‘Happy Independence Day to All Of You’
India is a land of diversity. You name it and diversity is there. You can explore so much here that you will never get enough. India’s diversity has inspired many writers to pen their perceptions of the country’s culture. It’s a land of diversity in culture, religion, food, clothing, customs, rituals, languages, music, architecture, way of living. Do you need more? Going from one state to other is like going from one country to other. Through this, I want to take you to my Majestic India.
The idea of writing on the rich culture of India came up from one of our gathering. Funny. Right? We were discussing about the Indian calendar months, upcoming festivals like Dussera, Diwali. Here, in Houston, I have a diversified group of friends. Some are from the Southern part of India, some are from Northern. I am fortunate to have such a diversified group which gives me knowledge about other cultures. Different states celebrate festivals in different ways. I thought, on the day of Independence, why not to write about the Diversity in India.
The culture of India actually begins with ‘Namaste‘ – a very warm friendly gesture to greet people having a deep meaning-“I honor the place within you where the entire universe resides”. It’s about where people live in the global era but they know what it means to be the part of the traditionally oldest civilization. Apart from Hinduism, people follow Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Parsis. They untidily celebrate the festivals like Holi, Diwali, Christmas, Eid, Buddh Jayanti and Mahavir Jayanti. This provides unity in diversity. Indian philosophy has developed on India soil.This has blended the various cultures together. Dialects in India vary depending on demographic location. Sanskrit is the base of all the language thus it is the Mother of Languages.
Talking about diversity and not talking about the Festivals & Food. How can it be possible? India is a multi-cultural, multi religious society.
Food is an automatic extension of Festivals. Indian cuisine varies from region to region. We all know the famous Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, and Indian curries. But apart from this there are tons of many sweet and savory dishes which are the integral part of Indian cuisine. One of them is Chai/Tea. It is the most popular beverage all over India. Some of the dishes I have shared in the Mother’s Rasoi section like Samosa, Namkeen Lassi, Laddoo, Kulfi. Pan/Beetle Leaf is another delicacy which is usually served at the end of a hearty meal. This is a friendly gesture from the host to the guest.
Along with all this diversity, Dance & Music is another area which calls for a full post on the diversity in the performing arts. In short, both Indian classical dance and Music requires an extensive training of 8-10 yeas starting from a very early age. There are 5 major Dance forms originated from different regions– Bharaynatyam, Odissi, Katahk, Manipuri & Kuchipudi.
There is still so much to write. I guess, every single area can be a separate post. While writing this post, I recalled a presentation on Indian culture & its diversity that I gave at one of the non profit groups in Austin ‘Friendship International’. We had only 20 minutes to talk about India and its Culture. I felt 20 minutes are not enough even to cover one state..:) Same thing I felt today. One post is not at all enough to describe India as a whole. But since today is India’s Independence Day, I thought of giving you glimpse of Indian culture and its diversity.
