Though beginning to crumble in recent decades, the patriarchal joint family structure, with its deep-rooted belief in arranged marriages, obedience to elders, and emphasis on duty over individual liberties, remains the norm in much of India. Poverty, illiteracy, and caste-based divisions remain evident, particularly in the countryside. Women continue to face inequality and the girl child is still regarded as an unwanted burden in many communities. Religion and ritual pervade almost every aspect of life in India. Two of the major world religions – Hinduism and Buddhism – were founded here. A majority of Indian population are Hindus. For most Indians, however, religion is more a matter of rituals and ceremonies that mark each day, season and passage in life. An interesting example is a place of cows in Hindi religion. Cow is a sacred animal and therefore cannot be killed or used as source of food. At a crowded downtown strip it wouldn’t be unusual to see a cow loitering next to a Mercedes Benz. Do not disturb them; they are respected and left alone to do as they wish. One of many emerging industries in India is Indian handmade crafts industry, which is famous all around the world. The skills are passed on from one generation to the next. It is a major source of rural employment in India and earns substantial foreign exchange. Among these export items are well known Indian hand-knotted carpets. One of these carpets can take an Indian craftsman up to four years to manufacture. India, for first-time visitors and long-term residents alike, can be a powerful assault on the senses – noisy, frenetic, vibrant, and chaotic; a land of incredible contrasts and paradoxes. And yet, underlying the contrasts, there are patterns of continuity, an indefinable essence that is quintessentially Indian. 2. Geography

India is located in Southern Asia. With an area of 3.3 million sq. km (slightly more than 1/3 of the US), India is a subcontinent. The peninsula is separated from mainland Asia by the Himalayas. The country lies between 8° 4' and 37° 6' north of the Equator and is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean to the south. Bordering countries with India are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, Nepal and Pakistan. Climate varies from tropical monsoon in the south, to very cold mountainous temperature in the north. Elevation extremes are high, starting from lowest point 0 m at Indian Ocean, to highest point 8,598 m above sea level in the Himalayas Mountains. India is in Indian Standard Time zone, which is 11.5 hours ahead of Oklahoma. India does not use daylight saving time system.