Culture is defined as a people’s way of life. It also entails how they dress, how they speak, the type of food they eat, the manner in which they worship, and their art among many other things.
Indian culture, therefore, is the Indians’ way of life. Because of the population diversity, there is immense variety in Indian culture. The Indian culture is a blend of various cultures belonging to belonging to diverse religion, castes, regions follow their own tradition and culture.
Indian Culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world. India had an urban civilization even during the Bronze age. The Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan Civilization) dates back to 3300 BC – 1300 BC.
Distinct cultures cultures different from each other co-exist together in a single country. Thus, In India there is unity amidst vast cultural diversity. The way people live in India is reflected its culture.
Unity in Diversity: India is a land of unity in diversity where people of different sects, caste and religion live together. India is also called the land of unity in diversity as different groups of people co-operate with each other to live in a single society. Unity in diversity has also become strength of India.
Secularism: The word secularism means equality, impartiality, etc. towards all religion. India is a secular country, which means, equal treatment of all the religions present in India.
Religions
India is birth place of four major religions, such as, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.
Other religions exist as minorities here, including Abrahamic religions.
India is called a land of diversity, i.e., people belonging to almost every faith can be found in India. Many religions coexist in India such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrians, Judaism and many more. People of all religions live together with great peace.
Hinduism: Hinduism is one of the oldest religions that originated from India. The religion has preserved its culture since ancient times.
Islam: Islam is one of the prominent religions of India. There is huge impact of Islam in the Indian society.
Christianity: A large number of people in India belong to Christian faith. St. Thomas is one of the people credited for propagating Christianity in India.
Jainism: Jain religion was founded by Mahavira.
Buddhism: Buddhism was brought by Gautama Buddha.
Sikhism: Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak.
Languages
India is home to numerous languages, including Sanskrit which is one of the oldest languages in the world. Other languages such as Hindi are commonly spoken throughout the Indian subcontinent, with regional variations.
As India is a land of diversity, different types of languages are found across different places in India. Each area has their own languages and people like to speak in their mother language.
There are innumerable speakers as well as innumerable languages prevailing in India. The prominent languages in India besides English and Hindi are Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi and many more.
Festivals
There are different types of festivals celebrated in India with joy and happiness. Different people celebrate different festivals as per their religion, caste and culture. People celebrate National festivals like Independence Day, Republic Day as well as religion festivals like Diwali, Holi, Eid, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, Christmas, New Year and many more.
Dance
The discussion on Indian culture would remain incomplete if we do not discuss the various classical and fold dance forms of India. India is a land of diverse dance forms. The main Indian dances are Folk Dance and Classical Dance.
The most popular Classical dance forms are Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, etc.
Folk dances are mainly performed in any occasion like birth of a child, festivals, harvesting seasons, wedding events, etc.
Folk Dances include Gaur Dance, Chhau Dance, Bihu Dance, Dumhal Dance, Padayani Dance, Dollu Kunitha Dance, Dandiya Dance and many more. These are celebrated in different occasions by the people of India.
Clothing
Clothing style in India varies from region to region, state to state. Indians wear both traditional dresses and western attire as well.
When a child is born, langotas and loincloths are the only clothing equipment to the cover the whole body of a child.
Apart from all the western clothes, Indians have their own ethnic wear like dhoti, kurta, salwar kameez, sari, sherwani, turban, etc.
Dhoti is a piece of cloth that is draped and tied by men around their waist. Dhoti is also known as Dhuti or Laacha.
Kurta is one of the famous ethnic wear of men in India. Now-a-days, it is generally worn by the people during festive occasions.
Similarly, Saree is the popular choice for female members of the Indian society. A saree is a long garment that women drape gracefully around her body. Saree is the most fashionable dress for Indian women around the world. During religious and cultural events, Indian women are mostly seen in beautiful sarees.
Food (Cuisine): Culinary traditions
From ultra spicy food to delectable confectionery and southern curries flavored with kokum, Indian culinary culture is delicious and diverse.
Not only in taste but also in the way of cooking, Indian foods are totally different from the rest of the world. Indian foods showcase the perfect mixture of tradition, culture, and love. It is evolving from ages and that’s why there are different forms of Indian food.
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