If you are an English-speaking traveller visiting India, Connect! will prove to be an invaluable companion. You can now express yourself, get your queries clarified, tackle most situations- including really tricky ones. Designed as a handy pocket book, replete with icons and colour coded pages, you will find it easy to use and a ready-help. The diverse range of phrases and contexts will help you deal with most things that come your way.

So, set off to explore the charm and grandeur of the India & Nepal and communicate with Connect! With Connect! your trip will be a cake walk.

Nepali, or Gorkhali as it is also called, is the language of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. It is also the official language of Sikkim state in India and spoken to a lesser extent in Bhutan and Burma; a somewhat similar dialect can be heard in the Indian states of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. Nepali evolved from Sanskrit, though it shows distinct Tibeto-Burman influences.

To an untrained ear Nepali sounds quite like Hindi, though the Persian influence is absent; it shares a common script with Hindi, though. Many Nepalis speak Hindi, and dialects of Hindi, as a second language so it would be advisable to carry a Connect Hindi phrasebook while travelling in the country.

The oldest Nepali inscriptions date back to 1321 but very little early literature is available. The best known writings in the language date back to the latter half of the 19th century, some of which are translations of Sanskrit works, of the Ramayana and even the Bible.

This Connect Phrasebook has a standardized version of Nepali that should help you negotiate your way through the streets of the enhancing Himalayan kingdom.

Happy exploring!

Cultural Influences in Nepal
Settlement in Nepal dates back to the pre-historic era. The small country shares its borders with China in the north and India on the other three sides; some of its oldest inhabitants were Tibeto-Burman in origin. It shares the cultural experiences of the Indian subcontinent.

Many dynasties ruled over Nepal, the most prominent among the early ones being the shakyas-siddhartha, later known as Gautam Buddha, was a shakyas prince-who ruled in the 6th century BC. Every now and then Nepal fell to powerful north India empires but retained its Buddist character. In the latter half of 11th century AD south Nepal was captured by the Chalukya’s of south India; their hegemony, though short-lived, was notable for the re-imposition of Hinduism in the region.

Much of Nepal’s subsequent history is marked by pretty quarrels between different kingdoms, and though various rulers attempted to resolve the differences none succeeded until the Gokha prithvi Narayan Shah in the 18th century. But peace did not last long. There were brief but bloody battles-first with Tibetans and then with the British East India Company-that took a toll on the kingdom. Nepal lost much of its territory (including several states in modern-day India) to the British and its borders were redefined once and for all.

Modern day Nepal has a majority Hindu Population and there are striking cultural similarities between the hilly regions of northern India, particularly Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. Its cultural diversity reflects its Tibeto-Burman and Indo-Aryan roots.

Contemporary Nepali
Nepali literature is still young and reflects the turbulence the country has witnessed in recent times. Nepal also has its own film industry, though Hindi movies and films songs are popular too. The scenic country has featured in a few Bollywood (the popular name for the Hindi film industry) films and occasionally films stars from Nepal have made their mark on the Indian silver screen.