Cities of India capture the diversity of the country through their deep architectural legacies, rich cultures, diverse lifestyle and cuisines. In India, about a quarter of the total population is urban residing in cities. There are several major cities in India. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai are the four main cities of India. The cities of India offer a wide collection of exploring options ranging from Rajasthan`s camel rides, visiting the numerous monuments of Delhi to Kerala backwaters boat cruises and Shikara rides on Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir.

Cities of North India
The capital city of India, Delhi is most likely the city with the biggest number of historical monuments in the world and most of them belonging to the Mughal era. Agra, Amritsar, Dehradun, Dharamsala, Gorakhpur, Haridwar, Kedarnath, Ladakh, Leh, Lucknow,Manali, Rishikesh, Shimla, Srinagar, Uttarkashi, Varanasi and Nainital are some of the important cities of northern India. Varanasi is one of the important pilgrimage centres of the country. The city of Agra is the dwelling place to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Taj Mahal. This is one of the favourite destinations for the inland and outland tourists. The city is also famous for its carpets, jewellery and leather shoes. Kanpur, another important city of India, is situated in the northern part of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of Ganga River. It is the most populated town in the state of Uttar Pradesh, with over 2.5 million inhabitants. Kanpur is also the leading and most industrialised city in the state. Various industrial items like chemicals, textiles, leather goods and food products are being supplied from this city to other parts of India. Kanpur is the home of one of the reputed institutes of the world. The main languages spoken in the cities of northern India are Hindi language and Urdu language.

Cities in Eastern India
One of the principal cities of eastern India is Kolkata. Kolkata has always been considered as the centre of rich Indian culture and intellectuals. Initially, it was known as Calcutta. Kolkata is one of the ethnically superior cities of India. Long known as the cultural capital of India and domicile of the Bengal Renaissance in 17th Century, Kolkata continues to spawn generations of poets, writers, dramatists and film directors. While on a contrary, Cuttack is one of the oldest cities of India. It is also the hub of commercial activities of the state. With its world famous unique filigree works in silver, ivory and brass works and textiles of woven silk and cotton, Cuttack is considered as the grandest showroom of Odisha. Another beautiful place of eastern India is Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Odisha. These cities of Odisha are known for their numerous tourist places. Some of the important cities of eastern India are Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Bokaro, Deoghar, Dhanbad (Jharkhand) and Nalanda are other important cities of eastern region of India.

Cities in North-East India
Gangtok is the capital and largest town of Sikkim. It is situated in the lower Himalayas and is one of the beautiful cities of north-east India. Being renowned for its scenic beauty and temperate climate, this hill station is one of the main centers of the tourism industry of the state. Gangtok is also the hub of Buddhist culture and learning with numerous monasteries and religious educational institutions. Shillong, Dispur, Aizawl, Guwahati,Itanagar and Agartala are some of the other cities of north east India.

Cities of West India
Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country is located in the western zone of India. It is one of the most populated cities in India. This city is the hub of financial and entertainment activities of India. Mumbai stock exchange is the pillar of India`s business set up. India produces the largest number of movies in the world. Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is also significant among other cities of western India. Once, the most glorious capital of Rajputs, Jaipur is also called the Pink City. Jaipur is remarkable for its spectacular architecture and city planning. It is the only town in the world, which is segregated into nine rectangular sectors.

Cities in Central India
Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Kanha and Umaria are some of the main cities of Central India. While some of these cities of Central India are known for their history and tourist attractions others are important industrial centres. Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh referred to as the Kamasutra temple is world renowned for its ancient sculptural styles of Chandella Dynasty. Khajuraho Temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, and Jain deities. There are the architecture and sculpture of Khajuraho Temples which shows the sexually explicit carvings both inside and outside the temple. It`s an UNESCO world heritage site and Khajuraho is believed to have had over 75 temples of which 22 remain today.

Cities of South India
Hyderabad is also one of the important cities of India. In the last few years Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh, is competing with Chennai as the South Indian movie centre of India. Bengaluru is considered today as the technology centre of India, popularly known as silicon city of India. This city is also called Garden City. It is also considered as the most westernised city in India. Madurai in Tamil Nadu is one of the main pilgrimage centres of the country attracting travelers from far and wide. Bandhavgarh, Chettinad, Cochin, Coorg, Kanchipuram, Kodaikanal, Kovalam, Kumarakom, Mahabalipuram, Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Munnar, Mysore, Periyar, Tanjore, Thrissur, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari are other major cities of southern India.

India is a diverse country yet it is bound in a unity that dates back into its unwritten history. Similarly though the Indian cities vary greatly from each other yet these are bound by a common culture, mores and traditions.

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