Mangalore, India

Geography: India is in southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Currency:  Indian Rupee

National Symbols: Bengal tiger

National Anthem: " Jana-Gana-Mana" - Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People

Language: Hindi

Area Comparison: India is slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Distance from Pittsburgh: 13,555 km or 8423 miles

Terrain: In the south there is the upland plain - Deccan Plateau. In the Ganges it is flat to rolling plains. There are deserts in west and the Himalayas in the north.

Highest Point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

Weather You Should Expect: The climate varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

What You Must See: Kadri Manjunath Temple. The bronze statue of Avalokiteshvar  is perhaps the oldest in all of India. One curious aspect of this temple is that it has 5 pools or kunds which are located at a height which is more than the temple, whereas typically in most places it is the other way round. The temple houses many deities, however the one that stands out the most is that of the tall green Hanuman. There is also a natural spring here, which is believed to actually be sourced from the Kashi Ganga.The Gorakshnath Shankara Temple at Kudroli looks as if it is made of sparkling gold. Actually during the evenings, the lights play a strange effect on the entire set of temples and associated structures.

History Fact: Mangalore is said to have been named after the famous Mangaladevi Temple. This temple was built by the Ballal family of Attavar in memory of a princess of Kerala.

Science Fact: The location of Mangalore is on a narrow coastal strip between the towering Western Ghats on one side and the azure Arabian sea on the other.

Another Science Fact: Kanchenjunga is the third tallest mountain in the world and lies on the border with Nepal.

Fun Fact: The landscape is dotted with tiled-roof buildings, topped with the famous Mangalore tiles made with the local hard red clay, and built with laterite, a soft rock easily sliced into large building blocks.

Interesting Fact: The city is virtually a Tower of Babel, with the sounds of several languages mingling on the streets.

Everything You Need to Know About the Flag:

There are three equal horizontal bands of saffron, white, and green, with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band. Saffron or subdued orange represents courage, sacrifice, and the spirit of renunciation. White signifies purity and truth and green stands for faith and fertility. The blue chakra symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation. The flag is similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band.