Musica tropical or tropical music (Spanish: Música tropical) is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex, syncopated rhythms and draws from traditional music forms. Its sound is based on traditional percussion and string musical instruments, such as timbales, congas, bongo, the tres, but can also incorporate other instruments and advanced machinery, such as synthesizers and drum machines.

The term "tropical" is commonly used as a music format by Latin music radio stations. Among the most popular tropical styles are salsa, merengue, cumbia, and bachata.


Tegucigalpa was founded by Spanish settlers as Real Villa de San Miguel de Heredia de Tegucigalpa on September 29, 1578 on the site of an existing native settlement. Before and after independence, the city was a mining center for silver and gold. The capital of the independent Republic of Honduras switched back and forth between Tegucigalpa and Comayagua until it was permanently settled in Tegucigalpa in 1880.

A popular myth claims that the society of Comayagua, the long-time colonial capital of Honduras, publicly disliked the wife of President Marco Aurelio Soto, who took revenge by moving the capital to Tegucigalpa. A more likely theory is that the change took place because President Soto was an important partner of the Rosario Mining Company, an American silver mining company, whose operations were based in San Juancito, close to Tegucigalpa, and he needed to be close to his personal interests.

Tegucigalpa remained relatively small and provincial until the 1970s, when immigration from the rural areas began in earnest. During the 1980s, several avenues, traffic overpasses, and large buildings were erected, a relative novelty to a city characterized until then by two-story buildings. Tegucigalpa continues to sprawl far beyond its former colonial core, towards the east, south and west, creating a large but disorganized metropolis.

The city's main buildings include the former Presidential Palace, which is now a national museum, a 20th-century Legislative Palace, the headquarters of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, the campus of the National University of Honduras founded in 1847, an 18th-century cathedral, and the Basilica of the Virgin of Suyapa.

Industrial production, small and mostly for local consumption, has increased since the 1970s with improved roadways. Products include textiles, clothing, sugar, cigarettes, lumber, plywood, paper, ceramics, cement, glass, metalwork, plastics, chemicals, tires, electrical appliances, and farm machinery. Some maquiladora duty-free assembly plants have been established since the 1990s in an industrial park in the Amarateca valley, on the northern highway. Silver, lead and zinc are still mined in the outskirts of the city.Tegucigalpa is located on a chain of mountains at 14°5′N 87°13′W, at an elevation of 990 metres (3,200 ft). The Choluteca river, which crosses the city from south to north, physically separates Tegucigalpa and its sister city Comayagüela. El Picacho hill, a rugged mountain of moderate height convert rises above the downtown area; several neighborhoods, both residential and shantytowns, are located on its slopes. The city consists of gentle hills, and the ring of mountains surrounding the city tends to trap pollution. During the dry season, a dense cloud of smog lingers in the basin until the first rains fall.


Of the major Central American cities, Tegucigalpa's climate is among the most pleasant due to its high altitude. Like much of central Honduras, the city has a tropical climate, though tempered by the altitude—meaning less humid than the lower valleys and the coastal regions—with even temperatures averaging between 19 °C (66 °F) and 23 °C (73 °F) degrees. The months of December and January are coolest, whereas March and April—popularly associated with Holy Week’s holidays—are hottest and driest. Precipitation is spread unevenly through the year; during the Caribbean hurricane season June to November, it may reach 920 millimetres (36 in) at the end of a normal day.
Two capitals in one

For all practical purposes the capital of Honduras is Tegucigalpa, but some sources note that two “cities” share that designation. Chapter 1, Article 8, of the Honduran constitution states translated, "The cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, jointly, constitute the Capital of the Republic." Chapter 11, Article 295, translates, "The Central District consists of a single municipality made up of the former municipalities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela"; however, municipalities are defined in Honduras as political entities similar to counties, and they may contain one or more cities.

In a decree of October 30, 1880, President Marco Aurelio Soto established a permanent seat of government in Tegucigalpa, and in 1907 the episcopal now archiepiscopal see was translated there. On March 15, 1938, General Tiburcio Carías Andino and the National Congress declared that Comayagüela was a barrio neighbourhood of Tegucigalpa, the national capital. Today some government offices are listed with Comayagüela addresses, but the area is considered a part of Tegucigalpa,
Hurricane Mitch

On October 30, 1998, the city was significantly damaged by Hurricane Mitch. It destroyed part of the Comayagüela section of the city, as well as other places along the banks of the Choluteca river. The storm remained over Honduran territory for five days, dumping heavy rainfall late in the rainy season. The ground was already saturated and could not absorb the heavy precipitation, while deforestation and debris left by the hurricane led to catastrophic flooding throughout widespread regions of the country, especially in Tegucigalpa.

The heavy rain caused flash floods of Choluteca's tributaries, and the swollen river overflowed its banks, tearing down entire neighborhoods and bridges across the ravaged city. The rainfall also triggered massive landslides around El Berrinche hill, close to the downtown area. These landslides destroyed most of the Soto neighborhood, and debris flowed into the river, forming a dam. The dam clogged the waters of the river and many of the low-lying areas of Comayagüela were submerged; historic buildings located along Calle Real were either completely destroyed or so badly damaged that repair was futile.

Musica tropical or tropical music (Spanish: Música tropical) is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex, syncopated rhythms and draws from traditional music forms. Its sound is based on traditional percussion and string musical instruments, such as timbales, congas, bongo, the tres, but can also incorporate other instruments and advanced machinery, such as synthesizers and drum machines.

The term "tropical" is commonly used as a music format by Latin music radio stations. Among the most popular tropical styles are salsa, merengue, cumbia, and bachata.


Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao. Lima is the 5th–largest city in Latin America, behind São Paulo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro.

Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as La Ciudad de los Reyes, or "The City of Kings." It became the most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru and, after the Peruvian War of Independence, was made the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area.

Musica tropical or tropical music (Spanish: Música tropical) is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex, syncopated rhythms and draws from traditional music forms. Its sound is based on traditional percussion and string musical instruments, such as timbales, congas, bongo, the tres, but can also incorporate other instruments and advanced machinery, such as synthesizers and drum machines.

The term "tropical" is commonly used as a music format by Latin music radio stations. Among the most popular tropical styles are salsa, merengue, cumbia, and bachata.

The music of Sri Lanka originates in cultural traditions deriving from three influences: the religious practices of Buddhism, the aftereffects of Portuguese colonization, and the commercial and historical influence of Indian culture - specifically, Bollywood cinema. The Theravada sect of Buddhism has influenced Sri Lankan Music since Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka two millennia ago.

Portuguese colonizers arrived centuries after the Buddha, in the mid 1400s, bringing with them cantiga ballads, ukuleles and guitars; as well as desendants of africa (referred to, historically, as kaffrinhas), who brought with them a style of music now referred to as baila. The people of these two regions, and the musical traditions they brought with them, served to contribute further to the diverse musical roots of modern Sri Lankan music.

Buddhism, Indian classical music and the Portuguese colonizers were the three biggest influences on Sri Lanka’s music scenario. While Buddhism arrived in 300 BC, after the visit of Gautama Buddha, the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. The African slaves who came along with the Portuguese added further harmony to the music of the island. As the Portuguese brought cantiga ballads, ukuleles and guitars, the slaves brought their dance music called baila. As seen today, the music of Sri Lanka can be categorised into the following-

Traditional folk music of Sri Lanka
Traditional folk music existed from the very beginning of its race and it under the Buddhist environment. The ordinary people.wre the one to use this form of music
Local drama music (Kolam/Nadagam/Noorthy)
Kolam is based on low country tunes and it is not a well developed form of music. Limited to very few notes about 3~4 and It is used by the ordinary people for pleasure and entertainment and is limited to very few notes, about 3~4.



Nadagam is a much more developed form of drama evolving under the influence of South Indian street plays, introduced by some South Indian Artists.

Noorthy was first introduced by C. Don Bastian of Dehiwala, taking the cue from Indian dramas. It was John De Silva who developed it and did Ramayanaya in 1886.

Hindustani classical music (Ragadari Music)
In 1934 Ravindranath Tagore visited Sri Lanka with a group of artists and performed a drama. He also laid the foundation stone for “Sri Pali” at Horana and later introduced music, art and dancing. His visit brought drastic changes into the Sri Lankan music scene.

South Indian classical music (Karnataka Music)
This type of Music can be seen in South India and northern part of Sri Lanka and used by the Tamil community.

Tamil and Hindustani Film music
During the early years film production was not in vogue in Sri Lanka and films were imported from India. Film music was copied from the Indian counterparts.“Rekhawa” produced by Sir Lester James Peiris was the first Sri Lankan film produced using Sri Lankan music. “Nurthi" is the first recorded music to come out of Sri Lanka

Western classical music
The British introduced western music to Sri Lanka during their period of rule from 1815 to when the country gained freedom in 1948. Thus, the Sri Lankans learned the art of playing the piano too.

Sinhala light music
Some artists visited India to learn music and later started to introduce light music.Ananda Samarakone who composed the national anthem was the pioneer in this field.

Baila:
Originally, Baila consisted of vocals with a guitar and handclaps or otherwise improvised percussion, but now electric guitars, synthesizers and other modern developments have been incorporated. However, it is at the roots of modern Sri Lankan music.

Aayubowan ! May you live long - greetings from Sri Lanka, my country, the beautiful small island in the Indian Ocean.

"Marco Polo considered Sri Lanka the finest island of its size in all the world, and you'll likely agree after exploring the country's fabled delights. What takes your fancy? Beaches? The coastal stretch south of Colombo offers palm-lined sandy expanses as far as the eye can see. Culture? Try the Kandyan dances, a procession of elephants or the masked devil dances. Ruins? You'll find enough ancient and inspiring architecture in the cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa to satisfy that inner archaeologist, we promise. And then there's the natural wealth for which Sri Lanka is rightly renowned. Head for the hill country to escape the heat of the plains, where the coast fades away to reveal gorgeous rolling hills often carpeted with tea plantations. The entire island is teeming with bird life and exotics like elephants and leopards are not uncommon. To top it all off, the people are friendly, the food is delicious and costs are low."

- Lonely Planet World Guide

Known to the ancient Greeks and Romans and Taprobane, then to the Arabic sailors as Serandip, the tiny yet beautiful island was named 'the pearl of Indian ocean', and gave English language the word 'serendipity'.

The island is around 65,000 square kilometers in area, and had a greatly varying range of landscape, temperature and rainfall. Sunny and hot beaches; nice and cool misty mountains; dark and wet natural rainforests that are as old as the mankind on earth; windy and dry rugged terrains; hot water fountains; animals ranging from elephants to tigers to wild deer - you name it - you can see them all in this small patch of land !

Sri Lanka was famous in the earliest days for gems, pearl and ivory. Later, merchant ships from many parts of the world landed there for spices. After the british occupied the island, it became best known for it's tea. It's one of the chief tea-growing country of the world.

The island gets most of it's rain from southwest and northeast monsoons. The normal temperature is around 25-30 °C, and can go very low - even to zero in the up country. Mostly due to tropical rain forests, it has a lot of animal and plant species, some are unique to the country.

In addition to the long heritage and history, the people in Sri Lanka are best known for their friendliness and hospitality. I personally prefer the southern part of Sri Lanka, where I was born and bred. There are many nice beaches there, and a lot of other places to see and enjoy. Sri Lanka abounds in tropical fruits and the food is delicious, although local cuisine is sometimes known to be too hot for westerners. And in general, living costs are very low.
"To me the beauty of Ceylon lies not so much in its blue seas and golden beaches, its jungles and its mountain peaks, as in its ancient atmosphere. There is no nation, from Egypt of the Pharaohs to modern Britain, in whose literature this island has not at some time been mentioned by one or other of its many names -- Lanka, Serendib, Taprobane, Cellao, Zellan, to recall a few. History lies buried in its sands, and ghosts of romance lurk among its bastioned rocks, for Lanka is very, very old."

- D. J. G. Hennessy,
Green Aisles, 1949

Sinhala language

I'm a sinhalese in nationality. Sinhalese are the majority in population of Sri Lanka, and claim a history that is more than 2500 years old. It starts approximately in 450 BC, when the North Indian prince Vijaya landed on the island. By then, the country had a culture of it's own, and several tribes who were technologically advanced enough to have their own industries. Later, the indians mixed with the natives; the natives adopted the technologies, some cultural traits and, most importantly, Buddhism from the indians.

The new nation that was built from this fruitful mix was known as Sinhala.

The language of the sinhalese, Sinhala is a member of Indo Aryan group of languages, which consists of languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and Maldivian. It traces back it's origin to Sangskrit. Sinhala script is phonetic; you can correctly pronounce whatever the word exactly in the way it's written.

Sri Lanka

heaven on earth

Bogotá (Spanish: About this sound Bogotá (help·info)) – officially named Bogotá, D.C. (D.C. for "Distrito Capital", which means "Capital District"), formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá – is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the most populous city in the country, with an estimated 7,304,384 inhabitants as of 2009. Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had an estimated population of 8,566,926.[4] In terms of land area, Bogotá is also the largest in Colombia, and its altitude (2,640 metres) makes it the third-highest capital city in the world, after La Paz and Quito. With its many universities and libraries, Bogotá has become known as "The Athens of South America". Bogota's constant growth and attempt to establish itself as one of the world's most important cities has not been unnoticed. In 2008, the World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) from the United Kingdom included the city in a list of World Cities ranked by their economical, political and cultural developments. Bogota is ranked as a World City in the same category as other global metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Washington, Los Angeles, Dubai and Berlin, and above others such as Philadelphia, Boston, Lima or Montreal.
Finally, Monroe County was formed from parts of Genesee and Ontario Counties in 1821.
Bogotá is located on the east of the Savannah of Bogotá (Sabana de Bogotá), 2640 meters (8661 ft) above sea level. Although it is located in what is popularly called the "sabana", literally meaning "savannah", the geographical site is actually a high plateau in the Andes mountains. The extended region is also known as "Altiplano Cundiboyacense" which literally means "high plateau of Cundinamarca and Boyacá".

The Bogotá River crosses the 'sabana' forming Tequendama Falls (Salto de Tequendama) to the south. Tributary rivers form valleys with flourishing villages, whose economy is based on agriculture, livestock raising and artisanal production.

The 'sabana' is bordered to the east by the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes mountain range. Surrounding hills, which limit city growth, run from south to north, parallel to the Guadalupe and Monserrate mountains. The western city limit is the Bogotá River. The Sumapaz Paramo (moorland) borders the south and to the north Bogotá extends over the mentioned plateau up to the towns of Chía and Sopó.
Climate

Bogota has a Subtropical Highland climate. The average temperature on the 'sabana' is 14.0°C, varying from 3°C to 25°C. Dry and rainy seasons alternate throughout the year. The driest months are December, January, February and March; the rainiest are April, May, September, October and November. June and July are usually rainy periods and August is sunny with high winds. Hailstorms are common during the rainy season, and can be very strong, especially in October.

Climatic conditions are irregular and quite variable due to the El Niño and La Niña climatic phenomena, which occur in and around the Pacific basin and are responsible for very pronounced climatic changes. Even with this fact, overall, all year days are mild or cool and nights can get moderately cold due to the city having mild winds in the night year round.

The earliest music in Bengal was influenced by Sanskrit chants, and evolved under the influence of Vishnu poetry such as the 13th-century Gitagovindam by Jayadeva, whose work continues to be sung in many eastern Hindu temples. The Middle Ages saw a mixture of Hindu and Islamic trends when the musical tradition was formalized under the patronage of Nawabs and the powerful landlords bAro bhuiyAn.

Much of the early canon is devotional, as in the Hindu devotional songs of Ramprasad Sen, a bhakta who captures the Bengali ethos in his poetic, rustic ,and ecstatic vision of the Hindu goddess of time and destruction in her motherly incarnation, Ma Kali. Another writer of the time was Vidyapati. Notable in this devotional poetry is an earthiness that does not distinguish between love in its carnal and devotional forms; some see connections between this and Tantra, which originated some time in the middle of the first millennium CE.

The Bauls (the word comes from Sanskrit batul, meaning "divinely inspired insanity") are a group of Hindu mystic minstrels from the Bengal region, who sang primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries. They are thought to have been influenced greatly by the Hindu tantric sect of the Kartabhajas as well as by Sufi philosophers. Bauls traveled and sang in search of the internal ideal, Moner Manush (Man of the Heart or the inner being), and descried "superfluous" differences between religions.Lalon Fakir, alternatively known as Lalon Shah, who lived in the 19th century in and around Kushtia, is considered to be the greatest of all bauls.

By far the most defining expression of Bengali music, with an ouvre of over two thousand songs, was Rabindranath Tagore (known in Bengali as Robi Thakur and Gurudeb, the latter meaning "Divine Teacher"). His songs are affectionately called Rabindra Sangeet, and cover topics from devotion, love, nature and seasons, and patriotism. Tagore's earlier works had been inspired by the lilas of Krishna while his latter works involved transcendentalism of the Upanishads. Some of the important Rabindra Sangeet artistes are Shantidev Ghosh, Shailajaranjan Majumdar, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Debabrata Biswas, Suchitra Mitra, Pankaj Kumar Mullick, Santosh Sengupta, Subinoy Roy, Chinmoy Chatterjee, Ashoketaru Bandopadhyay, Sagar Sen, Sumitra Sen, Ritu Guha, Purabi Mukhopadhyay, Purba Dam, Sushil Mullick, Mohan Singh, Sharmila Roy Pommot, Swastika Mukhopadhyay, Indrani Sen, Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, Promita Mallik, Rezwana Chowdhury Bonna, Indira Bandopadhyay, Sahana Bajpaie, etc.
Another influential body of work is that of Kazi Nazrul Islam, which constitutes what is known as Nazrul geeti.Some of the notable Nazrulgeeti singers include Suprova Sircar, Dhirendra Chandra Mitra, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Dr. Anjali Mukhopadhyay, Dhiren Bose, Purabi Dutta, Firoza Begum, Anup Ghoshal, Sohrab Hossain.

Other Bengali music, shared by West Bengal and Bangladesh, is from the poetry and songs of Nidhu Babu, Kabir, Lalon Fakir, Atulprasad Sen, Dwijendralal Ray, Rajanikanta Sen and a large canon of patriotic songs from Greater India's Independence movement.

Beginning with the establishment of Hindu Mela in 1867, the concept of patriotism entered Bengali music. The patriotic genre was a major part of Bengali music until its independence in 1947.

Modern Bengali music has been enriched by singers like Hemanta Mukhopadhayay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Manna Dey,Kishore Kumar, Rahul Dev Burman, Sachin Dev Burman, Geeta Dutta, Dhananjay Bhattacharya, Shyamal Mitra, Tarun Bandopadhyay, Satinath Mukhopadhyay, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Robin Majumdar, Kanan Devi, Satya Chowdhury, Sudhirlal Chakraborty, Jaganmoy Mitra, Dilip Kumar Roy, Uma Bose, Kamala Jharia, Angurbala, Indubala, Utpala Sen, Gayatri Bose, Supriti Ghosh, Alpana Banerjee, Protima Banerjee, Sabina Yasmin, and Runa Laila. Pannalal Bhattacharya, Mrinalkanti Ghosh, Bhabani Charan Das, Radharani Debi and Gitashree Chhabi Bandopadhay were famous for their renditions of devotional songs, while Abbasuddin Ahmad and Nirmalendu Chowdhury were stalwarts in singing Bengali folk music.

Notable Bengali music composers include Ravi Shankar, Himangshu Dutta, Kamal Dasgupta, Rai Chand Boral, Timirbaran Bhattacharya, Kalipada Sen, Nachiketa Ghosh, Robin Chatterjee,Hemanta Mukhopadhayay, Salil Chowdhury, Sudhin Dasgupta, Rahul Dev Burman and Abhijit Bandopadhyay, while Ajoy Bhattacharya, Hiren Bose, Subodh Purakayastha, Pranab Roy, Sailen Roy, Gauriprasanna Majumdar, Shyamal Gupta, Pulak Bandopadhyay and Mukul Dutta were well-known lyricists.

In recent times, western influence has resulted in the emergence of the phenomenon of Bangla bands, both in Dhaka and in Kolkata, as well as songs reflecting the joys and sorrows of the common man, Jibonmukhi Gaan (songs from life). Some famous Bangla bands are Bhoomi, Chandrabindoo, Miles, Nagar Baul, Tishma, Feedback,Souls, Fossils, Cactus, Lakkihichara, Krosswindz and Insomnia. With her powerful rock vocal and unique style and stage performance, Tishma completely changed the path of Bangla female artists. At the same time, singers like Ajoy Chakraborty are working to bring back classical raga influence into bengali music.

Bangladesh (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ, Bangladesh), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma (Myanmar) to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in the official Bengali language.

The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal and India in 1947, when the region became the eastern wing of the newly formed Pakistan. However, it was separated from the western wing by 1,600 km (994 mi) of Indian territory. Political and linguistic discrimination as well as economic neglect led to popular agitations against West Pakistan, which led to the war for independence in 1971 and the establishment of Bangladesh. After independence the new state endured famines, natural disasters and widespread poverty, as well as political turmoil and military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress.

Bangladesh is the seventh most populous country and is among the most densely populated countries in the world with a high poverty rate. However, per-capita (inflation-adjusted) GDP has more than doubled since 1975, and the poverty rate has fallen by 20% since the early 1990s. The country is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies. Dhaka, the capital, and other urban centers have been the driving force behind this growth.

Geographically, the country straddles the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and is subject to annual monsoon floods and cyclones. Bangladesh has the longest unbroken sea beach in the world in the Cox's Bazaar. The government is a parliamentary democracy. Bangladesh is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the OIC, SAARC, BIMSTEC, and the D-8. As the World Bank notes in its July 2005 Country Brief, the country has made significant progress in human development in the areas of literacy, gender parity in schooling and reduction of population growth. However, Bangladesh continues to face a number of major challenges, including widespread political and bureaucratic corruption, economic competition relative to the world, serious overpopulation, widespread poverty, and an increasing danger of hydrologic shocks brought on by ecological vulnerability to climate change.
Remnants of civilization in the greater Bengal region date back four thousand years,[7] when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word "Bangla" or "Bengal" is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from Bang, the Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.[8]

The kingdom of Gangaridai was formed from at least the seventh century BC, which later united with Bihar under the Magadha, Nanda, Mauryan and Sunga Empires. Bengal was later part of the Gupta Empire and Harsha Empire from the third to the sixth centuries CE. Following its collapse, a dynamic Bengali named Shashanka founded an impressive yet short-lived kingdom. Shashanka is considered the first independent king in the history of Bangladesh. After a period of anarchy, the Buddhist Pala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Arab Muslim merchants and Sufi missionaries, and subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region.[9] Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkic general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal in the year 1204. The region was ruled by dynasties of Sultans and land lords Bhuiyan for the next few hundred years. By the 16th century, the Mughal Empire controlled Bengal, and Dhaka became an important provincial centre of Mughal administration.
European traders arrived late in the 15th century, and their influence grew until the British East India Company gained control of Bengal following the Battle of Plassey in 1757.[10] The bloody rebellion of 1857, known as the Sepoy Mutiny, resulted in transfer of authority to the crown, with a British viceroy running the administration. During colonial rule, famine racked the Indian subcontinent many times, including the Great Bengal famine of 1943 that claimed 3 million lives.

Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones, with Dhaka being the capital of the eastern zone. When India was partitioned in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines (for the majority Muslims), with the western part going to India and the eastern part joining Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), with its capital at Dhaka. In 1950, land reform was accomplished in East Bengal with the abolishment of the feudal zamindari system. However, despite the economic and demographic weight of the east, Pakistan's government and military were largely dominated by the upper classes from the west. The Bengali Language Movement of 1952 was the first sign of friction between the two wings of Pakistan. Dissatisfaction with the central government over economic and cultural issues continued to rise through the next decade, during which the Awami League emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population. It agitated for autonomy in the 1960s, and in 1966, its president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was jailed; he was released in 1969 after an unprecedented popular uprising.

In 1970, a massive cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan, killing up to half a million people, and the central government responded poorly. The Bengali population's anger was compounded when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose Awami League won a majority in Parliament in the 1970 elections, was blocked from taking office. After staging compromise talks with Mujib, President Yahya Khan arrested him on the early hours of March 26, 1971, and launched Operation Searchlight, a sustained military assault on East Pakistan. Yahya's methods were extremely bloody, and the violence of the war resulted in many civilian deaths . Chief targets included intellectuals and Hindus, and about ten million refugees fled to neighbouring India. Estimates of those massacred throughout the war range from three hundred thousand to 3 million.

Before his arrest by the Pakistan Army, Sk. Mujibur Rahman formally declared the independence of Bangladesh and directed everyone to fight till the last soldier of the Pakistan army was evicted from East Pakistan. Awami League leaders set up a government-in-exile in Calcutta, India. The exile government formally took oath at Mujib Nagar in Kustia district of East Pakistan on April 14, 1971 with Tajuddin Ahmad as the first Prime Minister. The Bangladesh Liberation War lasted for nine months. The Bangladesh Forces formed within 11 sectors led by General M.A.G. Osmani consisting of Bengali Regulars and Mukti Bahini conducted a massive guerilla war against the Pakistan Forces with all out support from the Indian Armed Forces. Jointly the Mitro Bahini achieved a decisive victory over Pakistan on December 16, 1971, with Indian Armed Forces taking over 90,000 prisoners of war.
After its independence, Bangladesh became a parliamentary democracy, with Mujib as the Prime Minister. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974, and in early 1975, Mujib initiated a one-party socialist rule with his newly formed BAKSAL. On August 15, 1975, Mujib with most of his family members were assassinated by mid-level military officers.

A series of bloody coups and counter-coups in the following three months culminated in the ascent to power of General Ziaur Rahman, who reinstated multi-party politics & founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia's rule ended when he was assassinated in 1981 by elements of the military. Bangladesh's next major ruler was General Hossain Mohammad Ershad, who gained power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled until 1990, when he was forced to resign under massive revolt of all major political and the public, nevertheless western donor pressure in a major shift in international policy after the end of communism. Since then, Bangladesh has reverted to a parliamentary democracy. Zia's widow, Khaleda Zia, led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to parliamentary victory at the general election in 1991 and became the first female Prime Minister in Bangladesh's history. However, the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Hasina, one of Mujib's surviving daughters, clinched power at the next election in 1996 but lost to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party again in 2001.

In January 11, 2007, following widespread political unrest, a caretaker government was appointed to administer the next general election. The country had suffered from extensive corruption, disorder and political violence. The new caretaker government has made it a priority to root out corruption from all levels of government. To this end, many notable politicians and officials, along with large numbers of lesser officials and party members, have been arrested on corruption charges. The caretaker government held a fair and free election on December 29, 2008. Awami League's Sheikh Hasina won the elections with a landslide victory and took oath of Prime Minister on 6 Jan 2009

Rock 'n' Roll is popularized with the help of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley.
# The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, and Richie Valens are killed in a tragic plane crash in 1959.
# Many artists of the 1950s provide popular songs considered today as candidates for the first rock and roll song. One such song is "The Fat Man" by Fats Domino in 1949 while "Rocket 88" is another popular candidate.
# Songs about automobiles become popular as cars become more powerful. "Rocket 88" and "Jaguar and Thunderbird" are major examples.
# Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" becomes the first major rock hit.
# Elvis Presley becomes a phenomenal success. His raunchy performance on The Ed Sullivan Show is censored by only showing him from the waist up
The 1950s was the decade that started on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. During the early 1950s in the United States manufacturing and home construction was on the rise as the American economy was on the upswing. The Korean War and the beginning of the Cold War created a politically conservative climate. The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States played out through the entire decade. The Red Scare, fear of communism, caused public Congressional hearings by both houses in Congress and Anti-Communism was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout the decade. Conformity and conservatism characterized the social mores of the time. The 1950s in the developed western world are generally considered both socially conservative and highly materialistic in nature.[citation needed] The beginning of decolonization in Africa and Asia occurred in this decade and accelerated in the following decade of the 1960s.

India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi). It is bordered by Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

Home to the Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread non-violent resistance.

India is a republic consisting of 28 states and seven union territories with a parliamentary system of democracy. It has the world's twelfth largest economy at market exchange rates and the fourth largest in purchasing power. Economic reforms since 1991 have transformed it into one of the fastest growing economies; however, it still suffers from high levels of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and malnutrition. A pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

Port Louis was founded by the French around 1735 as a reprovisioning halt for their ships travelling around the Cape of Good Hope, and was built by skilled Tamilian craftsmen from India around 1728. The Port is named in honour of King Louis XV. The first Governor was Count Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais. doubtful historical accuracy, biassed towards the author's ethnic origins
Geography




The City of Port Louis is located at 20°10' South, 57°31'30" East Its localities include Plaine Verte, Chinatown, Ward IV, Vallee Pitot, Tranquebar and city centre. Port Louis is capital of the District of Port Louis.
Port Louis has conserved many historic and colonial buildings through the years. One of them is a fortification named Fort Adelaide or La Citadelle, built by the British in 1835. The latter dominates the city. From there, one can observe most of the city's architecture. Port Louis is surrounded by a mountain range, called the Port Louis Moka Range. Among its most famous mountains are Le Pouce and Pieter Both which stand about 800 metres from sea level. One of the most popular attractions is the country's national derby called Champ de Mars, which is the oldest race course (1812) in the Indian Ocean and the second oldest in the southern Hemisphere. Other famous destinations include the Police Barracks known as Les Casernes and the Port Louis Waterfront.



Aerial view of Port Louis and harbour.

The Mauritius Institute, dedicated to the study of the island's flora and fauna, is in Port Louis. Citizens often climb up the Signaux mountain, which is a 3-km track, that leads to over 300 metres high. From there, one can appreciate the landscape of the city.




Attractions include the Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis Bazaar, the Mauritian Chinatown and the old Port Louis theatre. The capital has also three museums which are: the Mauritius Natural History Museum, the Blue Penny Museum and the Mauritius Stamp Museum. The biggest and oldest post office in Mauritius is found near the Caudan Waterfront. Situated in the heart of the city, near the State Bank Tower, the Place d'Armes is easily recognizable by its tall palm trees. It is the main entrance to and out of Port Louis.
Port Louis' banking district, and the main avenue leading to the Government House (seen in the background).




Port Louis is the busiest city of the country. It faces heavy traffic congestion as there is only one motorway which leads in and out of the city. The busiest hours are 8am and 5pm, which roughly correspond to the working hours for the majority of enterprises. Parking is another big problem the city faces. The financial centre is also located there, with the Bank of Mauritius, the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd and the State Bank of Mauritius, all having their headquarters there.

The busiest street is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Street, formerly known as Rue Desforges. It leads directly to the Municipality of Port Louis, the Jummah Mosque, and Kadafi Square, which is a hot place for local food. Ornately and colourfully decorated Tamil temples such as the Kaliammen Kovil and the Tamil temple of Saint-Croix overlook the port,
There is an Jewisch cemetery Saint–Martin (1941-1945) and also a Chinese Burial ground where elaborate memorials have been erected. Dead bodies are kept in the Kit Lock which is located in the center of the city.




The skyline of Port Louis has completely changed in the last fifteen years mainly due to construction booms in the 1990s and 2000s, where many of the tallest high-rise buildings have been built. The city centre has the tallest buildings in Mauritius, including a few skyscrapers, which is unusual for a small island in Africa. Port Louis is currently undergoing a major construction boom with the extension of the Caudan Waterfront and new towers.

Port Louis also harbours some major schools. The Royal College of Port Louis and the Loreto College of Port Louis forms part of the Star Colleges of Mauritius. Bell-village SSS, and Port-Louis SSS, and Renganaden Seeneevasen are also colleges with positive academic achievement.
Economy
The city of Port Louis.

The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can accommodate fourth and fifth generation container vessels. At present, only Cape Town and Port Louis can achieve that in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, existing equipments in the port are overstretched and delays frequently occur. Two new gantry cranes (to be delivered in December 2007) will boost annual throughput capacity. Manufacturing is dominated by clothing and textiles, but also includes chemicals, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. Tourism is also important. The development of the Caudan Waterfront, central to Port Louis, with shopping and cinema facilities, appeals to tourists visiting the city. Port Louis is the second most important financial center in Africa after Johannesburg. It is the city with the highest per capita income in Africa.
Demographics

The population of the city is now largely made up of the descendants of laborers who were hired for labor from India in the 19th century. Slaves were previously introduced by the British and French who colonized the island in the 18th century. After the abolition of slavery in 1835, many Indian and Chinese workers were brought to work the land, and cultivate sugar cane, at that time used to produce rum. The Immigration Depot in Port Louis is a World Heritage Site commemorating this great migration.
The city in the mid-1980s.

Currently, the majority of the population, more than 75 percent, are Indians of mixed origins (a significant percentage being followers of the Hindu and Muslim faith), with the rest from Africa and a minority of Chinese and Eurasian.
Culture

Port Louis has attracted various artists and writers in the past, among the most renowned of them are Bernardin de Saint Pierre, Mark Twain, Nicolas Pike, Charles Baudelaire, and Paul-Jean Toulet.

Mauritian writers like Malcolm de Chazal, Marcel Cabon, Félix Laventure, Loys Masson and Marie-Thérèse Humbert chose Port Louis and its vicinities as locations for some of their novels and poetry.

Other Port Louis born poets and writers, like Robert Edward Hart and Khal Torabully, also made of this intricate and fascinating town the setting of some of their texts.

German-language music include Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), Krautrock, Hamburger Schule, Volksmusik, German hip hop, trance, Schlager and multiple varieties of folk music. Classical composers include Richard Wagner and Johann Sebastian Bach, while Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was among many opera composers who created the field of German opera.

The beginning of what is now considered German music could be traced back to the 12th century compositions of mystic abbess Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote a variety of hymns and other kinds of Christian music.

Greek folk music includes a variety of styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, the United States and elsewhere. Apart from the common music found all-around Greece, there are distinct types of folk music, sometimes related to the history or simply the taste of the specific places.Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean but Greeks have always been centred around the Aegean Sea, where the Greek language has been spoken since antiquity.
Cyprus
Main article: Music of Cyprus

Cyprus is an independent country, currently contested between the Republic of Cyprus and the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Cyprus' folk traditions include dances like the sousta, syrtos, zeimbekikos, dachas, and the kartsilamdhes.