India, the world's largest democracy, has an incredibly diverse population, geography, and climate. India is the world's second most populous country (home to more than 1 billion people), and the world's seventh largest country. It is a land of exotic beauty and amazing diversity, as the more than 200 languages will attest.

From ancient monasteries to the razzle dazzle of Bollywood, to cricket, India's most popular sport, the country, cultures, history and technology if India will amaze visitors from around the world.

According to author, Varsha Bajaj, "Being asked to be a tour guide to India was thrilling and intimidating. Capturing the diversity of India and making it accessible to the young reader was a challenge. I hope T for Taj Mahal gives the reader a glimpse into India's rich culture and makes them want to learn more."

 

 

The Hindi-language cinema industry based in Mumbai is called Bollywood, a word that combines the words Bombay and Hollywood. The city of Mumbai was called Bombay until 1997. Some people don’t like the word Bollywood because it makes the industry seem secondary to Hollywood, California. But Bollywood represents an important and thriving Indian film industry.

India also has thriving regional cinema centers producing films in other Indian languages: Bengali, Tamil, and Marathi. India produces the largest number of films in the world, approximately 700 a year in all the languages.

A typical Bollywood film, meant to entertain the entire family, includes song and dance, drama, comedy, and action. Bollywood stars are huge celebrities with millions of fans. A film’s soundtrack is a crucial part of the production and is released to fans before the movie to create anticipation and excitement.

Bollywood movie dialogue is spoken in Hindi but includes subtitles in many languages such as English, Spanish, and French, so that audiences that don’t understand Hindi can enjoy them. Bollywood films are seen all over south Asia, Russia, and wherever an immigrant Indian population is found: America, Great Britain, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.

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