Portal:India/Selected picture

A map of Network of National Highways in India, including NHDP projects up to phase IIIB, which is due to be completed by December 2012. The National Highways are the main long-distance roadways and constitute a total of about 58,000 km (36,250 mi), of which 4,885 km (3,053 mi) are central-separated expressways. Highways in India are around 2% of the total road network in India, but carry nearly 40% of the total road traffic.

Pigments for sale at a market stall in Goa, India. Many pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry colourants, ground into a fine powder. This powder is then added to a vehicle or matrix, a relatively neutral or colorless material that acts as a binder, before it is applied. Unlike a dye, a pigment generally is insoluble.

The national flower of India, Nelumbo nucifera is known by a number of common names, including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, and sacred water-lily. This plant is an aquatic perennial, though under favorable conditions its seeds may remain viable for many years.

A fire breather in the "Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band" of India. Fire breathing, which is said to have originated in India, is the act of creating a large flame by spraying, with one's mouth, a flammable liquid upon an open flame. A number of legendary creatures are said to possess innate capabilities for fire breathing, most notably dragons.

The Lotus-Namam is the symbol of Ayyavazhi, a Dharmic belief system that originated in South India in the 19th century. The lotus represents the 1,008-petalled Sahasrara and the flame-shaped white Namam represents the Aanma Jyothi or ātman, sometimes translated as 'soul' or 'self'. The number of practitioners is estimated to be between 700,000 and 8,000,000, although the exact number is unknown, since Ayyavazhis are reported as Hindus during censuses.

The glass house at Lal Bagh, a botanical garden in Bangalore, India. The garden was commissioned by the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1760, and completed during the reign of his son Tipu Sultan. The glass house was modeled on London's Crystal Palace and constructed at the end of the 19th century.

Bangalore Town Hall is a neoclassical municipal building in Bangalore, India. It is sometimes known, after a former president of Bangalore, as the Sir K. P. Puttanna Chetty Town Hall. Built by Mirza Ismail in 1935, it underwent renovations in 1990 at a cost of ₹6.5 million (US$371,400 at the time).

Women of the Gondi, the largest tribe of Indian aboriginals in central India. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe in most Indian states. The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages. About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages, while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages including Hindi. For many years during the British colonial period, the Gonds were considered to have performed human sacrifices, although this notion was later discredited.

A statue of the Hindu god Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. In this form, Shiva performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation. A Telugu and Tamil concept, Shiva was first depicted as Nataraja in the famous Chola bronzes and sculptures of Chidambaram. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in Chidambaram Temple, the foremost Shaivist temple.

Alstroemeria × hybrida, an Alstroemeria hybrid, at the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens in Bangalore, India. The genus consists of some 120 species and is native to South America.

An Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) photographed in Bangalore, India. In India these squirrels are associated with the Hindu deity Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, and as such are not to be harmed. However, in Western Australia they are considered pests and at times targeted for eradication.

Unripe drupes of black pepper (Piper nigrum) at Trivandrum, Kerala, India. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes are dried for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the spice is called black peppercorn.

Murugan, also known as Kartikeya, is the Hindu war god, worshiped particularly by Tamil Hindus. Murugan has a peacock as a mount and is often depicted with six heads and twelve arms holding a variety of weapons. His consorts, pictured here, are Valli and Deivayanai.

A mating pair of Papilio demoleus, a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly, photographed at Kadavoor, Kerala, India. After successful mating the female goes from plant to plant, laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf, and flies off as soon as the egg is laid.

Duladeo Temple, dated to circa A.D. 1000–1150, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Khajuraho, India.

A potter at work in Jaura, Madhya Pradesh, India. Pottery, defined by ASTM International as "all fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and refractory products", originated during the Neolithic period.

The Chota Imambara in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, is a mausoleum constructed by and for Muhammad Ali Shah, the third Nawab of Awadh, beginning in 1838.

Catopsilia pyranthe is a medium sized butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of Australia. This male was photographed in West Bengal, India.

A panoramic view of Bangalore from Corporation Circle, with UB City to the left and Richmond area to the right. Kanteerava Indoor Stadium is in the foreground. The third largest city in India, the city is known as the Silicon Valley of India for its numerous IT exports.

Cupha erymanthis is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in forested areas of tropical South and Southeast Asia which may feed on liquids from carrion. This specimen was photographed in Kadavoor, Kerala, India.

Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy is a pharmacy college in Bangalore, India. Established in 1983, it is under the purview of the Al-Ameen Educational Society.

The mosque at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, India. This red sandstone building, on the western side of the complex, faces the west side of the mausoleum. In the forefront is a howz, meant for ablution. On the eastern side of the complex is the jawab ("answer"), a mirror image of the mosque except for the missing mihrab and different floor pattern; this jawab was mainly intended for architectural balance. Both were constructed in 1643.

Arundhati Roy (b. 1961) is an Indian author and political activist who won the 1997 Man Booker Prize with her debut novel The God of Small Things. Born in Shillong, Meghalaya, Roy wrote several screenplays in the late 1980s after meeting (and later marrying) director Pradip Krishen. She wrote The God of Small Things over a four-year period ending in 1996; it was published the following year and received positive international reviews, although in India the work was controversial. She has continued to write essays and articles, but has yet to publish another novel.

Rekha Raju performing Mohiniyattam, a classical dance form from Kerala, India. Believed to have originated in the 16th century CE, this dance form was popularized in the nineteenth century by Swathi Thirunal, the Maharaja of the state of Travancore, and Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur Quartet. The dance, which has about 40 different movements, involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle side-to-side movements.

Chandiroor Divakaran (b. 1946) is a Malayalam–language poet and folk song writer from Kerala, India. He has published numerous collections of poetry since his debut collection, Radha, in 1965.

The Bara Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India. Built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, in 1785, the building reflects a maturation of ornamented Mughal design (as seen in the Badshahi Mosque).

The Siberian rubythroat (Luscinia calliope) is a small passerine bird generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of the family Muscicapidae. This migratory insectivorous species breeds in mixed coniferous forest with undergrowth in Siberia, where it nests near the ground. It winters in Thailand, India and Indonesia. It is an extremely rare vagrant to Western Europe and the Aleutian Islands.

Brahmaea wallichii, also known as the owl moth, is a moth from the family Brahmaeidae. With a wingspan of about 90–160 mm (3.5–6.3 in), it is one of the largest species of Brahmin moth. This nocturnal species is found in India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Taiwan and Japan.

Odissi is an ancient classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha, India. Historically, it has been performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism (Vishnu as Jagannath), but also of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism). Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays. Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of a basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves the lower, mid, and upper body as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance.

Bangles on display in Bangalore, India. These rigid bracelets are usually made from metal, wood, or plastic and are traditionally worn by women in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In India, it is a common tradition to see a new bride wearing glass bangles at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks.

A view of the Taj Mahal from the south, featuring the Charbagh garden. The mausoleum complex also includes subsidiary tombs, waterworks infrastructure, the small town of Taj Ganji, and a "moonlight garden". Its origins and architecture have been extensively documented, covering both the circumstances of its commission and the cultural and historical influence of the Islamic Mughal Empire in India.

Mysore Palace, the official residence and seat of the Wodeyars — the rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore. Located in southern India, the kingdom is traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 as a vassal state to the Vijayanagara Empire before becoming independent in the 16th century.

A view of the Lidder Valley at Pahalgam. This valley, found in Jammu and Kashmir, India, is a Himalayan sub-valley that forms the northeastern corner of the Vale of Kashmir. In the center is the Lidder River.

Two Indian-style coracles on the Tungabhadra River. This river starts and flows through the Indian state of Karnataka during most of its course, before flowing along the border between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and ultimately joining the Krishna River. In the epic Ramayana, it was known by the name of Pampa.

An Indian merchant holding green chickpeas (Cicer arietinum). One of the earliest cultivated legumes, chickpeas are ingredients in a number of dishes around the world. India is the largest producer of this nutrient-dense food, accounting for 64% of global production in 2016.

Danaus genutia, also known as the common tiger or striped tiger, is a species of butterfly found throughout India as well as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South-East Asia and Australia. It is a member of the Danainae group of brush-footed butterflies. Both sexes have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands, and the male has a pouch on its hindwing. The butterfly is found in scrub jungles, fallow land adjacent to habitation, and deciduous forests, preferring areas of moderate to heavy rainfall. Its most common food plants in peninsular India are small herbs, twiners and creepers from the family Asclepiadaceae. The caterpillar of D. genutia obtains poison by eating poisonous plants, which make the caterpillar and butterfly taste unpleasant to predators. It has some 16 subspecies and although its evolutionary relationships are not completely resolved, it appears to be most closely related to the Malay tiger (D. affinis) and the white tiger.

Lyriothemis acigastra is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae, found in India. Until 2013, it was thought to be restricted to the northeastern states of Assam and West Bengal, but it has now also been recorded in the southern state of Kerala. It is a small dragonfly with brown-capped greenish-yellow eyes and a blackish-brown thorax marked with yellow. Laterally, there are three stripes. Its wings are transparent, palely tinted with yellow at the base. The female is similar to the male, but the abdomen is cylindrical instead of tapered from base to end and reddish yellow instead of blood red. This picture shows a male L. acigastra individual.

The nilgai or blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The sole member of the genus Boselaphus, the species was described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. The nilgai stands 1–1.5 metres (3.3–4.9 ft) at the shoulder; males weigh 109–288 kilograms (240–635 lb), and the lighter females 100–213 kilograms (220–470 lb). A sturdy thin-legged antelope, the nilgai is characterised by a sloping back, a deep neck with a white patch on the throat, a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft, and white facial spots. A column of pendant coarse hair hangs from the dewlap ridge below the white patch. Sexual dimorphism is prominent – while females and juveniles are orange to tawny, adult males have a bluish-grey coat. Only males possess horns, which are 15–24 centimetres (5.9–9.4 in) in length. This picture shows a male nilgai in a potato field at Jamtra, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a member of the bird family Coraciidae, the rollers. It occurs widely from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and is designated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The bird is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is commonly found in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and is often seen perched on roadside bare trees and wires, which give it a good view of the ground below where it finds its prey. Its diet consists mainly of insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, but also includes spiders, scorpions, amphibians and small reptiles. The largest population occurs in India, and several states in India have chosen it as their state bird. This picture shows an Indian roller of the benghalensis subspecies, photographed in Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

The Dharmaraya Swamy Temple is one of the oldest temples in Bangalore, India. It is thought to be more than 800 years old and is built in the Dravidian style, with a gopuram, an ornate monumental entrance tower. Gods worshipped here include Dharmaraya, Krishna, Arjuna, Draupadi and Bhima. The Karaga festival starts from the temple each year; the festival is dedicated to Draupadi, the most important female character in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Starting at midnight, a priest dressed as a woman carries an earthen pot filled with water and adorned with decorations several feet high on his head in procession through the town, preceded by hundreds of bare-chested, dhoti-clad, turbaned Veerakumaras bearing unsheathed swords.

The southern plains gray langur (Semnopithecus dussumieri) is a species of Old World monkey native to the Indian subcontinent. It is about 62 cm (24 in) tall and lives in groups in various forest habitats, feeding mainly on leaves, fruit and flowers in the canopy, supplementing these with insects, gum, grasses, herbs and roots. The monkeys are considered sacred in India, and some are used by Hindu priests for religious purposes. They have adapted to living in close proximity to humans in urban settings; they are often fed by humans and accept cakes, millet, and other foods. The species is protected by law in India, but some are still persecuted for damaging crops, hunted for food and captured for pets. This photograph of a female southern plains gray langur was taken in Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The park was created on 1 June 1955 and was designated a tiger reserve in 1973.

The Buddha Park of Ravangla is situated near Ravangla in South Sikkim district of the Indian state of Sikkim. It was constructed between 2006 and 2013, and features a 130-foot-tall (40 m) statue of the Buddha, pictured here, as its main attraction. The statue was erected to mark the 2550th anniversary of the birth of Gautama Buddha, and was consecrated on 25 March 2013 by the 14th Dalai Lama.

The bank myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) is a passerine bird found in flocks on the plains of northern and central India. Its usual habitat is cultivated farmland, usually in the vicinity of open water, but flocks will often live within cities, in markets and railway stations. Its common name comes from its propensity to nest in large colonies in holes excavated in the banks of rivers, although other sites are sometimes chosen. It feeds on grain, insects and fruits, and sometimes follows grazing animals, picking up disturbed insects or even ticks off the animals' backs. In towns, it makes use of food dropped by humans, even following catering vehicles at airports. This bank myna was photographed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Macrotyloma uniflorum, commonly known as horse gram, is a legume native to tropical southern Asia. The plant grows from a rhizome, sending up annual shoots to a height of 60 cm (24 in). The flowers are cream, yellow or pale green and are followed by short pods. The seeds, pictured here, have been consumed in India for at least 4,000 years and are used both for animal feed and human consumption, including Ayurvedic cuisine. In other tropical countries in southeastern Asia, and in northern Australia, the plant is grown mainly as a fodder crop and for use as green manure. It is a drought-tolerant plant, largely cultivated in areas with low rainfall.

Pomegranate juice is a beverage made from the fruit of the pomegranate. It is used in cooking both as a fresh juice and as a concentrated syrup. The fruit originated in the region extending from Iran to northern India and has been cultivated since ancient times. The fruit has a hard outer husk and a spongy mesocarp in which the seeds in their fleshy seedcoats are embedded. Pomegranate juice can be sweet or sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste. The juice has long been a popular drink in Europe and the Middle East, and is now widely distributed in the United States and Canada.

The round ribbontail ray (Taeniura meyeni) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found throughout the nearshore waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Reaching 1.8 m (6 ft) across, this large ray is characterized by a thick, rounded pectoral fin disc covered by small tubercles on top, and a relatively short tail bearing a single venomous spine. The ray is well-camouflaged when lying on the seabed; it is largely nocturnal, and preys on molluscs, crustaceans and bony fish. Mature females bear litters of up to seven pups, which are fed during gestation on "uterine milk", a product secreted by the walls of the oviduct. This round ribbontail ray was photographed in Lakshadweep, India.

The mohur is a gold coin that was formerly minted by several governments, including those of British India. It was usually equivalent in value to fifteen silver rupees. Gold mohurs issued by the British East India Company or the Crown are valuable collectors' items, and sell in auctions for high prices. The double mohur (minted between 1835 and 1918), with a value of thirty rupees, is the highest-denomination circulating coin ever issued in India. The 1835 two-mohur coin above was minted in the reign of King William IV, while the 1862 one-mohur coin below was minted in the reign of Queen Victoria; both are now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.

K. T. Thomas (born 30 January 1937) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, known for his strong opinions on Indian socio-political matters. He was selected as a district and sessions judge in 1977, and became a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1985. A decade later, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, on which he served until retiring in 2002. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2007 for services in the field of social affairs.

The Rudra Mahalaya Temple is an ancient temple complex at Siddhpur in the Patan district of Gujarat, India. The temple was completed in 1140 by Jayasimha Siddharaja, but in 1296, Alauddin Khalji sent an army under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, who dismantled the structure. In 1414 or 1415, the temple was further destroyed and the western part was converted into a congregational mosque by Muslim ruler Ahmad Shah I of the Muzaffarid dynasty. Apart from the mosque, the surviving fragments consist of two porches, a torana (ornamental gateway) and a few pillars.

Danaus genutia, the common tiger or striped tiger, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, south-eastern Asia and Australia. It prefers areas of moderate to heavy rainfall, and typical habitats include scrubby jungle, deciduous forests and fallow land near habitations. The insect sequesters toxins from plants, and advertises its unpalatability by having prominent markings and striking colour patterns. This adult male common tiger, of the subspecies D. g. genutia, was photographed in Kerala, India.

The pied bush chat (Saxicola caprata) is a small passerine bird widely distributed in Asia. The males are black with white shoulder and vent patches, while the females are predominantly brownish. This species is insectivorous, and like other chats hunts from a prominent low perch. This female pied bush chat was photographed in Pench National Park, India.

Leptosia nina, known as the psyche, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae (the sulphurs, yellows and whites), found in the Indian subcontinent, southeastern Asia, and Australia. It has a small wingspan of 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in). The upper side of the otherwise white forewing has a large, somewhat pear-shaped, black spot; this spot is also present on the underside which is scattered with greenish dots and speckles, sometimes arranged in bands. This L. nina butterfly was photographed in Kerala, India.

Papilio polymnestor, the blue Mormon, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a woodland species, often seen on forest paths and near streams. The larvae feed on trees in the family Rutaceae, such as citrus. Young larvae are green with white markings and position themselves on the upper surface of leaves, relying on their cryptic colouring, which resembles bird droppings, for protection. Older larvae seek less conspicuous locations, and have a unique habit of securing their balance by weaving silk on the substratum. This adult male P. polymnestor butterfly was photographed in the Indian state of Kerala.

The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a species of rhinoceros that once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian subcontinent. As a result of habitat destruction and climatic changes, its range was gradually reduced such that, by the 19th century, it survived only in southern Nepal, northern Uttar Pradesh, northern Bihar, northern West Bengal, and in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam. The species's range has since shrunk further, and its habitat is surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, so that in many areas, it occurs in cultivated areas, pastures, and secondary forests. It is currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. This adult male Indian rhinoceros was photographed on the banks of the Gandaki River in Nepal.

Attacus taprobanis is a species of moth in the family Saturniidae native to southern India and Sri Lanka. This adult male, photographed in Kadavoor, Kerala, developed from a larva feeding on a mahogany tree. When ready to pupate, the larva formed a papery cocoon 7.5 cm (3 in) long interwoven with a leaf; before doing this, the larva had attached the leaf to the stem with a silken thread and cut the leaf stalk. The colours of the dying leaf provided camouflage for the pupa, and the adult insect emerged some 24 days later.

The Indus River is a 3,180-kilometre (1,980 mi) transboundary and trans-Himalayan river that rises in western Tibet before flowing northwest through the regions of Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan in Kashmir. The river then bends sharply to the left after the Nanga Parbat massif, flows generally southwest through Pakistan, and empties into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi. The Indus has a total drainage-basin area exceeding 1,165,000 km² (450,000 sq mi). Its estimated annual flow is around 243 km³ (58 cu mi), making it one of the fifty largest rivers in the world by discharge. This photograph shows the Indus valley near the city of Leh, a capital of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Holi is a popular Indian festival of love and spring. The festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna, and signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it celebrates the victory of Vishnu over Hiranyakashipu. This photograph depicts the celebration of Lathmar Holi at Radha Rani Temple in Barsana, India, with devotees throwing gulal (coloured powder) at each other as a celebration of love and equality.

The Indian tent turtle (Pangshura tentoria) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, endemic to India and Bangladesh. The species's carapace grows to a maximum length of 27 centimetres (11 inches). This turtle of the subspecies P. t. tentoria was photographed beside the Chambal River in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Bengal tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies Panthera tigris tigris found in the Indian subcontinent. Ranking among the largest wild cats alive today, it is considered to be one of the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years. Today it is threatened by poaching, and habitat loss and fragmentation, and was estimated to comprise fewer than 2,500 wild individuals by 2011. The tiger is the national animal of India. This female Bengal tiger was photographed in Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Shingo La is a high-altitude mountain pass in the Himalayas in northern India, connecting the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh with the Zanskar region of Ladakh. The pass is located at an altitude of about 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) and becomes snowbound in the winter months. This photograph, taken in October 2022, depicts the Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road winding through the pass.

Key Monastery is a monastery belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, located at an elevation of 4,166 m (13,668 ft) on a hill rising above the Spiti valley in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Said to have been founded in the 11th century, it is the largest monastery in Spiti, housing hundreds of monks. This view shows the monastery in winter, overlooking the snow-covered Spiti river valley with the Himalayas in the background.

The Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh, India, is a legislative assembly building designed by modernist architect Le Corbusier forming part of the Chandigarh Capitol Complex – a larger government compound including several other buildings such as the Secretariat Building and the Palace of Justice. Constructed to serve as the administrative capital for the eastern half of the historic British Indian Punjab province that remained in India after the 1947 partition of India, the compound, along with sixteen other globally scattered buildings designed by Le Corbusier, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2016. The Palace of Assembly houses the legislatures of the present-day northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.

The Devi Mahatmya is a text of Hindu philosophy describing the goddess Durga as the supreme power and creator of the universe. It is part of the Markandeya Purana. This illustration, created with watercolour and ink on paper, is from an early-18th-century Nepalese folio of the Devi Mahamya, and depicts the goddess Ambika leading the eight mother goddesses in battle against the asura (demon spirit) Raktabīja. A few Sanskrit words are written across the painting, which was gifted to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California.

Lahaul and Spiti is a district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Located in the Himalayas, it was formed by the merger of the districts of Lahaul and Spiti in 1960. At the 2011 census of India, it was the least densely populated district of India. This photograph shows the valley of the Bhaga River in Lahaul, with the villages of Kardang (left) and Biling (right) visible on opposite sides of the river, near the district headquarters of Kyelang.

The City Palace of Jaipur, constructed between 1727 and 1732, is a royal residence located in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was the ceremonial and administrative seat of the Kingdom of Amber, and home of its rulers, from the time of the state's foundation in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II until 30 March 1949. The palace continues to be a residence of the royal family of Jaipur and is a popular tourist attraction. This picture shows the Leheriya gate, one of four intricately designed gates in an inner courtyard of the palace. The gate is dedicated to Hindu god Ganesha (carved above the door) with the green colour representing the season of spring.

Diwali is a five-day Hindu festival of lights which symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness and good over evil. It commemorates the day when Hindu god Rama, along with his wife-consort Sita and brother Lakshmana, returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating demon-king Ravana and following 14 years of exile. Celebrations peak on the night of the third day of the festival—the main day of Diwali, which is today—marking the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. People celebrate on this day by lighting traditional lamps (diyas) and candles. Pictured here is a woman lighting candles on Diwali.

Shinku La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas of northern India. The pass is traversed by the Darcha–Padum road, connecting the high-altitude region of Zanskar in Ladakh with the rest of India. The pass becomes snowbound in the winter, leading to the closure of the road. The construction of a tunnel under the pass, to ensure all-weather connectivity, began in 2024. This photograph shows Shinku La covered in snow, with a frozen lake in the foreground.

Wangath temple complex is a group of Hindu temple monuments in Wangath, close to Naranag, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The current structure was built by Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty in the 8th century CE but are now ruins. The temple is constructed out of local grey granite and consists of two complexes, dedicated respectively to Shiva Jyeshthesa and Shiva Bhuteshwara, with a central pavilion in between. The temple marks the starting point of pilgrimages to the Gangabal Lake, a high-altitude alpine lake in the Himalayas considered by Kashmiri Hindus to be an abode of Shiva. This photograph shows the main temple of the site's western complex.

Naba Kailash Mandir is a Hindu temple in Kalna City, West Bengal, India. The temple structure consists of 108 smaller temples, each with a height of around 6 metres (20 feet) and width of around 3 metres (9.5 feet), arranged in two concentric circles. The site is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. The inner circle has a circumference of about 102 metres (336 feet), and the outer circle has a circumference of about 220 metres (710 feet). The temples are built on low raised base-altars. This aerial photograph of Naba Kailash Mandir was taken in 2020.

Kumaon is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Historically known as Manaskhand and Kurmanchal, the Kumaon region has been ruled by several dynasties over the course of its history, most notably the Katyuri and the Chand. In 1790, the Kingdom of Kumaon was invaded and annexed by the Gorkhas, from whom it was conquered by the British East India Company in 1815, following which it became part of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces (which later became the United Provinces). After Indian independence in 1947, it remained part of the state of Uttar Pradesh until 2000, when the state of Uttarakhand was created as a result of the Uttarakhand movement. The people of Kumaon are known as Kumaonis and speak the Kumaoni language. This picture shows a panoramic view of the Kumaon Himalayas as seen from the hill station and town of Ranikhet, with mountains such as Trisul (7,120 m, 23,360 ft), Nanda Devi (7,817 m, 25,646 ft), Nanda Kot (6,861 m, 22,510 ft), Panchachuli (6,904 m, 22,651 ft), and other peaks prominently visible.

Nohkalikai Falls is a 340-foot-tall (100 m) plunge waterfall located in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. It is the tallest plunge waterfall in India and is situated near Cherrapunji, one of the wettest places on Earth. Nohkalikai Falls are fed by the rainwater collected on the summit of a relatively small plateau. Below the falls is a plunge pool with water of an unusual shade of green.

Gurudongmar Lake is a glacial lake located to the north of the Himalayas in the northeast Indian state of Sikkim. At an elevation of more than 5,150 metres (16,900 feet), it is one of the highest lakes in the world. The lake is fed by glaciers of the Khangchengyao massif and forms the headwaters of the Teesta River. It is considered to be sacred by Buddhists and Sikhs. This photograph shows a partially frozen Gurudongmar Lake.

Gangabal Lake is a high-altitude glacial lake situated at the foot of Harmukh, a mountain in the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The lake is called Gangabal, meaning 'place of Ganga' in the Kashmiri language, and is considered to be sacred in Hinduism as an abode of Shiva. The lake has been described as a place of pilgrimage in several ancient Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata, the Nilamata Purana and the Vishnu Smriti, and an annual Hindu pilgrimage to the lake starts from the nearby 8th-century Wangath temple complex. Kashmiri Hindus perform their ancestral rites at the lake and immerse the ashes of the dead into the lake after cremation. This photograph depicts a shrine dedicated to Shiva carved into a boulder at the shore of Gangabal Lake.