gateway of India

Mumbai

built to
commemorate
the visit of the
British
Monarch, King
George V and
Queen Mary.

Gol Gumbad

Bijapur,
Karnataka

Muhammad
Adil Shah

Statue of
Gomateswara

Sravanbelgola,
158 km away
from Bangalore,
Karnataka

Chamundraya,
a minister of
the Ganga
King,
Rajamalla

Hampi

northern
Karnataka

Photo

Humayun's Tomb

New Delhi, Delhi

Humayun's
widow, Hajji
Begum

India Gate

Raj Path in New

Delhi

designed by
the famous
British
architect,
Edward
Lutyens

Mahabalipuram
Rathas

shores of the
Bay of Bengal
about 60 km
from the south
of Chennai

Pallava king
Narsimha

Jama Masjid

Delhi

Shah Jahan

Khajuraho
Temples

Madhya
Pradesh

Chandela
Rajputs

Nalanda

Bihar, India

University to
study
Buddhism

Qutub Minar

delhi

Qutub-ud-Din
Aibak

Safdarjung's
Tomb

New Delhi

Nawab Shujaud-Daulah

Victoria
Memorial Hall

Kolkata

Lord Curzon

Sanchi Stupa

Madhya
Pradesh

Dhamekh Stupa

Sarnath, Uttar
Pradesh

great Mauryan
king, Ashoka

Taj Mahal

Agra,Uttar
Pradesh

Shah Jahan

Mysore Palace

Mysore,
Karnataka

Henry Irwin

Vivekananda
Rock

Kanyakumari
(Tamil Nadu),
India

Shri Eknath
Ranade,
Vivekananda
Rock
Memorial
Committee

Cellular Jail

Andaman Island, British

India
Government

Hawa Mahal

Jaipur,
Rajasthan.

Maharaja
Sawai Pratap
Singh

Leh Palace

Ladakh, Kashmir

King Singe
Namgyal

Mattancherry
Palace

Cochin (Kochi),
Kerala

Portuguese

Agra Fort

Agra,Uttar
Pradesh

Ajanta &
Ellora
Caves

Aurangabad in
Maharashtra

Amer
Fort

Jaipur, the
Capital of
Rajasthan State

Bahai
Temple

New Delhi,

Shah Jahan

Raja Man
Singh

Indian Painters:
Name
Abanindranath
Tagore(nephew of
Rabindranath
Tagore)

Photo

Paintings
Ganesh Janani

Three Girls

Amrita
Shergill

Brides Toilet

Hill Woman

Bharat Mata

Two elephants

Young girls

Tribal Woman

F.N. Souza

Manhatthan Landscape

From Saligao, Goa

Seated Female Nude 2

CHRIST ON PALM SUNDAY

Jamini Roy
From West Bengal.

Jatin Das from

Orissa

Working Woman II

Man-Woman

Ecstatic Woman

M.F. Hussain

Between the Spider & the Lamp

Maidens Flight

Autobiography

Mother India

Nandlal Bose from

Bihar

Yama with Nachiketa

Sati

Rabindranath
Tagore

Raja Ravi Varma

from Kilimanoor,
Kerala

Satish Gujral

S.H. Raza

Tyeb Mehta

Diagonal Series

Mahishasura

Indian Authors:
Chetan Bhagat

Five Point Someone (2004)

One Night @ the Call Center
(2005)
The 3 Mistakes of My Life
(2008)
2 States (2009) & Revolution
2020: Love, Corruption, and
Ambition
The Namesake
The Interpreter of Maladies
Unaccustomed Earth

Jhumpa Lahiri

Shashi
Tharoor

The Great Indian Novel

Show Business
India: From Midnight to
Millennium

Vikram Seth

A Suitable Boy
The Golden Gate
An Equal Music
Two Lives

Arundhati Roy

The God of Small Things

Salman Rushdie

Midnight Children
The Moor's Last Sigh
Shalimar Clown

Aravind Adiga

The White Tiger

Anurag Mathur

The Inscrutable Americans

Amish Tripathi

The Immortals of Meluha

(Shiva Trilogy, #1)
The Secret of the Nagas (Shiva
Trilogy, #2)

Jawaharlal Discovery of India

Nehru

Amitav Ghosh

Khushwant Singh

Anita Desai

Rohinton Mistry

The Shadow Lines

Sea of Poppies

Train to Pakistan

Fasting, Feasting

Such a Long Journey

Family Matters
A Fine Balance

V.S. Naipaul

India: A Wounded Civilization

An Area of Darknes
India: A Million Mutinies Now
A Bend in the River
A House for Mr. Biswas

Top 20 films:
Film Name
Meghe Dhaka Tara

Director
Ritwik Ghatak

Charulata

Satyajit Ray

Pather Panchali
Sholay
Do Bigha Zameen

Satyajit Ray
Ramesh Sippy
Bimal Roy

Pyaasa

Guru Dutt

Bhuvan Shome

Mrinal Sen

Garam Hawa

MS Sathyu

Mother India

Mehboob Khan

Ghatashraddha

Girish Kasaravalli

Elippathayam

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Mughal-e-Azam

K Asif

Nayakan

Mani Ratnam

Kaagaz Ke Phool
Apur Sansar
Sant Tukaram

Guru Dutt
Satyajit Ray
Damle & Fatehlal

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron

Kundan Shah

Guide

Vijay Anand

Madhumati

Bimal Roy

Anand

Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Best Directors:
Mrinal Sen

Bhuvan Shome
Trilogy:
Interview (1971), Calcutta 71(1972) and
Padatik (1973)

Mani Kaul

Bimal Roy

Uski Roti

Do Bigha Zamin,
Parineeta,
Biraj Bahu, Madhumati,
Sujata

Guru Dutt

Pyaasa
Kaagaz Ke Phool
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
Chaudhvin Ka Chand

Raj Kapoor

Aag
Awaara
Barsaat
Bobby
Mera Naam Joker
Prem Rog
Ram Teri Ganga Maili
Sangam (film)
Satyam Shivam Sundaram
(film)

Shree 420

Satyajit Ray

Ritwik Ghatak

Pather Panchali / Apu Trilogy I

World of Apu, The (1959) The
3rd Apu film
Aparajito (1956)The 2nd Apu
film,
Music Room, The (1958)
Charulata (1964)
Jalsaghar
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne,
Ashani Sanket,
Agantuk
Shatranj Ke Khiladi
Meghe Dhaka Tara
Nagarik (1952)
Aajantrik (1958)
Subarnarekha
Komal Ghandhar.

Meera Nair

Salaam Bombay

Gulzaar

Ijaazat

The parallel or new cinema movement

in India began in the regional cinema first, towards the end of the sixties, with the production of Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome (1969) and Uski Roti,
both financed by the FFC, signaling the beginning of the new wave in Indian Cinema. The New Indian Cinema was the cinema of social significance and
artistic sincerity, presenting a modern, humanist perspective in contrast to the fantasy world of the popular cinema. This phenomenon was very
important because it gave rise to a cinema characterised by significant themes and innovative treatment - essentially a cinema that sought truth, did
not obey convention, and did not become subservient to popular notions of what was good and palatable.
This phenomenon did not come about all of a sudden. There were many causative factors. The most important of them was the post-World War
situation in world cinema, specifically Italian cinema, with the emergence of neo-realism started by people like Zavattini and Vittorio De Sica. Around
the same time India also had a kind of popular cinema with social themes - again, particularly in Hindi - made by film-makers like Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt
and Raj Kapoor. Another factor that encouraged truly good Indian cinema was the establishment of several institutions such as the National Film
Awards, the Film Finance Corporations, the National Film Archives of India and the Film and Television Institute of India. One of the greatest impetusgiving events was the first International Film Festival of India, held in the mid-1950s.
Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen were the pioneers of the new cinema in India. Acclaimed as India's foremost director Satyajit Ray has made
30 feature films and five documentaries, tackling a wide range of rural, urban and historical themes. The Appu Trilogy -- Pather Panchali (1955), Apur
Sansa and Aparajito along with Charulata, Jalsaghar, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Ashani Sanket, Agantuk and Shatranj Ke Khiladi are some of his
outstanding films. Ray's other works like Mahanagar (1963), Seemabadha (1971), Pratidwandi (1970) and Jana Aranya (1975) focussed on urban
middle-class existence. In contrast to Ray, his contemporaries Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak set out to expose the dark underside of India's lower
middle-class and the unemployed. Sen inspired his audience with his own trilogy Interview (1971), Calcutta 71(1972) and Padatik (1973) and other
films like Akaler Sandhane (1980), Khandar (1983), Ek Din Pratidin, Chorus and Mrigaya. Ritwik Ghatak swooped on the Indian scene with new
dynamism with his noteworthy films like Nagarik (1952), Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), Aajantrik (1958), Subarnarekha (1952, released 1965) and Komal
Ghandhar.

In Bombay, a new group of film-makers began to contribute towards the growth of parallel cinema in Hindi. Notable amongst them are B.R.Ishara
(Chetana), Basu Chatterji (Sara Akash), Rajinder Singh Bedi (Dastak), Mani Kaul (Uski Roti, Duvidha), Kumar Shahani (Maya Darpan), Avtar Kaul (27Down), Basu Bhattacharya (Anubhav), M.S. Sathyu (Garam Hawa), Shyam Benegal (Ankur-1974), Govind Nihalani (Akrosh, Ardh Satya) and Kanthilal
Rathod (Kanku). The Hindi new wave seems to have reached its bloom period towards the end of the seventies with the coming of film makers like
Govind Nihalani (Aakrosh), Saeed Mirza (Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Aravind Desai ki Ajeeb Daastan), Rabindra Dharmaraj (Chakra), Sai
Paranjpe (Sparsh), Muzafar Ali (Gaman) and Biplab Roy Chowdhari (Shodh).<P>
The new cinema movement continued to flourish and grow stronger during the eighties. Shyam Benegal presented some good movies like Manthan,
Bhumika, Nishant and Trikal. Nihlani's Aaghat and Tamas were remarkable works. Other important films with new style of treatment include Prakash
Jha's Damul, Aparna Sen's 36-Chowringhee Lane, Ramesh Sharma's New Delhi Times, Ketan Mehta's Mirch Masala, Vijaya Mehta's Rao Saheb,
Utpalendu Chakraborthy's Debshishu, Pradeep Kishna's Massey Saheb, Nabayendu Ghosh's Trishagni, Gulzar's Ijaazat, Muzafar Ali's Umrao Jaan,
Gautam Ghose's Dakhal and Paar, Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Dooratwa, Neem Annapurana and Andhi Gali, Tapan Sinha's Aajka Robin Hood, Kundan
Shah's Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Girish Kasara Valli's Tabarana Kathe and Bannada Vesha, Shanker Naag's Accident and Swamy, B. Narasinga Rao's Daas,
Prema Karanth's Phaniyamma and Shaji N.Karun's Piravi (1988). Meera Nair, the young woman director, won the Golden Camera award at Cannes for
her first film Salaam Bombay in 1989.<P>
The Hindi cinema witnessed the production of good films in the parallel stream throughout the nineties. Drishti and Drohkal (Nihalani), Lekin (Gulzar),
Disha (Sai Paranjpe), Prahar (Nana Patekar), Parinda (Vinod Chopra), Diskha (Arun Kaul), Kasba (Kumar Shahani), Maya Memsaab (Ketan Mehta),
Mujhse Dosti Karoge (Gopi Desai), Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda and Mammo (Shyam Benegal), Woh Chokri (Subhankar Ghosh), Ek Doctor Ki Maut (Tapan
Sinha), Kalpana Lajmi's Rudaali (1993) and Darmiyaan (1997), Shekhar Kapurs Bandit Queen (1994), Ramgopal Varmas Satya (1998), Mahesh Bhatts
Zakhm (1998), Vinay Shuklas Godmother (1998) and Deepa Mehta's Fire (1999) and Earth 1947 (1999) were some of the notable Hindi films made
during the decade. The new millennium started with the controversy generated by the filming of Deepa Mehtas last of the Trilogy Water, which is
based the life of Hindu widows in the 1930s.<P>
In the South, cinema of the parallel genre emerged in Karnataka and Kerala. The cinema of the South came to the national attention with the winning
the President's gold medal in 1965 by Ramu Kariat's melodious tragedy Chemmeen (1965). Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Swayamvaram (1972) and others
all gained similar recognition in the years to come. The Karanth (BV) - Karnad (Girish) combine have produced two milestone Kannada films Vamsa
Vriksha and Samskara, criticizing the caste system. The Tamil films Vedam Pudithu directed by P. Bharatiraja and Ore Oru Gramathile by K. Jyothi
Pandyan also tackled the same subject. Olavum Theeravum launched a second new wave in Malayalam. Pattabhi Rama Reddy's Samskara (1970) and
Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Swayamvaram (1972) were the trend setters in Kannada and Malayalam respectively. This continued with a series of socially
conspicuous films like M.T. Vasidevan Nair's Nirmalyam, B.V.Karanth's Chomana Dudi, Girish Karnad's Kaadu, Girish Kasara Valli's Ghatasradha, G.
Aravindan's Uttarayanam and Thamp, K. Balachander's Arangetram, Avargal and Apoorva Ragangal, Adoor's Kodyettam, K.G. George's Swapnadanam
and P.A. Backer's Chuvanna Vithukal and G.V.Iyer's Hamsageethe. The eighties saw the continuance of new cinema wave with films like Elippathayam,
Mukha Mukham, Anantharam, Esthappan, Pokkuveyil, Chidambaram and Oridath.<P>
The movement spread to the other regional cinemas such as Marathi, Gujarathi, Assamese, Oriya and Telugu. The new cinema movement started in
Marathi with Shanta! Court Chalu Aahe (1971). Directors like Jabbar Patel (Samna, Simhasan), Ramdas Phuttane (Sarvasakshi), Ketan Mehta (Bhavni
Bhavai). Babendranath Saikia (Sandhya Rag), Jahanu Barua (Aparoopa, Papori), Manmohan Mohapatra (Klanta Aparanha, Majhi Pahacha), Nirad
Mohapatra (Maya Miriga) and Gautam Ghose (Ma Bhoomi) came to the scene with their note-worthy films. The New cinema from Bengal, Orissa,
Assam and Manipur also gave films like Tahader Katha, Bagh Bahadur, Charachar (Buddhadeb Dasgupta), Uttoran (Sandip Ray), Wheel Chair (Tapan
Sinha), Unishe April (Rituparno Ghosh), Adi Mimansa, Lalvanya Preethi (A.K. Bir), Nirbachana (Biplab Roy Chowdhari), Halodhia Choraya Baodhan Khai,
Firingoti (Jahau Barua), Haladhar (Sanjeev Hazarika), and Ishanou (Aribam Shayam Sharma). The notable Malayalam films of this period include
Vasthuhara (Aravindan), Vidheyan (Adoor) Kireedom, Bharatham (Siby Mmalayil), Amaram (Bharathan) Innale (Padmarajan), Oru Vadakkan
Veeragatha, Sargam, Parinayam (Hariharan), Devasuram (I..V.Sasi). Kilukkam, Thenmavin Kombath (Priyadarsan), Perumthachan (Ajayan), Daivathinte
Vikurthikal (Lenin Rajendran), Manichithrathazu (Fazil), Ponthanmada (T.V. Chandran) and Swaham (Shaji). From Tamil and Telugu cinema, films like
Anjali, Roja and Bombay (Mani Ratnam), Marupakkam and Nammavar (Sethsumadhavan), Karuthamma (Bharathi Raja), Surigadu (Dasari Narayana
Rao), Swathi Kiranam (K.Viswanath) and Mogha Mul (G.Rajasekharan) are worth making a note.