India's take on 'Online Shopping'

Time and again, there seems to be a growing breed of potential Consumers who are willing to buy online products.

But Online Shopping seems like a territory largely untouched and underutilized, except in the travel and ticketing sector, where it is making giant strides.

In recent times, although, there has been a rise of Online Shopping Portals in India. Read More

Rise of Online Shopping Portals

As marketers are constantly looking for means to increase points of contact with the consumer, and companies are looking for cheaper means to get information and products to their users, the Internet market is bound to grow. The amount may be minuscule in the global context, but Indian online shoppers’ population is steadily making its presence felt quite remarkably. Read More

Are there any takers?

There has always been demand for e-commerce in this country as people have less and less time to shop.

If the Online Shop retails are able to provide value, quality, after sale support, timely delivery and reasonable deals people are willing to invest. Read More

More - Online Shopping Stores in India...

Metros - Cities that never sleep

India is country full of a mixture of cultures, religions, languages and people from different strata of society. The climates vary from north to south and so does the food and the style of dressings. There is also a huge divide of rural and urban areas in the country. Still there are villages which do not have the basic amenities of electricity and on the other hand cities like Mumbai can blind you with huge, brightly lit billboards and streets. So in this land of contradictions, life continues to throb and people still pursue to make ends meet. Lets take a look at the famous cities in India. The four main metropolitan cities of India are Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai and Chennai. But with the advent of the huge IT industrial success, Bangalore and Hyderabad has also joined the list. More...

Delhi - The political capital of India

* The Capital of India is its third largest city, with a population of about 10 million.

* Its strategic location along the north-south, east-west route has give it a focal position in Indian history, and many great empire have been ruled from here.

* Delhi is the largest metropolis in India, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. It is also the world's most populous city within the municipal city limits. More...

Kolkata - The cultural capital of India

* One of the world's great cities, this vibrant city with its distinct imperial flavor, is the capital of West Bengal, the only Indian State with a Communist-led government.

* Over the years, the city has flourished into a commercial center with imposing Victorian Gothic buildings, churches, and boulevards.

* An intellectual and cultural live has bloomed along side, with a renaissance of Bengali art and literature, and the growth of a strong nationalist reform movement that led to the founding of the 'Brahma Samaj', an enlightened off-shoot of Hinduism, and the establishment of Presidency College, then the foremost centre of English education.

* In 2001, Calcutta became Kolkata, the Bengali pronunciation of its name. The city is crowded and dirty in places, but is nevertheless full of character. More...

Mumbai - The business capital of India

* The capital of Maharashtra, is India's most dynamic, cosmopolitan and crowded city.

* Some 15 million people, from billionaire tycoons to homeless pavement dwellers, live in this teeming megalopolis.

* Mumbai, which was previously known as Bombay , is known as the business capital of India, it being the country's principal financial and communications center. The city has the largest and the busiest port handling India's foreign trade and a major International airport.

* India's largest Stock Exchange which ranks as the third largest in the world, is situated in Mumbai. Here, trading of stocks is carried out in billions of rupees everyday. More...


Read more about Bangalore - The IT capital of India

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Indian Music - Origin and Evolution

India has got one of the oldest musical traditions and heritages in the world. One can finds its origin in the Vedas(ancient scripts). Known as 'sangeet' in India, the nation's music has got a unique and varied style as compared to other music forms in the world. 'Sangeet' is a combination of three art forms namely vocal music(gayana), instrumental(vadana) and dance(nritya). These are again based on two important aspects, 'Taal'(rhythym) and 'Raag'(melody)...

Indian music has been influenced by many cultures:

Sufism
The 'sufi' influence in the hindustani music during the medieval period were fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly through the influence of sufi composers like Amir Khusru and Tansen. He symbolizes a crucial turning point in the development of Indian music. Amir Khusru is an icon representing a growing Persian influence on the music. Read More


Hindustani Music

Indian music got divided after the 14th century. Hindustani music seems to have been profusely influenced by the music of Persia and Arabia. It emphasizes on the musical structure and the possibilities of improvisation in it. The main architect of the existing system of Hindustani music was Pandit V N Bhatkhande, who was responsible for the classification of the Ragas into the 10 'thats'. Read More

Carnatic Music
Carnatic music is 'kriti' based and 'saahitya' (lyric) oriented. It is said to have maintained the pure form of Classical music based on 'ragas' and 'taalas' retaining the traditional octave. Spiritualism has always been the prominent content of Carnatic music. One of the greatest influences in the development of Karnatic music was that of the immortal bard, Purandara Dasa. Read More


Folk Music
Music in the villages is learned almost by osmosis. From childhood the music is heard and imbibed along with ones mother's milk. There are numerous public activities that allow the villagers to practice and hone their skills. These are the normal functions which syncronize village life with the universe.

The music is an indispensable component of functions such as weddings, engagements, and births. There is a plethora of songs for such occasions. There are also many songs associated with planting and harvesting. In these activities the villagers routinely sing of their hopes, fears and aspirations. Read More


Read more interesting articles at
www.indiamarks.com - a site dedicated to cover content-oriented topics and articles of India...

Silk - Queen of Textiles

The material 'Silk' always spells luxury, elegance, class and comfort. Everyone loves this shimmering fibre of unparalleled grandeur from the moment Chinese Empress Shiling Ti discovered it in her tea cup. It withstood many a daunting challenges from other natural and artificial fibres and yet, remained the undisputed Queen of Textiles since centuries. Exquisite qualities of Silk saris like the natural sheen, inherent affinity for dyes and vibrant colours, high absorbance, light weight, resilience and excellent drape etc. have made silk, the irresistible and inevitable companion of the eve, all over the world.

India is home to around 10 types of silk.
Banaras, Kosa(Tussar), Patola, Paithani, Chanderi, Kanjeervaram to name a few...

Associated with ceremonial rites of ancient India, silk has been a highly revered fabric. From times immemorial, silk has been a much sought after fabric by not only the common man but also kings and queens. Though today we see silks mainly in saris, in early days they used to be part of royal robes. It continues to be a popular and widely used material because of its softness, smoothness, luster and its graceful and sensuous folds which lend themselves exquisitely to designing. Read more

Also find lot more interesting articles about India at www.indiamarks.com

Contemporary Designs

Recently, I've been looking for Contemporary Lifestyle trends in India. And surprisingly there are very few sites at it compared to the European and American styles and trends giving all sorts of info regarding rates, shops, flea markets and antique stores. Also all kinds of furnitures, wall hangings, paintings, crockery artifacts and what not.

Come to think of it, they all are heavily influenced on eastern cultures like Japanese lanterns, Indian and Persian pottery. I came across one site which gave a lot of input on 'Terracotta' and its designs. Quite interesting!

This is one site I came across which gave a lot of info about 'Terracotta' and makes an interesting read. So those who are looking to inculcate new designs and indian influences for their interiors, this is a must see.



An Indian Summer: Contemporary Terracotta

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Underrated places in India

India is always flooded with tourists coming from all over the world who seek to experience the cultural diversity, the tropical weather and the spiritual richness of our country. But, some how, we Indians have failed to discover the real beauty of this nation.
It is strange when foreigners tell us most of the things we haven't realized for our own selves. The potentials of some of the most rare, untouched, exquisite places of is qverwhelming. Leaving aside the common places of visits like Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Goa to many exotic places like Ooty, Kanyakumari, Kovalam et al, we still many places have been largely unutilised and little known as a potential travel destinations. Here is a list of 5 places in India that is a must-see for all those passionate travellers looking for a unique experience...

1. Cherrapunjee:


A place quite unknown in our country, other than the fact that it is the wettest place on earth. Cherrapunjee is 56km in distance from Shillong(a famous tourist place) and takes about 90 minutes drive to reach on a clear day. Read more


2. Daman & Diu:


This Union Territory of Daman and Diu and are governed from Delhi. The Daman-Ganga river divides the town in half. The southern part of the city is known as Moti(Big) Daman and the northern part known as Nani(Little)Daman.Read more

3. Tarkali Beach:


Situated in Sindhudurg in Southern Maharashtra,Tarkarli beach has clear waters that allow one to snorkel and scuba dive. The beach is known for its pure shores with emerald green ocean waters, so clear you could see upto 15 feet deep.Read more



4. Auroville:

The Auroville(which means the 'City of Dawn') is an international experimental township. It was inspired by the evolutionary vision of Sri Aurobindo and founded by Mirra Alfassa, known as the Mother. The small but exotic town of Auroville is located at a distance of 6 km north of Pondicherry.Read more




5. Wayanad:

Yet another unexplored place in Kerala, Wayanad is one of the northern districts of kerala, on its border with Karnataka. It is hilly country with a huge swathe of plantations & estates (particularly coffee estates). This mountain district is in many ways the most picturesque in the state, with its rolling hills covered with tropical rainforest.Read more