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India
Go to India with ProWorld's Semester Abroad, Intern Abroad, or Group Programs (information coming soon).
India offers the visitor immense diversity. Culturally, one will find a country so diverse the constitution recognizes 22 official languages. Geographically, India offers the jagged peaks of the Himalayas, vast deserts, tropical beaches, rain forests, gushing rivers and just about everything in between.
Religiously, India is home to believers of all faiths and the founding country of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. India is home to over a billion people, making it the second most populous country in the world and its largest democracy.
India is the seventh largest country in the world geographically and comprised of more than 28 ethnically diverse states, unions and districts.
Social and Development Issues
Over the past 15 years, India has dramatically relaxed controls over foreign investment and the result has been immense economic growth. India currently has the twelfth largest economy in the world and is second only to China in annual growth.
In spite of this growth and the implied prosperity, India remains a place of widespread poverty. It is home to high levels of illiteracy, malnutrition and environmental exploitation.
One quarter of the country’s population earns less than 15-20 rupees per day (US$.40-.50). In Mysore, 19% of the population live below the poverty line and nearly 10% live in slums.
Mysore
Mysore is the second largest city in the southern state of Karnataka. The population of approximately 950,000 is situated 90 miles southwest of Bangalore at the foot of the Chamundi Hills. The main language is Kannada though English is widely used in business and administration.
Prior to India’s independence from the British, Mysore was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore and ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty. The Wodeyars were aficionados of culture and the arts, leaving the city with gardens, palaces, a top-rate University and a legacy of culture that still remains.
Not surprisingly tourism is a major industry in Mysore as are various artisan crafts like silk weaving, incense making, rose and sandal wood-carving, among others.
Weather
The climate follows a similar pattern to the rest of the country, though because of its altitude its seasons are not as severe. The summer runs from March to June followed by the monsoon season, July – November, when it rains daily, and the winter, December – February, when temperatures are cooler and there is very little rainfall.
Join a ProIndia program in May 2008. For more information, please email us at info@myproworld.org.
