Punjab, ‘the land of five rivers’, was one of the centres of the prehistoric Indus valley Civilization. After 1500 BC, it was the site of the earliest Aryan settlements. In the past, Punjab was occupied by Alexander the Great, and then by the Mauryan Empire. Muslims occupied West Punjab by the 8th century, and ushered in Islam. Not until the late 12th century, did they conquer East Punjab, which even afterward, remained predominantly Hindu. In the late 18th century, the Sikhs rose to dominance. They came into conflict with the British during the early 19th century. In 1849, the British annexed most of the Punjab, and made it a province, though some of the princely states were retained.With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Punjab was partitioned according to the prevalence of Muslim and the Hindu populations. The western portion became part of Pakistan. The eastern part stayed with India. The Indian Punjab was divided into three different states on a linguistic basis on November 1st 1966. The Hindi speaking areas formed the new state of Haryana, while the Northern most districts were transferred to Himachal Pradesh. The remaining regions form present day Punjab.

 The holiest shrine of the Sikhs is the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The location of the Golden Temple was originally a small lake in a deep forest. It has long been recognized as a place of spiritual significance. It is said that Buddha spent some time there, and later, the first Sikh Guru meditated at the lake. The architecture of the Golden temple represents a unique harmony between Muslim and Hindu styles.

The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha was built in the 13th century. It was conceived as a gigantic solar chariot with twelve pairs of exquisitely – ornamented wheels dragged by seven rearing horses. The exquisite ‘natamandir’ or the ‘dancing hall’ of this shrine is an architectural wonder. The Konark Dance Festival is held in December every year, against the beautiful backdrop of this temple. A host of celebrated classical dancers from all over the country perform in the open-air auditorium. The festival provides a platform for both the performing artistes and the dance connoisseurs to appreciate the essence of various classical dance forms of the country.

Odisha is famous for the art of sand sculptures. According to belief, a famous poet Balaram Das wanted to climb Lord Jagannath’s chariot during the Rath Yatra, but was not allowed. Saddened, he then went to the beach, and carved the images of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra of Lord Balabhadra on the golden sand and prayed to these images.

In ancient times, Odisha was known as Utkala, Kalinga and Odra Desa at different points in its history. For many centuries, Kalinga was a very powerful kingdom. The famous war that the Emperor Asoka waged against Kalinga proved to be a turning point in his life. The bloodshed and killing of war sickened him, and led him to renounce violence, and turn to Buddhism. This war had a great impact on the history of this region too, for under Asoka’s benevolent guidance, literature, language, music, and dance flourished here during ancient times. In 1568, the last Hindu ruler was over-thrown by a Muslim general, and finally, Odisha was annexed by Akbar in 1592. The Mughals ruled till 1803, when Odisha came into British possession. Following India’s independence, the 26 princely states in the region were merged into modern state of Odisha.