Hinduism is the dominant religion in India; with around 85 per cent of Indians practising Hindus, a clear feature of every day life. India has a large calendar of events, many of them based on traditional religious festivals, as well as celebrations of India’s history.

India is not always an easy country to travel in, the weather can be severe, especially during the hot season and there are huge disparities in wealth and literally hundreds of millions of people living below the poverty line.

Modern day India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a particular strength in the IT sector. Hockey is the national sport and passion for hockey is probably unrivalled by that of any other sport in any other country.

Another very popular sport is cricket, the Indian Cricket Team are world renowned for their proficiency in the sport. Men and women, rich and poor, Hindu and Muslim, are crazy about the game and if you follow the sport yourself, it’s a guaranteed way of starting a conversation on a long train journey.