Cultural diversity in India. Multiculturalism Festivals in India Miss universe & Miss world from India. Indian languages Namaskaar Indian cuisine Food

1. International Workshop
Telemark University, Norway
&
Tilak College of Education, Pune, India
8/ 02/2014
Indian Culture: Unity in Diversity
Dr. Namita S. Sahare
Asst. Professor
Tilak College of Education, Pune
guidance.18@gmail.com

2. India
 Pressing hands together with a smile to greet Namaste
/Namaskar a common cultural practice in India

4. How many Indian languages are there?
 While India has 22 separate official languages , it is
home to a total of 121 languages and 270 mother
tongues. It’s also home to the world’s oldest language,
Hindi.

5. Indian culture is one of the oldest and unique. Few
countries in the world have such an ancient and diverse
culture as India's. 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. Its
physical, religious and racial variety is as immense as its
linguistic diversity. Underneath this diversity lies the
continuity of Indian civilization and social structure from
the very earliest times until the present day.
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.

6. 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 people their love for the culture. India is
the world’s largest democracy.
Multiculturalism
relates to communities containing multiple cultures.
What makes Indian multiculturalism and multicultural
education unique is the fact that diversity is considered a
defining feature of both Indian identity and Indian
democracy.
Multiculturalism

7. Indian Cultural Diversity
The Indian culture has never been rigid &
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. The flexibility &
movement with time has made Indian Culture
fashionable and acceptable too.

8. Multicultural education
 Multicultural education is a philosophical concept built
on the ideals of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and
human dignity
 Multicultural education is a process that permeates all
aspects of school practices, policies and organization as
a means to ensure the highest level of academic
achievement for all students.
 It helps students develop a positive self-concept by
providing knowledge about the histories, cultures, and
contributions of diverse groups….Let’s have glimpses of
history & culture

9. India is the second richest centre of architectural heritage
in the world after Europe and may be no single country of the
world can match it in this respect.

10. Ajanta & ElloraCaves: Chaitya griha, kailasnath & Sanctuary
- Maharashtra. One of the most impressive rock-cut architectural
monuments in the world, built between 550 - 1000 AD. 34 caves
contain Buddhist, Hindu and Jain sanctuaries - possibly the most
splendid rock-cut cave in world.

11. Languages of India
According to Ethnologue, India is considered to be the
home to 398 languages out of which 11 have been reported
extinct.
Dialects in India vary depending on demographic 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.
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.

12. Languages of India: Water (vann)
= Paani, jal ,tani,neer,neeru,aab
Urdu
Punjabi
Rajasthani Sanskrit-Hindi
Gujarati
Marathi
Konkani
Kannada
Telgu-Tamil
Malayalam
Oriya
Bengali
Assamese
Manipuri

14. Agriculture & Food
Main crops: rice, wheat, Pulses, tea, sugar cane, spices
 Rice & chapatti
 Vegetables
 Seafood
 Meat
 Masala-spices
 Tea-common
drink

15. ‘FESTIVALS’

16. India is undoubtedly, a land of festivals. There are festivals for every
season, for every legend & myth, every region and every religious
place. Festivals of India are characterized by colour, enthusiasm,
feasts and a variety of prayers and rituals. Dance and music are essential
ingredients.
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. In India, festivals are marked by a warmth of
participation. Color and festivity also provide an occasion for
shopping when overnight small markets appear from
nowhere.

17. Someone once remarked that in India, there is a
festival on every day of the year. Kolkata is known as
city of Celebrations. This is not surprising considering
the innumerable gods, goddesses, saints, gurus and
prophets who are worshipped in India.
The numerous and varied festivals that are held
throughout the year offer a unique way of seeing
Indian culture at its best.
Indian Festivals

18. Some of the festivals celebrated
in India….

19. Makar Sankranti : 14th Jan.
 Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival. It marks the
transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Capricorn-
Makara rashi on its celestial path.
 This festival also comes as Thanksgiving to Mother
Nature for an abundance of crops, well being and
prosperity. The festivities include sweets made of
jaggery, green gram and sesame. The festival is known
as Sukarat in MP, Bhogali Bihu in Assam and West
Bengal, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Sankranti in Andhra
Maharastra and Karnataka and Uttarayan in
Rajasthan and Gujarat.

20. Holi: 16th, 21st March 2014
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. 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.

21. Baisakhi
Baisakhi is a festival celebrated across the
northern Indian subcontinent, especially in the Punjab region
by the Sikh Community. For the Sikh community this festival
commemorates the establishment of the Khalsa. This is the
time when harvest is gathered in and the farmer exults in the
fulfillment of his year's hard work. The fields can be seen full
of nature's bounty. Dressed in their typical folk attire, both
men and women, celebrate the day with Bhangra and Gidda.
On Baisakhi day, water is drawn from all
the sacred rivers of India and poured
in to the huge tank surrounding
the golden temple.

22. Ganesh Utsav: 29Aug-8 Sept
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.
On the last day of worship the idol is taken
out in a colourful and musical procession to
be immersed traditionally at a beach.
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, 7
days or 11 days

23. Durga Pooja / Navratri: The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn
are considered to be important junctions of climatic and solar influences. These two
periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother Durga. The
dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar. on which each
women follow tradition to wear three colours of dress on Navaratri.
 The International Art of Living Center in Bangalore, India, hosted thousands
persons from across the world for the Navratri 2012 Celebrations.
In addition to participating in meditations and prayers led by Sri Sri
Ravishankar, attendees also showcased traditions and songs from across the
world, and Sri Sri emphasized the idea of a “One World Family.”

24. 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 . They also hold outdoor
fairs (melas) and large parades
with effigies of Ravana ( king of
ancient Sri Lanka). The effigies
are burnt on bonfires in the
evening. Dussehra is the
culmination of the Navaratri
festival.

25. Diwali is certainly the biggest and
the brightest of all Hindu festivals.
Deepavali in Sanskrit is ‘a row of
lamps’.
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.
Diwali: 21 Oct-25 Oct 2014

26. 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 traditional Eid greeting is Eid
Mubarak, and it is frequently followed by
a formal embrace.
Eid

27. Christmas

28. &
Dance

32.  Clothing in India varies from region
to region depending on the ethnicity,
geography, climate and cultural
traditions of the people of that region.
 Women wear a sari, a long sheet of
colourful cloth, (5m to 7m)draped
over a fancy blouse
 Churidar, dupatta, Khara
Dupatta, gamchha,
kurta, mundum,
sherwani are
among other clothes.

33. Paithani sarees - Handwoven Pure silk saree
with golden thread.
Bandhani is a type of tie-dye practiced
mainly in
the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The
technique involves dyeing a fabric which is
tied tightly with a thread at several
points,thus producing a variety of patterns
like Leheriya, Mothra, Ekdali and Shikari
depending on the manner in which the cloth
is tied

35. Invoke Culture and Heritage.
 It is nearly impossible to complete a brave act without a reason for
doing so. Our various cultures and our rich heritage provide the
foundation for what we believe. “Son, you are a Ranveer and we have a
long history of standing on the side of justice.”
 When we invoke family pride in that manner, we are invoking the
heritage of our people and our nation. Teaching children /Students
their history and where they come from gives them the base they
require to display courage and righteousness.
 Spiritual Foundation. Our Creator has given us all the tools we need
to be great human beings. Since that is the case, then within every
living soul lies a brave heart. Give your child/student a solid and life-
lasting spiritual foundation.

36. Essentially, multicultural education is about social change
through education. It requires deep and critical thinking,
imagination, and commitment to another tomorrow, inclusive of
the wealth of all of our stories and peoples.
 Schools must find ways to respect the diversity of their
students as well as help to create a unified nation-state to
which all of the nation's citizens have allegiance.
 Multicultural education is another aspect of
the continuous human journey
toward justice and pushes us toward
the fulfillment of
the promises of democracy

37. 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 food habits, worshiping
different gods and deity live together in harmony and believe
to be the children of one mother-MOTHER INDIA.
Jai Hind!
Jai Bharat! Thank
You

38. References:
Banks, J. A. (1997a). Teaching strategies for ethnic studies. (6th edition).
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Banks, J. A. (1997b). Multicultural education: Characteristics and goals.
Banks, J. A Encyclopedia of diversity in Education
Reva Joshee, India, Multicultural Education
knowledge.sagepub.com
www.wondermondo.com
en.wikipedia.org