Cultures Of India

Indian culture is unique and varied. This section on culture of India contains information on various aspects of the great Indian culture. The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India.

India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world religions, Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism and Sikhism .A combination of these factors has resulted into an exclusive culture- Indian culture. Indian culture is a composite mixture of varying styles and influences. In the matter of cuisine, for instance, the North and the South are totally different.

Festivals in India are characterized by color, gaiety, enthusiasm, prayers and rituals. In the realm of music, there are varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The classical tradition of music in India includes the Carnatic and the Hindustani music .

Indian Music
Music is one of the oldest and finest forms of human expression. The Vedas are set to a distinctive melody that has been passed down through the centuries in an unbroken oral tradition. According to a Hindu legend, music is a divine gift to man. Sarasvati, consort of Brahma, is the goddess of music and all five arts.

Paintings in India
Hindu legends and myths mention the making of Poraiture Chitralekha is mentioned as the first woman painter who was an accomplished port raitist. Such paintings were to be found in palaces of Kosala and Magadha. Walls were decorated with co loured murals representing human beings, animals, religious paintings were being made on cloth or wood.

Indian Art and Handicrafts
India's vast cultural diversity has resulted in a treasure trove of handicrafts. The cultural exuberance and composite tradition that make this blend has found full expression in heart-warming creations of master craftspersons. These creators are extraordinary and have inherited and honed ancestral skills to perfection.

Cuisines and Dining Choices
Indians food is a gift of gods and is treated with respect. Based on pragmatic medical precepts evolved over centuries of experimentation and observation, Indian food is aimed at nourishing the body and is pleasing to the mind and eyes. Ingredients of each meals are based on six rasas or flavors-sweet, salty, bitter, astringent, sour and pungent each ingredient believed to have particular physical benefit on application of the right proportionate use.

Museums And Art Galleries
Museums and art galleries are the treasure houses of Indian cultural heritage and display collections of artefact's, scientifically classified transporting visitors on a quick fulfilling journey to ancient times of imperial dynasties to view for themselves the wonder that was India. The British in the 19th century set up a number of institutions to explore and document the wealth of material available in the country.

Indian Dances
The tradition of the performing arts in India has its roots in the Vedas in which ritual manifested itself through music and dance. Dance is perhaps one of the earliest fine arts evolved by mankind and considered as part of the religion as the first dance performed is believed to be the cosmic dance of Shiva at the creation of the universe.

Indian Sculptures
Indus valley civilization "3000 BC and possibly 5000 BC" cites specimen of beads, animals carved on limestone trees and some human figure , a small stone dancing, an exquisitely bronze girl and the bust of a priest with a shawl with a trefoil pattern. Terracotta is the medium for objects used in rituals like the mother goddess figurines as well as as for recreation like toys.

Shopping In India
An inextricable part of the great Indian shopping scene are the local fairs held periodically all over the country, street side bazaars with their pavement stalls, and in dimly lit shops that invariably surround many of the country's ancient monuments. In Mumbai's Chor Bazaar ( Thieves Market), it is literally possible to buy everything from a pin to an elephant and an antique, if one is lucky.

Temples In India
Temple is a place of worship. Hindu temple was center of all community life and towns grew up around temples. The great temples look many years to build and gave employment to thousands of skilled and unskilled workers. Hundreds of others were employed in the service of the deity and perform the daily rituals of the temple, which can be witnessed even today.