Cultural Facts About India

A land of traditional rituals, fascinating festivals and mesmerizing ceremonies, India flaunts a rich and diverse culture to the world. In fact, variety is the hallmark of Indian culture. The Indian culture is the combination of diverse sub-cultures, spread across the country and traditions that are several millennia old. Despite having a vast diversity in terms of religion, region and languages, the country stands united as a strong international power with its economy being one of the largest in the world. One of the most visited destinations by foreign tourists, India has a diversified landscape. Check out some interesting facts on Indian culture.

Interesting And Amazing Information On The Indian Culture

Indians greet each other by joining their hands together at their chest and using the phrase “Namaste” or “Namaskar”.
The guests are treated as God and are well taken care of, even if they are not the part of the family.
Respect for elders’ forms a major component in Indian culture. Since the elders are the driving force for any family, they are loved and respected by every individual in the family. Blessings from elders are taken by touching their feet.
The lesson ‘Respect one another’ is taught to every individual. All people are considered equal and there is no difference created in terms of caste, creed or sex.
Since childhood, Indian kids are taught to help someone in need of assistance. The rich culture teaches every Indian to multiply and spread joy and happiness and share sadness and pain.
Various Indian holidays and festivals are celebrated on a wide scale, irrespective of caste and creed. Some popular festivals include Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Pongal, Holi, Onam, Vijayadashami, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, Buddha Jayanti and Baisakhi. The three national holidays are Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanthi.
While India is the birthplace of religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, other religions like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam that arrived in the first millennium CE are also practiced in the country. Today, there are 11 different religions practiced in India.
The Indian cuisine is characterized by a variety of regional styles and sophisticated use of herbs and spices. While many traditional Indian dishes use chicken, goat, lamb, fish and other meats, a significant portion of the population consumes only vegetarian food.
The traditional clothing of Indians includes saris, ghagra-choli, salwar-kameez, dupatta, dhoti, pyjama and kurta. Nevertheless, Indo-Western clothing, a fusion of Western and Subcontinental fashion, has largely influenced the young generation. People can be found donning this fashion as well.
The traditional Indian music, also known as sangeet, focuses on vocals, instruments and dance and is quite popular amongst people in India. However, pop and rock music have also been widely appreciated by the Indians.
Indian architecture is another significant area that represents the diversity of Indian culture. One can find notable monuments like the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Fatehpur Sikri and Red Fort depicting the Mughal architecture. Mumbai’s Nariman Point is famous for its Art Deco buildings. South India boasts of several Hindu temples like Chennakesava Temple, Hoysaleswara Temple, Kesava Temple, Brihadeeswara Temple, the Sun Temple, Konark Temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and the Buddha Stupa.
The Indian film industry is the largest in the world with Bollywood being the major cinematic hub. It is based in Mumbai. Other regional cinemas also exist in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi.

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