India

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 culture 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.
 Indian Cultural Diversity
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 culture.

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.
 Indian Cultural Diversity
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. The flexibility and
movement with time has made Indian Culture
fashionable and acceptable too.
 Languages of India
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 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.
 Languages of India
Urdu
Punjabi
Oriya
Rajasthani Sanskrit
Bengali
Gujarati Manipuri
Assamese
Marathi
Konkani
Kannada
Tamil
Malayalam
If all the world’s cultural heritage was contained
in a time capsule, I would like to demonstrate my
country’s legacy in the form of

‘FESTIVALS’
 Indian Festivals
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.
 Indian Festivals
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. These
sell trinkets, local souvenirs and colorful apparels. Dance and
music are essential ingredients. Exotic delicacies are a
culinary delight.
Regional fairs are also common and festive in India. For
example, Pushkar fair is one of the world's largest markets
and Sonepur mela is the largest livestock fair in Asia.
The numerous and varied festivals that are held throughout
the year offer a unique way of seeing Indian culture at its
best.
 Indian Festivals
The Hindu celebrations of Diwali, Holi, Pongal and Dussehra
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. 
Some of the festivals celebrated
in India….
Diwali
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 dazzles 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.
 Diwali
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.
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
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.
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.
 Ganesh Chaturthi
He is known to be the Lord of Power and Wisdom. He is
the eldest son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He has
as his vehicle a small mouse. The significance 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, 7 days or 11 days depending 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.
 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.
 Eid
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.
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).
 Dussehra
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.
Pushkar Fair
Pushkar, the only place which
has the sole Brahma temple in
the whole world. As per Hindu
traditions Brahma is
considered to be the Creator of
the Earth. He started it from
Pushkar therefore it is one of
the most sacred towns of India
and has a beautiful lake as its
prime attraction. Pushkar is
also reckoned for its Global
Cattle Fair especially the
Camels and on papers this is
the place which sees the largest
conglomeration of cattle
 Pushkar Fair
On record, this fair is World's largest camel fair where
Around 50,000 camel are gathered. The entire fair can
be segregated under three main heads with a few sub
heads. The first is the Cattle Fair. Apart from the
camels, animals like horses, cows, sheep and goats are
being traded here.
Second comes the Cultural Fair. In this segment the
stalls and shops catering both to human and the cattle
are set up in the fair site. Clothing, jewelries and tattoos
carry an ethnic charm with a typically Rajasthani aura.
Besides it, the hugely versatile cultural repertoire of
Rajasthan comes alive in Pushkar Fair in form of folk
dance, music, puppet shows and so on.
The final day of the fair is for a holy dip in the
mythological significant Pushkar Lake.
Vaisakhi
 Vaisakhi is a festival celebrated
across the northern Indian
subcontinent, especially in
the Punjab region by
the Sikh nation. 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.
 Vaisakhi
Many fairs in the Punjab are held near the tombs and shrines
of spiritual gurus. These fairs must have originated in a spirit
of devotion to those saints and sages. The most famous among
such fairs are the Chhapar fair, the Jarag fair, and the Roshni
fair of Jagranyan.
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. Sweets are distributed, old enmities
are forgiven and life is full of joy, merriment and everyone
seems to belong.
On Baisakhi day, water is drawn from all the sacred rivers of
India and poured in to the huge tank surrounding the golden
temple.
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.
Thank You