Sir John Strachey, a British Indian civil servant used to address his civil servants-in-training by saying, "The first and most important thing to learn about India is that there is not and never was an India." Historian David Ludden in his book Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India writes 'the territory that we use to describe the landscape of Indian civilization was defined politically by the British Empire. India was never what it is today in a geographical, demographic or cultural sense, before 1947.' Many like Winston Churchill had predicted that post independence, India would disintegrate and fall back into the Middle Ages.

“Work is worship but laughter is life. Anyone who takes life too seriously must prepare himself for a miserable existence. Anyone who greets joys and sorrows with equal facility can really get the best of life.”

Sir John Strachey, a British Indian civil servant used to address his civil servants-in-training by saying, "The first and most important thing to learn about India is that there is not and never was an India." Historian David Ludden in his book Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India writes 'the territory that we use to describe the landscape of Indian civilization was defined politically by the British Empire. India was never what it is today in a geographical, demographic or cultural sense, before 1947.' Many like Winston Churchill had predicted that post independence, India would disintegrate and fall back into the Middle Ages.

The acoustics of a political speech delivery are known to be a powerful influence on voter preferences, perhaps giving some credence to the saying, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Vocal disorders change the qualities of a person’s speech, and voice scientists Rosario Signorello and Didier Demolin at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris have found that this alters politicians’ perceived charisma and listeners’ voting preferences.

The acoustics of a political speech delivery are known to be a powerful influence on voter preferences, perhaps giving some credence to the saying, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Vocal disorders change the qualities of a person’s speech, and voice scientists Rosario Signorello and Didier Demolin at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris have found that this alters politicians’ perceived charisma and listeners’ voting preferences.

Have you heard any of these fascinating Christmas tree facts? We have tried to list some of amazing, informative global Christmas tree traditions around the world.

Have you heard any of these fascinating Christmas tree facts? We have tried to list some of amazing, informative global Christmas tree traditions around the world.

There’s a new twist to the perennial argument about which is smarter, cats or dogs.

There’s a new twist to the perennial argument about which is smarter, cats or dogs.

Emoticons, irregular spellings and exclamation points in text messages aren’t sloppy or a sign that written language is going down the tubes — these “textisms” help convey meaning and intent in the absence of spoken conversation, according to recently published research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.