Indian culture is one of the oldest and unique culture and people follows amazing cultural diversity throughout the world. India is the country where the culture echoes, tradition speaks, beauty captivate and the diversity pleasures and where the entire universe reside and follows.
Religions:
Throughout India’s history, religion plays an important role in country’s culture. India is the birthplace of world’s four major religions to be specific Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism which even exists till today. In modern period new religions were also found in India. The religion Hinduism is dominated than other religions. More than 80% of Indians are Hindus.
Languages:
Aplenty of languages available in India depending on different types of people and region. According to the census reported at 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. Government of India has rewarded the difference of traditional language to Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Oriya.
Festivals:
India is also well described as a land of festivals. Many festivals celebrated by differnt types of people in India. Popular religious festivals comprises the Hindu festivals of Makar Sankranti, Maha Shivaratri, Diwali, Pongal, Onam, Rakshabanthan, Ganesha Chaturthi, Holi, Dussehra. Sikh festivals like Guru Nanak Jayanti. Islamic festivals of Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid an-Nabi and Christian festivals of Christmas and days of observances like as Good Friday are observed all over the country. People wear new clothes with joy and visits neighbor to exchange their wishes with sweets.
Art :
Indian art consists various art deigns including visual arts like Cave painting, plastic arts ( pottery and sculpture) and textile arts like woven silks. Bhimbetka rock shelters shows a man riding a horse. It has been considered as UNESCO World Heritage Site. People and tribal art in India takes on variously displayed through different medias such as pottery, painting, metalwork, paper-art, weaving and designing of objects such as jewelry and toys. In the earliest indian region, the Buddhism created temple arts are the inspiring major artistic monuments. As soon as the Buddhists formed rock -cut caves, the Hindus and jains started to do like them at Elephanta, Mamallapuram, Aurangabad, Badami and so on.
Dances in India:
Dance can be composed f various styles in country. Shiva popularly known as Nataraja is praised as the Lord of Dance in Hinduism. From different parts of the India, different forms of dances arises in Indian culture. Bharathanatiyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Sattriya are different types of styles. Kuchipidi, Bharathanatiyam, Odissi and Sattriya were classical dances whereas Kathakali is a highly stylized.
Heritage:
The most popular and well known example is Tajmahal, built by Shah Jahan to his wife Mumtaz. Other heritage sites are Agra Fort, Ajanta Caves, Churches and Convents of Goa, Elephanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Great Living Chola Temples, Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, Hill Forts of Rajasthan, Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi, Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi,Red Fort Complex, Mountain Railways of India, Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka , Sun Temple and so on.
Foods and clothing :
Wheat, basmati rice and pulses with Bengal gram are important foods of the Indian diet. The foods rich with curries and spices includes ginger, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, dried hot peppers, and cinnamon, among others. Chutneys such as coconut, tamarind and tomatoes and mint are used generally used in Indian cooking. Colorful silk saree wearing women are recognized as Indians. For men dhotis and Kurthas wears usually and for special occasions they wear Sherwani.
Not just the previous things like festivals, arts, foods, cloths and dances tat depicts our Indian culture but its main strength its unity, humanity, secularism, tolerance.
Image by runwitme’s, livingon112, Muzammil Khamgaon, Jitendra Singh : Indian Travel Photographer