THE INDIAN SOFTWARE INDUATRY-CURRENT TRENDS,CHALLENGES AND THE FUTURE

               The Indian Software Industry is the uncrowned king in the outsourcing of

software services now. Despite the current recession, which was always in the offing, once the boom got going, most software companies are facing the crisis head-on. They have shifted emphasis to off-shore projects since the on-site software development has virtually come to a standstill. They have started to scout for newer markets, improve on the per capita efficiency,concentrate on future technologies, revamp their organizational and marketing structure. In short the companies that are taking the slowdown as an opportunity to reorient themselves in the new scenario are creating the foundation for a long innings in the IT sector while those that are wary about taking the hard steps will soon find the going tough.

               From very humble beginnings, the Indian IT Industry has grown at an

exponential rate over the past 10 years doing Rs.10000 crore of export, fetching for India

valuable foreign exchange, propping up the Indian Stock Market with its share prices reaching dizzying heights before the scam, and employing over 2 lakh professionals with this number poised to rise to around 20 lakh in another 3 years. India missed the Agrarian, Industrial and the early Computer Revolutions but became a global player in the IT revolution because of two main factors-opening up of the markets and India's cheap and vast manpower with knowledge of English. Right from 1991 to 2000 Indian companies grew at a mind-boggling rate of 200-500% attracting lucrative projects from companies all over the world, especially the US. The recession that we see now is partly attributed to this phenomenal growth rate which to be maintained, was always going to be a tough proposition. The initial spark that triggered the recession was the slowdown in the American manufacturing industry , then aggravated by the collapse of Dotcom companies and then the last nail in the coffin was the sudden discovery that most companies did not have any more projects to h and out. In other words, most companies did not need any major software development.

             With the recession, most companies have drastically revised their organizational

and marketing strategies. The share of on site work has come down as most foreign companies prefer to sustain as much of their own employees rather than outsiders. Companies in India have now shifted gears doing off-shore development which is much cheaper. They have started  looking at the European and Japanese markets which have not yet been affected by the slowdown. Other markets which they are tentatively eyeing are the Australian, South American and Middle East markets. Most companies have decided to tide over the problem of reduced profits by resorting to layoffs and cutting down heavily on fresh recruitment. These are measures to bring down the numbers on the bench which have been increasing for some time now. The focus on web centric software development which used to be their prime revenue earner is a thing of the past and these companies are concentrating now on the banking and the egovernance sectors. Even the high flying companies are doing the low grade maintenance work for their clients to create good relationships in the hope of getting a big project from them sometime in the future.

              Despite the bravado that most software companies still put up it remains to be

seen how many of the smaller ones can survive, if the recession doesnt end soon. Fly by night

operators who wanted to make a quick buck from the high ratings software companies get in

the stock market along with poor quality of support which Indian companies provide are

destroying the credibility of the industry. Moreover the Chinese and the Russians have begun

warming up to the act. Their governments are aggressively promoting software training and

Chinese professionals come cheaper at $3000-4000 per year compared to an Indian

professional who earns on the average about $8000 per year. Another challenge that Indian

companies are facing is that most corporations prefer to keep the most lucrative projects for

their employees and leaving the crumbs for the Indians to brush up.

              But the future seems to be ours-that is if we are careful. Our companies are able to

provide the right training and have been able to continuously improve their knowledge base.

They have used the new technologies effectively winning customer satisfaction and we have

something the Chinese and Russians do not have-the experience in dealing with foreign

customers who are very quality conscious. The recession is on its way out. The markets are

looking up. The hype of yore will be a distant memory. To be realistic the software industry is going to stabilize at this point but opportunities will beckon soon. The weeding out is getting over. The dotcomers and Y2Kers have to swallow the bitter pill. The bottom line is they are not needed by the software industry any more. But for the others like u and me, the future is rosy, albeit a bit hazy, right now.

Technology could play a pivotal role in good governance says Nandan Nilekeni

Speaking at a symposium on Sustainable Transformation: Our New India's Pan IIT 2010, Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, emphasised the need for India to develop on all parameters and not just stark GDP figures. Happiness and welfare of all are important and especially for those below the poverty line. We need he said, to break the divide between the Haves and have-nots. Technology is good but should benefit all. In fact it is the responsibility of those technologically proficient to pass on the benefits to the rest of society. In keeping with his mood His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, appealed to all Indians to use their energies, healthy body and mind for the benefit of all. Giving an example of an effort in the self same direction, Nandan Nilekeni Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) reiterated that technology, the UID No. could transform society at large. India, he held, has 120 million migrants today with numbers on the rise everyday. These sections' need to reap the benefits of social sector welfare schemes, but are often denied on account 'identification' documents. The issue currently is not that there is inadequate allocation of funds but one of delivery. The benefits have not reached the deserving. This despite the substantial increase in social welfare schemes in the last 10 years. All Indians deserve the fruits of good governance.

The pilot project, he informed has already been implemented in many areas of Karnataka. The allotment of the UID No. would empower the Indian citizen to operate from any part of the country. It would be single source enabler which would empower them for social security/welfare requirements. In its initial phase of 14 months close to 6 lakh+ people have already been covered. Set up along with the Government of India, currently the financials stand at 40 Crores. In keeping with the overall theme of the Conference, that of transforming through Technology, Nilekeni enlightened all that UID technology (Project Aadhar) would empower the common man and assist the Government in better governance. Efforts he also stated are on to network banks and other financial institutions into the UID system. Speaking on the role of the Government in not being able to lead India towards a truly transforming path, Shailesh Gandhi, Central Information Commissioner squarely stated that the though the will may be there, the structure and policies are not designed to deliver. He gave HR policies and practices as an example. What India requires today, India includes both the people at large and the Government, is to work together for a change, talent being plenty. For India to transform every Indian must feel he has stake in the Government.

Another important facet of the hurdles to transformation was vociferously brought out by Arvind Kejriwal, RTI Activist. In response to Pradeep Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director's, remark that corruption in India is no longer retail but is wholesale, Kejriwal agreed but at same time gave important positive suggestions. The Commonwealth Games exposed the shocking scale and arrogance of corruption. Media has already played its role and the citizens now need to voice their concerns and demand a single investigative agency with the power to act against all, politicians and bureaucrats' included. The current set up is bizarre. The CVC for example has 32 people to investigate 1500 departments. The closing session on 'Building a sustainable future: The Green Society' saw global leaders speaking on the way forward to build a green global society that could further sustain the transformational growth. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner of the Planning Commission, said, 'There has to be a global agreement on the issue of climate change and only cumulative efforts could meet the green objectives. India's National Action Plan for Climate Change is taking necessary steps in liaison with the global community and drafting a way forward to reduce carbon emissions in India.'

Top Performing Commodities of 2010

Cotton

Unusually high cotton prices have prompted apparel makers to scramble for the increased use of synthetic and polyester fibres to keep down the input costs.
Cotton has registered a record 74% return in the domestic markets – a rise from Rs.25000 per candy to Rs.44000 in the past 10 months – led by shortage of raw material. Cotton can easily be termed as commodity of the year.
In fact, India – the second largest cotton producer in the world – could well be a major beneficiary due to rise in global prices of cotton, if the appeal made by cotton growers to allow export under the open general license is approved by the government.
However, economists see demand destruction for the next year if the record cotton prices refuse to die down for a longer period. Trade estimates suggest that India is likely to harvest 3.50 crore bales in 2010-11.

Coffee

Next in line of out-performers in commodities is Coffee – which has logged an impressive 45% returns in 2010. According to International Coffee Organization composite price indicator, currently the coffee price in the global market has topped 170 cents per pound compared to the average price of 121 cents per pound recorded in October 2009.
Moreover, global coffee supplies may tighten after an Indian exporters’ group forecast a delay in harvesting because of extended rains. India is Asia’s biggest coffee exporter. Further, the analysts tracking coffee prices expect the rates to continue inching higher until weather concerns ease in Brazil and Vietnam.
Overall, coffee exports during the January-October period of this year have risen sharply to 251,355 tons from 157,824 tons in the year-ago period. In India, the New coffee year – which runs from Oct’ 10 to Sep’ 11 – has started on a good note as coffee exports increased by a whooping 60% in the first month of the crop year.

Silver

Even as the yellow metal regains its Rs.20,000 platform, it is silver that is still touching all time highs at Rs.37, 700 per kg, a level never seen before. Silver surged to 30 year high in the overseas market as a weaker dollar increased the investment appeal of precious metals.
Silver prices for 2009 have risen like a phoenix from the financial ashes mainly on the winds of strong investment demand. Moreover, even in 2010, silver has yielded a decent 40% returns, propelled by confident resurfacing of industrial demand post the economic slack. On the other hand, gold has surged 21% during the 10 months period.
Bullion analysts are positive on silver indicating that the precious metal has barely made halfway back to its prior nominal high of $50 an ounce, achieved around early 1980s. However, despite industrial demand for silver, the real pressure going forward is from investment demand, which has been a fraction of that of gold.

Corn

2010 is shaping up to be a good year for the corn producers with the crop providing a good 25% returns from January to October period. In addition, signs of economic recovery point to a rebound in feed use, ethanol use and an increase in the demand for the corn.
The corn prices are gradually rising on speculation that US (the world’s biggest grower and exporter of corn) inventories will fall after adverse weather reduced Midwest output. To add to the crisis, China has emerged as a buyer of largest volume of corn from the US this year.
Analysts expect that a surge in global prices and a likelihood of a drop in domestic prices could help India seal more export deals in the coming weeks.

Nickel

Nickel prices have appreciated by 24%, driven by escalating demand from stainless steel industry amid tight supplies. Supported by firming trend in global markets and rising domestic demand from the alloy makers, nickel prices traded at Rs.1060 per kg.
About 2/3rd of the total nickel output is used in the manufacturing of stainless steel. Further, followers of the stainless steel market expect prices of nickel to remain firm over the next three years.

Giant Dallas ROBOT Cited as Best Public Art

By now most residents of the Dallas / Fort Worth area are aware of the giant, 35,000 lbs steel robot that towers over DART's Deep Ellum rail station. Robot builders may also be aware of the robot from coverage in Robot Magazine. Now, the rest of the world is taking notice because the prominent art organization, Americans for the Arts, has included the Dallas Robot, known officially as Traveling Man, on its list of 40 Best Public Art Works in the US and Canada. Read on to learn more about Traveling Man and see more photos of the big robot and little chrome friends.

So what's the story behind this giant robot? A combination of opportunities and influences led to its creation. Dallas Area Rapid Transit or DART as it's known locally, was expanding into the Deep Ellum area with a new rail line and a Deep Ellum rail station. Deep Ellum is the historic Dallas arts district from which have come a long list of musical and visual artists. The area is also well known for its many public art pieces, many improvised in local do-it-yourself fashion. Painters and sculpters often create art on the exterior of their own or other buildings in the area. 

Traveling Man Walking Tall sculpture seen (from left to right) as represented in paint on the Deep Ellum news wall, as a steel superstructure during construction, and in its finished form.

The DART rail plans called for destruction of a favorite landmark, the Deep Ellum tunnel, whose sides were covered with art murals. Since DART has a small budget for public art for each of the station, it was decided that DART would commission local Deep Ellum artists to create a public art piece around the new station. The main pieces were to be giant sculptures designed by local artists Brad Oldham and Brandon Oldenburg. They created a set of three large metal works, known collectively as Traveling Man. 

Traveling Man - The Awakening

The first sculpture, titled Awakening, shows the robot's head emerging from the ground. The backstory, imagined by the artists, explains that song birds inhabited an elm tree that grew above a buried steam locomotive. When a Deep Ellum musician spilled his gin on the spot, the Traveling Man formed underground as a result. The robot awakened and emerged along with his songbirds. 

Traveling Man - Waiting on the Train

In the second sculpture, Waiting on a Train, our giant robot has walked a block down the street and is now seated on a large concrete slab salvaged from the historic Deep Ellum tunnel. The robot is playing a guitar as the cars and trains pass by. In the words of Brad Oldham, "he reminds us that life can slow down a bit to hear the music". 

Traveling Man - Walking Tall

The third and largest sculpture, Walking Tall, depicts the Traveling Man strolling past the new DART station with a smile on his face and one of the song birds perched on his arm. This sculpture links the surrounding neighborhood with the station, welcoming visitors and residents. Walking Tall stands nearly 40 feet tall, weighs 35,000 lbs, and is supported by concrete piers sunk 32 feet into the ground. Each sculpture is composed of a steel skeleton covered with a stainless steel skin attached by monobolt rivets. 

The Chrome bird/chairs offer endless possibilities to photographers

Aside from a few cranks, who were outraged that city funds were spent to beautify the city, there has been nearly unanimous support for DART's Deep Ellum art project. It has been pointed out that the cost the installation is roughly equivalent to about 57 feet of DART rail. And the success of the installation has pretty much silenced the critics. Almost as soon as they were completed, the sculptures began attracting lots of visitors and photographers. At almost any time of day or night, you can spot people gawking at Traveling Man or photographing their friends sitting on the surrounding chrome birds, which double as chairs. 

So for Dallas residents, the recognition of Traveling Man by Americans for the Arts just confirms what they already knew; everybody loves Giant Robots!

THE CURRENT TREND OF "OTHER" GAMES

 

I’ll just come right out and say it. I love this recent trend of game publishers taking one of the usual “hallowed” franchises, complete with a rabid fanbase, laying their blueprints out on a large conference table and going, “Hmm. How can we give this a solid kick in the rear?”

Maybe it’s because I’ve recently watched my own favourite game series of all time get turned on its head by a developer no one would ever have associated with it. But lo and behold, Team Ninja gave us Metroid: Other M and I loved it.

Perhaps this is why I found myself in a state of zen-like calm while I watched the TGS trailer for DmC, the new Devil May Cry game in development at England-based studio, Ninja Theory.

The worst had already come to pass. Team Ninja, of all people, without their great and mighty leader of years past — because we all know every good game is developed solely by one person and everyone else gets paid to sit around sipping tea and eating crumpets — had directed a Metroid game and come away with possibly the greatest “tea table upturning” in Nintendo’s recent years — and they’d done a great job to boot.

How much worse could this possibly be? My theory was: “Not even close.”

 

When I try to rationalize why I legitimately like the direction the new DmC is taking, this is the only answer I can come up with: someone forced me through an experience I might never have tried under normal circumstances, and I ended up loving it. Who’s to say another company couldn’t do the same?

And really, isn’t innovation what we ask for everyday? Isn’t change the first thing we anticipate when we hear an announcement of a new game?

Examining DmC’s trailer, it doesn’t look to me in the least like Capcom and Ninja Theory are trying to forego everything Devil May Cry has stood for over the years. In fact, Twilight-Dante (yes, I will give you that much) comes off as someone who could very possibly evolve into the white-haired, cowboy boot-sporting wisecracker we’ve known for the past decade.

Look at the way he uses his guns. Ninja Theory’s Dante might not be spinning upside down in mid-air while doing it, but he is dual-wielding a pair of pistols and he’s using them much like his future self would — to stall enemies and keep them at bay, rather than inflict any sort of serious damage on them.

 

No, that’s always been reserved for air-combos and the like, just as it is in DmC. The combat, to me, looks like a variation of what you got in past games. Dante, too, looks like he has a lot more to him that we don’t know about. Rehabilitation centre? Just because Dante’s cool as a cat in his latter years doesn’t mean he was always like that.

No, something drastic had to have happened to turn him that way, and if DmC is in any way related to the series’ regular timeline, we’re going to find out just what it was. Isn’t that exciting?

And if it isn’t related…well, it’s not the same Dante, so why is everyone so upset? At least give the game a shot. Marvel did the exact same thing and it worked out just great, not only giving their characters a fresh start, but also helping lay the groundwork for a lot of Marvel movies.

And DmC isn’t the only game that’s doing it. Yakuza with zombies anyone? Team Ninja announcing a Ninja Gaiden 3 with a closer look at the Ryu Hayabusa behind the mask? Heck, God of War’s been doing it for the last three years.

And yet, I don’t hear anyone complaining about Kratos’s daughter. Is it because the drama has such little effect on the game itself, and that Kratos himself has remained relatively unchanged throughout the series? Why is that so appealing? Don’t you want to watch a character you like grow and evolve?

Sure, this ongoing trend of “Other” games is all part of a collective effort to appeal to a wider audience, and while it may lead to some questionable design choices, I do think it’s a bit of a stretch to act as if nothing good could possibly come of it. Again, look at Metroid: Other M.

Prem"s View...: CLOUD COMPUTING...

Prem"s View...: CLOUD COMPUTING...

CLOUD COMPUTING...

Early Bird Special at Cloud Expo

June 2, 2008 - Cloud computing is becoming one of the next industry buzz words. It joins the ranks of terms including: grid computing, utility computing, virtualization, clustering, etc.

Cloud computing overlaps some of the concepts of distributed, grid and utility computing, however it does have its own meaning if contextually used correctly. The conceptual overlap is partly due to technology changes, usages and implementations over the years.

Trends in usage of the terms from Google searches shows Cloud Computing is a relatively new term introduced in the past year. There has also been a decline in general interest of Grid, Utility and Distributed computing.

Likely they will be around in usage for quit a while to come.  But Cloud computing has become the new buzz word driven largely by marketing and service offerings from big corporate players like Google, IBM and Amazon.

The term cloud computing probably comes from (at least partly) the use of a cloud image to represent the Internet or some large networked environment. We don’t care much what’s in the cloud or what goes on there except that we depend on reliably sending data to and receiving data from it. Cloud computing is now associated with a higher level abstraction of the cloud. Instead of there being data pipes, routers and servers, there are now services. The underlying hardware and software of networking is of course still there but there are now higher level service capabilities available used to build applications. Behind the services are data and compute resources. A user of the service doesn’t necessarily care about how it is implemented, what technologies are used or how it’s managed. Only that there is access to it and has a level of reliability necessary to meet the application requirements.

Launched in 2007, Cloud Expo is the world's largest Cloud Computing event.

In essence this is distributed computing. An application is built using the resource from multiple services potentially from multiple locations. At this point, typically you still need to know the endpoint to access the services rather than having the cloud provide you available resources. This is also know as Software as a Service. Behind the service interface is usually a grid of computers to provide the resources. The grid is typically hosted by one company and consists of a homogeneous environment of hardware and software making it easier to support and maintain. (note: my definition of a grid is different from the wikipedia definition, but homogeneous environments in data centers is typically what I have run across). Once you start paying for the services and the resources utilized, well that’s utility computing.

Cloud computing really is accessing resources and services needed to perform functions with dynamically changing needs. An application or service developer requests access from the cloud rather than a specific endpoint or named resource. What goes on in the cloud manages multiple infrastructures across multiple organizations and consists of one or more frameworks overlaid on top of the infrastructures tying them together. Frameworks provide mechanisms for:

• self-healing
• self monitoring
• resource registration and discovery
• service level agreement definitions
• automatic reconfiguration

The cloud is a virtualization of resources that maintains and manages itself. There are of course people resources to keep hardware, operation systems and networking in proper order. But from the perspective of a user or application developer only the cloud is referenced. The Assimilator project is a framework that executes across a heterogeneous environment in a local area network providing a local cloud environment. In the works is the addition of a network overlay to start providing an infrastructure across the Internet to help achieve the goal of true cloud computing.

Nike Extreme - Just Experience It

When you are Nike, you just do it. There’s absolutely no point being timid or ordinary. You blaze trails, create trends, draw attention.

Here at Access, we are creating Nike Extreme experiences around the globe. Here are a few of our concepts in which we use the Nike singular swoosh power to create serious buzz. The kind of buzz that goes viral because people love it. Because they are having fun doing it.

This kind of concept/campaign ticks all the boxes. It creates a unique, fun offline experience and then shares it with the online world. You film it, and that becomes the TV ad; you photograph it and that becomes the print ad; and both are used in online and social network campaigns. Put all those together with individual participants’ own social network buzz and you have a run-away funfest across channels.

 But it all starts with an offline experience that is big enough to create that initial pick-up spontaneously and authentically. It must be worth their while. Then people will talk about it online, bloggers will feature it, and the rest of media will cover it. When serious, authentic viral kicks in, it proves that consumers loved what you did and want to share it. That is worth more than any push campaign result because it has become THEIR experience.

We start with a swoosh-shaped Nike Extreme Swoosh Toboggan Ride – a toboggan slide shaped like the swoosh. Of course, the toboggans themselves are shaped like swooshes, too. You can try this at the coolest ski resorts of the world.

As it isn’t snowing everywhere, those more inclined to enjoy themselves on the beach get to try the Nike Extreme Swoosh Slide. A fun and bouncy inflatable megaslide in the shape of the swoosh, appearing at the world's coolest beaches.

And who would want to remain bound to the ground? Not those who take off in the Nike Extreme Swoosh Hot Air Balloon. Flying over big cities, the Swoosh can be seen from miles around. When you’ve ticked off all three from your “Must-do Fun” list, you’ll probably be in the need of some new Nikes and you’ll certainly have something to talk about. - prem kumar

Mobile Internet Usage in India

Opera released the numbers for Mobile Internet usage for the month of July and as expected there is tremendous growth YoY in Mobile Internet Usage.
Opera Mini is supposedly the most widely downloaded mobile app, so this reports is quite significant and probably give us good insight on the trends of mobile Internet Usage.

Here are some of the highlights of the report on Mobile Internet Usage:
Following are the top 10 countries in Opera Mini Usage:
Russia
Indonesia
India
China
Ukraine
South Africa
United States
Nigeria
Germany
Poland
It is actually quite Interesting that Indonesia which has fraction of Mobile users than India and China comes at number 2.
Some of the other Global Trends that Opera found for month of July were:

In July , nearly 29.1 million people used Opera Mini, a 9.9% increase from June 2009 and more than 145% compared to July 2008. These numbers reflect only the Opera Mini users who have specifically chosen to install the browser on their phone.
Those 29.1 million people viewed more than 12 billion pages in July 2009. Since June, page views have gone up 15.4%. Since July 2008, page views have increased 223%.
Opera Mini users last month generated nearly 187 million MB of data for operators worldwide.
Since June, the data consumed went up by 11.0%. Data in Opera Mini is compressed up to 90%. If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 1.7 PB of data in July. Since July 2008, data traffic is up 223%.

TAJ MAHAL (" The Symbol of The Love....")

This marble marvel remains one of the most loved tourist spots in the world.

Some Interesting History On Taj

The Taj Mahal, located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, was actually built as a tomb by Mogul ruler Shah Jehan for his wife, Arjuman Banu. She was born in April, 1593 in Agra, India.
Shah Jahan ascended the peacock throne of India in 1628, at the age of 36. By that time, he had been married to his second Persian wife for 16 years. Formally named Arjuman BanuMumtaz Mahal, or "beloved ornament of the palace". Not only was the Shah deeply in love with her, one of his many wives and concubines, so were the people, who knew her as generous, compassionate, and one of the most beautiful women in India. Begum, she was more familiarly known as

Within three years, their love story had ended. Mumtaz Mahal died on June 17, 1631 while accompanying the Shah during a battle campaign in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in Madhya Pradesh) giving birth to her fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. So grief stricken was the Shah, that he withdrew from the public eye for an year, and when he emerged at the end of that time, although still a youthful 40, his hair had turned white and he appeared as an old man.
Whether it is true that Arjuman asked on her deathbed for a symbol of their love, nobody seems to know. But the Shah went ahead and erected an immortal tribute in the form of the most magnificent tomb in the world. It would take 23 years to be completed.

Details of the marble work

Far more than a simple burial place, the Taj Mahalwife's nickname, Mumtaz Mahal. Her cenotaph, a word taken from the Greek for "empty tomb", rests in the exact middle of the main chamber, keeping the symmetrical design of the entire structure. actually contains many separate areas inside, as well as outer buildings and extensive gardens. The name is said to have been derived from his
Four years after the tomb was completed, the Shah was deposed and imprisoned by his son. When he died in 1866, his son had a cenotaph created beside that of his wife, upsetting the balance of the chamber. The actual bodies, in true Muslim tradition, are buried in plain graves in the basement, wrapped in white shrouds, with faces turned towards Mecca.

Some Interesting Trivia

The Taj Mahal was scheduled to be torn down in the 1830s so that its marble facing could be shipped to London and auctioned to the landed English gentry. Wrecking machines were moved into the garden grounds and work was about to begin when word came from London that another auction of marble facades from Indian monuments and edifices had been a failure and it would not be worth proceeding.

In 1631, the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan's favorite wife (Mumtaz Mahal) died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. As Jahan rushed to her side, she uttered a dying wish: that he build a monument to commemorate their love.(Supposed to be myth)

The result? The Taj Mahal, a building which took 23 years to complete. According to legend, Jahan took drastic measures to ensure that his master carvers would never produce anything more beautiful.

Jahan died with his eyes open - facing the Taj Mahal.

Stones to build the Taj were brought from as far away as Tibet and Sri Lanka.

Shah Jahan wanted to build another Taj Mahal…one with black marble!

It is white marble and semi-precious stones on the dome of the Taj that make Taj Mahal change colour during the day and on moonlit nights.

Ustad Ahmad Lahori is believed to be the architect of Taj Mahal.

The garden walls, rest house, mosque and the entry arch are made of red sandstone.

Some people believe an Italian named Geronimo Veroneo designed the Taj Mahal.

It took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport the construction material to the site of the Taj.

TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN INDIA

1- Taj Mahal is one of the world’s greatest buildings. You shouldn’t miss it. 2- Madurai is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. It is also known as the temple city because of its many temple complexes. You should see Madurai. 3- If you like beach, Goa is a must. Stay at Bagha beach and drink, eat and enjoy your day!. 4- If you're visiting around in winter time visit Gangtok, check out the frozen lake, and travel up to the China Border too. The place has great monasteries also. 5- India is famous with its festivals and you can catch a festival during your stay no matter which season you visit. 6- Ruins of the city of victory “Vijayanagar” better known as “Hampi” is worth to visit. 7- You can enjoy boating on the backwaters of Kerala through the lush tropical waterways of India’s Deep South. 8- If you like to see magnificent boulder friezes, shrines and the sea battered Shore Temple, Mamallapuram is the best fishing and stone carving village to visit. 9- Camel trekking at the Great Indian Desert can be very romantic touristic experience or ride an elephant bareback, Jaipur has plenty. 10- Amritsar is a city in the Punjab, in northwest India. It is a holy place for members of the Sikh religion, and worth visiting for its famous Golden Temple. Mamallapuram India Camel trekking Amritsar Temple India

South India Temples

Lavishly built and aesthetically designed, the temples of South India are unmatched in architectural brilliance. But more than being mere symbols of architectural genius these temples are living emodiments of rich tradition and culture that has made India proud.

Andhra Pradesh

Tamil Nadu

Karnataka

Kerala

Andaman & Nicobar

Lakshadweep

Pondicherry