Indian culture is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is an amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved its own cultural niche. If compared, there is hardly any eulture in the world that is as varied and unique as India's. India is a vast country with a variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India, a place of infinite variety, is fascinating with its ancient and complex culture, dazzling contrasts and breathtaking physical beauty.
3. INDIAN CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Indian culture is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is an amazing cultural diversity throughout
the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has
carved its own cultural niche. If compared, there is hardly any eulture in the world that is as varied and
unique as India's. India is a vast country with a variety of geographical features and climatic conditions.
India, a place of infinite variety, is fascinating with its ancient and complex culture, dazzling contrasts and
breathtaking physical beauty.
Most tourists who come to India are amazed by personally observing the Indian culture. Since India is
vastly populated, its perpetual cultural diversity is amazingly spread out. Still one thing that is common in
these millions of peoples their love for the eulture. India is the best place in the world to see the different
cultures from modern to ancient and find the similarities in these diversified cultures.
The Indian culture has never been rigid and that's why it's surviving with pride in the modern era. It
timely imbibes the qualities of various other cultures and comes out as a contemporary and acceptable
tradition. On the world stage, either through international film festivals or through beauty pageants,
India regularly displays its talent and culture.
INTRODUCTION :
4. According to Ethnologue, India is considered to be the home to 398
languages out of which 11 have been reported extinct. In India, some
1652 dialects were recorded in a census made in 1961. Another
census was initiated way back 2001 and it showed that for more than
half a million inhabitants, there are 29 languages being spoken. This is
why Indian language translation is a tough one. Dialects in India vary
depending on demographie location. Although the constitution of
India stipulates that the main language of the country is Hindi in
Devanagari script, languages of native tongues are still very much
alive.
LANGUAGES OF INDIA
6. India is undoubtedly, a land of festivals. There are festivals for every
season, for every legend & myth, every region and every religious place.
Some are exclusive to certain communities & religions while others have a
national & secular character about them. Indian festivals are celebrated
according to the solar and lunar calendars. Consequently, dates & months
may vary accordingly.
The Hindu celebrations of Diwali, Holi, Durga puja and Kali puja are
the most popular religious holidays in India and therefore are considered
public holidays by the government. This means that all children have the
day off from school and most employees have the day off from work.
Throughout India, there are dozens of festivals and celebrations that take
place celebrating different religious and cultural occasions. Although these
are not considered to be "national" or "public" holidays by the Indian
government, they are nevertheless observed and employees are allowed to
take an unpaid day off for the ones in which they honor.
INDIAN FESTIVELS
7. Diwali :
SOME OF THE FESTIVALS CELEBRATED
IN INDIA...
Deepawali or Diwali is certainly the biggest and the brightest of
all Hindu festivals. It's the festival of lights (deep = light and avali= a row i.e., a
row of lights) that's marked by four days of celebration, which literally illumines
the country with its brilliance, and dazles all with its joy. Each of the four days
in the festival of Diwali is separated by a different tradition, but what remains
true and constant is the celebration of life, its enjoyment and goodness.
Of all the festivals celebrated in India, Diwali is by far the most glamorous
and important. Enthusiastically enjoyed by people of every religion, its magical
and radiant touch creates an atmosphere of joy and festivity It is a festival of
lights symbolizing the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual
darkness. It celebrates the victory of good over evil - and the glory of light.
This festival commemorates Lord Rama's return to his kingdom Ayodhya after
completing his 14-year exile. Homes are decorated, sweets are distributed by
everyone and thousands of lamps lit to create a world of fantasy.
8. Holi :
Holi is a joyous celebration of the rejuvenation of nature, and
renewed hope of happiness and peaceful coexistence. People throw colored
water and powders (gulal and kumkum) at each other and make merry.
Singing and dancing add to the gaiety of the occasion. The exuberant display
of colors symbolizes the advent of a colorful and prosperous spring season.
Holi is celebrated all over India with color, music, dance and bonfires. It
marks the beginning of summer. It also celebrates the end of cold and
hardship, and the successful harvest of the winter crop. For Hindus all over
the world, Holi also celebrates the victory of good over evil, symbolized in the
story of Prahlad, the young boy who overcame evil and tyranny, by his
steadfast faith in Vishnu.
This festival also dilutes all boundaries of class, creed or gender. After
getting their faces painted by myriad colours and splashes of water, it
becomes hard to differentiate the class and cast. Hence it also signifies the
equality of being human.
9. Ganesh Chaturthi :
Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi is the Hindu festival
celebrated on the birthday (rebirth) of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and
Parvati. Ganesha is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and
good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or
at the start of travel. He is the Lord who is believed to remove all obstacles on
the path of the spiritual aspirant, and bestows upon him worldly as well as
spiritual Success.
He is known'to be the Lord of Power and Wisdom. He is the eldest son of
Lord Shiv and Goddess Parvati. He has as his vehicle a small mouse,The
signifiqance of riding on a mouse is the complete conquest over egoism.
People bring home idols of Lord Ganesha and celebrate the festival by
worshiping the Lord in a special way for a day and a half,5 days 1 days or 11
daysdepending on the family tradition and commitment of each individual On
the last day.of worship the idol is taken out in a colourful and musical
procession to be immersed traditionally at a beach.
10. Eid :
Eid Eid also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, the Sugar Feast, the
Sweet Festival is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims
worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting
At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Fitr. The entire community
comes together for special prayers and to congratulate each other. The rest of
the day is typically spent visiting friends and family, enjoying time together.
The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-
sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan.
The traditional Eid greeting is Eid Mubarak, and it is frequently followed by
a formal embrace. Gifts are frequently given- new clothes are part of the
tradition- and it is also common for children to be given small sums of money
(Eidi) by their elders. It is common for children to offer salaam to parents and
adult relatives.
It is common for non-Muslims to visit their Muslim friends and neighbors
on Eid to convey their good wishes.
11. Durga Puja :
Durga Puja, major festival of Hinduism, traditionally held for
10 days in the month of Ashvina (September–October), the seventh month of
the Hind calendar, and particularly celebrated in Bengal, Assam, and other
eastern Indian states. Durga Puja celebrates the victory of the
goddess Durga over the demon king Mahishasura. It begins on the same day
as Navratri, a nine-night festival in many northern and western states that
more broadly celebrates the divine feminine (shakti).
Durga Puja’s first day is Mahalaya, which heralds the advent of the
goddess. Celebrations and worship begin on Sasthi, the sixth day. During the
following three days, the goddess is worshipped in her various forms as
Durga, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. The celebrations end with Vijayadashami
(“Tenth Day of Victory” ), when, amid loud chants and drumbeats, sacred
images are carried in huge processions to local rivers, where they are
immersed. That custom is symbolic of the departure of the deity to her home
and to her husband, Shiva, in the Himalayas. Images of the goddess astride a
lion, attacking the demon king Mahishasura are placed at various pandals
(elaborately decorated bamboo structures and galleries) and temples.
12. Kali Puja :
Goddess Kali is represented as a woman with dark skin, four
hands and long flowing hair. The top left hand holds a kharga, or sword, while
the bottom left hand holds the head of a demon she has slayed. The right
hands show the Abhaya Mudra, signifying protection, and Varada Mudra for
granting boons. She adorns herself with a garland of severed necks and has
her tongue protruding out of her mouth. Her iconography is complete with one
foot on the thigh and the other on the chest of her husband Lord Shiva.
During Kali Puja, huge marquees are erected across Bengal, and temples
dedicated to the goddess are cleaned and decorated. Idols of Goddess Kali
are housed inside the marquees and on the day of the puja, devotees fast
throughout the day and worship the deity at the Nishita Time of Amavasya.
Various offerings are given to the Goddess including fruits, sweets, bhog,
clothes and hibiscus flower. Rice and lentil too play an indispensable part of
the bhog and khichdi made from them are offered to the Goddess.
13. Dussehra :
The name Dussehra is derived from Sanskrit Dasha-hara literally
means removal of ten referring to Lord Rama's victory over the ten-headed
demon king Ravana. The day also marks the victory of Goddess Durga over
the demons.The name Vijayadashami is also derived from the Sanskrit words
"Vijaya-dashmi" literally meaning the victory on the dashmi(Dashmi being the
tenth lunar day of the Hindu calendar month).
It is believed that the celebration of Dussehra started in the 17th century,
when the king of Mysore ordered the celebration of the day on a grand scale.
Ever since, the day is celebrated with great fervor and energy. Many people of
the Hindu faith observe Dussehra through special prayer meetings and food
offerings to the gods at home or in temples throughout India. They also hold
outdoor fairs (melas) and large parades with effigies of Ravana (a mythical
king of ancient Sri Lanka). The effigies are burnt on bonfires in the evening.
Dussehra is the culmination of the Navaratri festival.
14. India today is unfolding a story of a billion plus people, or more precisely, one
sixth of the world's population, on a big move as India's large and complex
systems rapidly moving top- down and the country emerge as one of the
fastest growing economies of the world.
India is probable the only country in the world where people belonging
to different religions, castes and creeds, speaking different languages, having
different cultures, different modes of living, different clothing, different
feeding habits, worshiping different gods and deity live together in harmony
and believe to be the children of one mother-MOTHER INDIA.
