Strange facts and trivia about India

Which country is able to fascinate the West more than India with its mystery? Here are the weird facts about India that will amaze you!

India is a mystical and spiritual country, full of problems, of course, but also of traditions and customs that we Westerners struggle to understand. With its 29 federal states, it is clear that there is great variety in this country in terms of religion, politics and society. To get to know this reality better, we present 7 curiosities about India that you probably didn't know.

1) 100 million people go to the Kumbh Mela festival, the largest human gathering in the world
 

The traditional Hindu ritual of bathing in the Ganges attracts millions of faithful from all over the world every 4 years. Since 2001, when 60 million people participated, it has become the largest gathering in the world and in 2013 it reached 100 million people.

2) Breathing the Mumbai air for one day is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes
 

In the huge Indian metropolis, about 7,000 tons of waste are produced every day, which are collected in the countless open-air landfills. The population density reaches 20,000 inhabitants per km2 and the number of vehicles (with uncontrolled emissions) is very high.

The apocalyptic picture of a city with an unbridled population growth is completed by the perennial smog curtain that hangs over everything: spending a day in Mumbai is one of the least healthy things you can do.

3) The largest family in the world lives in India
 

Here is a very special family curiosity about India. 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren (not to mention in-laws) would scare anyone, yet Ziona, the head of the "Chana" Christian sect, which practices (widely) polygamy, doesn't seem concerned for his life.

Everything works perfectly in the small village of Baktawng, where they all live together in an absolutely self-sufficient way compared to the Indian government.

4) A man in India claims he hasn't eaten since 1940

Prahlad Jani is an Indian mystic over 90 years old, with the vital parameters of a 25 year old who candidly claims that he hasn't eaten or drunk for 80 years. Like? Thanks to the power of the goddess Amba.

Although such a fact is scientifically impossible and despite the studies conducted on him by some Indian scientists, no one has yet managed to unravel the mystery of him.

5) In West Bengal, cows have an identity card
 

The curious initiative of 2007, born to combat the smuggling of cows from India to Bangladesh, as contrary to the principles of Hinduism, led to the effective issue of identity cards for animals, in great demand by border villages.

6) The Love Commandos were born in India

Falling in love is no walk in India: couples of different castes to be together face Shakespearean obstacles, sometimes with tragic results. Thus, to protect couples in love, the Love Commandos were born, a voluntary association that deals with helping couples in difficulty, legally and concretely.

7) The Taj Mahal was nearly sold repeatedly
 

One of the best scammers in the world is of Indian origin, he has defrauded shopkeepers, businesses and businessmen out of millions of dollars and has even tried to sell the most famous Indian monuments, such as the Taj Mahal and the Parliament (including its 545 members ).

Sentenced to countless years in prison, he managed to escape 8 times, only to lose track of him in 1996, at the ripe old age of 84. This is a trivia about India that you certainly did not know.