Only in India

India is simply impossible !! That's a line we've heard over and over again from first-time visitors, as well as seasoned Indophiles. And we're gonna keep hearing it too...  It's a land of startling contrasts and one where more than 2,000 languages and dialects are spoken by a billion people . Many gestures of Indians prove them to be the most civilized people on earth, while some habits seem to be most primitive. Technological advancements and age-old practices go hand in hand. Hi-tech cars and bullock carts ply together... We spoke about the Contrasting Realities of Mumbai in the Diverse Unity page. Here are some more:

•	Women's lib A land where women have traditionally remained confined to the kitchen. A land that has churned out the highest number of Miss Worlds in recent years.
•	The Sound of Music Langas and Manganiars, the traditional court singers of Western Rajasthan, sing devotional folk songs of Hindu deities such as Lord Krishna. Unfailingly, they all are Muslims.
•	Education Highest number of illiterates in the world. Highest number of software professionals in the world.
•	The magic Wallah A rich language Hindi is. A highly practical one too. To address a vendor, just suffix wallah to his job - milk wallah, chai wallah, rickshaw wallah, etc. Simple, isn't it?! Most Parsi surnames are just that - Daruwala (Daru means liquour), Screwvala (ah well...)
•	Bar Coding The dhobi (washerman) picks up the laundry from dozens of hotel rooms. Along with others of his ilk, he washes and irons the clothes at the same dhobi-ghat (place to wash clothes en masse). Next morning the clothes are delivered back without EVER being mixed up - thanks to the unique marking system used by the illiterate dhobis.
•	Real Politik Longest serving democratically elected government in the world ( 22 years at a stretch in the state of West Bengal). The record of shortest ones too in India (13 days, 7days, and even 3 days).
•	Wedlock 94% marriages are arranged ones. Rarely do the bride and groom know each other before the engagement. Many times they have never seen each other before the wedding day.