India's history goes back to 3,200 BC when Hinduism was first founded. Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism. Judaism. Zoroashtrianism, Christianity and Islam all exist within the country today. Chinese fishing nets in Kerala are a throwback to that country's ancient maritime trade, while in the north, terra-cotta figurines of the centuries BC bear distinctly Greek traces.

Its ancient monuments are the backdrop for the world's largest democracy - today, fishermen along the country's coastline fashion simple fishing boats in a centuries old tradition while a few miles away, motor vehicles glide off conveyor belts in state-of-the-art factories. It is a land where temple elephants exist amicably with the microchip.