India is comprised of three main physical regions - The Himalayas,The Gangetic Plains and the Peninsula.The mighty himalayan mountian chain dominates the northern borders of India, sprawling across 2500 kms from the northwest to the southeast.It has some of the world's tallest peaks.South of this,lies the holy river ganges that flows across the heartland on the country and through the Hindu mythology.It is joined by two important rivers and irrigates the heart of Indian sub-continent.To the south of this lies the southern peninsula with rivers like Narmada, Krishna, Kaveri, and Tungabhadra to name a few.They provide a vital lifeline to millions of people living along its banks.With population of more than one billion people and growing,India is as vast as it is crowded and as sublime as it is squalid.India as often is said is not a country but a continent.From north to south and east to west,the people are different,the languages are different and the country is different.The heart of India beats in densely populated palins of the river ganges - the ganga, settled and cultivated for millenia,and the the home of great civilizations which shape the lives of nearly more than one billion people today.
The southern tip is ensconced between the three great water bodies - Arabian Sea on the west,the Bay of bengal on the east and the Indian Ocean towards the south.To the north the plains stand the Himalaya,which was described as "the finest natural combination boundary and the barrier that exists in the world.Is lies amidst the eternal silence of vast snowfield and icebound peaks".India's most holy river,the Ganges,known today as Ganga,runs across the vital heartland of the country and through the mythology of Hinduism.Joined by other only rivers along its route,its waters are vital source of irrigation.its path is dotted with towns and settlements of great sanctity,and it is a vital economic asset as well as the focus of devotion of hunderds of millions.To the south the grat rivers of peninsula - the Narmada,Krishan,Kaveri and Tungabhadra to name only the largest also have a spiritual significance to match their current role as providers of water and power.