All about the Inner Realm

Enjoy your visit to the Inner Realm! Here are a few ready-reference factoids about Patria:

Capital City: Castoropolis (in Sanskrit: Kashipura), Patria's largest city, containing elements of Washington, DC, Canberra, Brasilia and New Delhi in its street layout and topography.

States or Provinces: Yes, but they're called Precincts. Patria consists of 13 Precincts: Aeolia, Ambrosia, Antioch, Arboria, Caesarea, Canardière, Centralia, Fredonia, Haldimania, Lazuria, Mauretania, Nova Columbia, Pottsylvania. Like other capitals such as Washington, Mexico City, New Delhi and Canberra, Patria's capital city is contained in the Federal District of Castorpolis (cf. District of Columbia, Distrito Federal, Union Territory of Delhi, or Australian Capital Territory). The Ministry of External Affairs of Patria strongly favours separating Ottawa from Ontario and Hull from Québec, to create a Canadian National Capital Region/Région de la capitale nationale.

Ceremonial Head of State: Saraswati Devi. Represented in Congress, as Speaker of the House, by her avatar (incarnation), Amma Karunamayi Sri Sri Sri Vijayeswari Devi.

Extra-Territorial or colonial claims: Madagascar and the Spratly Islands. These claims date from shortly after 1818 and have never been contested by any other country, so they must be kosher. The Madagascar claim, however, was abandoned in the early 1980's after Congress failed to ratify a constitutional amendment that would have made the tenrec (a small hedgehog-like mammal found only in Madagascar) Patria's national animal.

Official languages: English [de facto working language], Sanskrit [spiritual lingua franca], Patrienish, a quasi-Romance/Indo-European based language, with many Sanskrit borrowings. If you are interested in learning Sanskrit, visit the American Sanskrit Institute. "Shusha", a free Devanagari Windows True Type font for Sanskrit and Hindi, may be downloaded here. Sanskrit texts on Patria's web pages have been typed with the "Shusha" font.

Currency: Patrienish Rupee (RsPat.) $1.00 U.S. had been fixed for years at 37.5 RsPat., but as of 2017 it is now trading at approximately 48 RsPat to one USD. Better (or sometimes worse) exchange rates are usually available on the black market.

National Anthem: Ma'oz Tzur, a traditional Hebrew Hanukkah song. An English translation, Rock of Ages (not to be confused with Christian hymn; click on link to hear a MIDI version), written by 19th century rabbis Marcus Jastrow and Gustav Gottheil, is the official English version:

Rock of Ages, let our song praise Thy saving power.
Thou amidst the raging foes wast our sheltering tower.
Furious they assailed us,
But Thine arm availed us.
And Thy word broke their sword,
When our own strength failed us.

The Patrienish lyrics are as follows:

Ramrajya, illíx stotríx Tía shaktí laüdaquämi.
Apí rudríxæ shatríxæ bhuvís nostríen raxxatí.
Rudríx nosím assilínt
Tía ashtrí íllím fecafugít.
Tía shastrí brít íun gladí
Í svaní balí fallaxít.

Flag:

In use since 1818, officially standardized Jan. 25, 1973 by the 39th Congress: a tricolour saltire similar to the Jamaican flag, but with red, white and blue where Jamaica's flag has green, gold and black respectively. Looks like Scotland's St. Andrew's Cross, but with red instead of blue in the upper and lower quadrants.

Ensign:

Adopted July 17, 1992 by the 44th Congress. The "Om" symbol in saffron-orange centered in the fly is recognized as the symbol of yoga and Hinduism.

Coat of Arms:

Shield/Escutcheon: Bleu Celeste, a dove volant Argent, in the beak a sprig of olive Vert; issuant from the base a demi-sun in its splendour Or, having 13 rays Or, upon which is charged the Omkara ("Om") device Sable; on a chief a saltire Argent, per Gules and Azure (i.e. the flag of Patria, see above for non-heraldic description).
Crest: On a wreath Argent and Sable, a bald eagle Proper.
Supporters: Dexter (i.e. viewer's left): Female South Asian Indian representing the Divine Mother, wearing a sari and supporting in exterior hand the Trishula (trident) of Shiva.

Sinister (i.e. viewer's right): Male Canadian hoser-type or Voyageur, the symbol of Laurentian University, wearing a lumberjack flannel shirt, jeans and toque, and supporting in exterior hand a paddle. Beauty, eh? :-)
Motto: Sable on a scroll Argent: AQUILA CUM COLUMBA VOLAT ("The eagle flies with the dove"; from lyrics of Stephen Stills song Love the One You're With, translated into Latin.)

National Holidays: New Year's Day, Jan. 1; Flag Day, Jan. 25; Election Day, every fourth year on the third Saturday of April (April 21, 2018); Patriot's Day, third Monday in April; Independence Day and (every fourth year) Inauguration Day of new Congress, June 30; Initiation Day or Dharma Day, July 17; Solstice/Yule, Dec. 21-25 (official secular or neo-Pagan replacement for Christmas), Mahasamadhi/Saptah Day, Dec. 29. Other holidays such as Shiva Ratri, Janamashtami, Guru Purnima, Diwali, and Navratri are celebrated according to the Hindu lunar calendar; the Gregorian calendar dates vary from year to year.

Flower:

Sacred Indian Lotus or Pink Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is Patria's official floral emblem, like the trillium in Ontario.

Inner Realm of Patria - Antarbhumi Ramrajya

An independent, unrecognized micronation since 1818