Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “To other countries, I may go as a Tourist, but to India, I come as a Pilgrim.” The kind of status we once got as a country seems to be lost amidst the fight to become a superpower. So today, we are not going to talk about our economic growth rates and development or politics, we are only telling you facts about our Motherland that makes us so unique.

Read along and see for yourself why India is and always has been the land of diversity. Here are 10 things we are absolutely proud of as Indians!

1. We accommodate the World’s Largest Social Gathering.

India celebrates the ‘Kumbh Mela’. It is a religious festival, where people gather once in every three years, across four cities. It sees a turnout of approximately 100 million people from across the world. The multitude of people can be even seen from space!

2. Our hardworking and well managed Mumbai Dabbawallas.

Apart from the sea and a fast life, Mumbai is known for the Dabbawallas. Their job is to collect tiffin boxes from people’s homes, deliver them to the intended persons’ workplaces and carry them back to their residences. They do not have any computerised sorting of tiffin boxes; they rely on hand-marked symbols to ascertain their delivery addresses.  If you doubt whether they can deliver the right tiffin at the right place, stop your thoughts right there! According to Forbes Magazine, the Dabbawallas make only one error in 6 million deliveries! Having met Prince Charles in 2003, there are also several documentaries made on them, including one by BBC. The Dabbawalas have been featured in various publication houses like NYT, Forbes, Economist and TV shows (Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Top Gear).

2. We are a young nation.

Almost half of India’s population includes young people who are below 25 years of age. This is an incredible advantage for the country that sets it apart from the rest of the world. Savvy?

3. We have the most number of vegetarians.

Our citizens generally lead a healthy lifestyle because the average meat consumption per person is far less as compared to other countries. 500 million out of 1.2 billion Indians are pure vegetarians.

4. Our weddings.

Popularly known as the Big Fat Indian Weddings, Indians get married in the most spectacular ways. Just like the recent wedding of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, every Indian wants to get married in a ceremony that’s special in every way. Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of flashy things at Indian weddings!

5. Our festivals.

We celebrate more than 40 festivals in a year! The most famous ones being Diwali and Holi, which are also awaited by tourists all over the world. Can you ever find a city full of colors abroad? We embrace music and dance like there is no tomorrow!

6. Our Film Industry, of course!

Apart from the well known Bollywood, we are home to a total of 19 other film industries, based on different languages. From Assamese to Punjabi, Gujarati, and Tulu, we make movies in all languages!

7. Bandra-Worli sea link.

The Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai is said to be one of the most exquisite pieces of construction in the world. It is believed that the entire weight of the bridge outnumbers the weight of 50000 adult African elephants. This eight line highway uses cables which are equivalent to the circumference of the Earth!

8. Our love for gold.

As per research, Indian women own jewelry that actually accounts for 11% of the total amount of Gold in the world. In fact, it outnumbers the gold owned by the entire population of the United States and Germany.

9. Our temples and the purity of the worshipping.

Apart from the numerous worship places built across India, The ‘Golden Temple’ is popular for a reason. It is a located in Punjab and serves food to over 100,000 people each day! There is no discrimination regarding caste, creed or religion. Feeding the hungry is all that matters.

10. Our businessmen.

If we combine the net worth of our top 25 richest people, it amounts to $174.8 billion which is equal to the entire GDP of Ukraine! Also, India’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani owns the most expensive home in the world, which cost $1 billion to construct which is about the same as Somalia’s GDP.

While we have spoken about why India is an extraordinary country that cannot ever be replaced, we do not mean to boast. But yes, Albert Einstein once said, ‘”We owe a lot to Indians, who taught us how to count without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”

We take pride in how we are. After all, bhai hum toh hai like this. 😉