Writer: Adeunji Daniel
Topic: culture of the Indian society
Subject: English language
Date: 22nd September, 2024 – 27th September,2024
THE INDIAN CULTURE
Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that
originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse
India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the
Republic of India post-1947. The term also applies beyond India to
countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to India
by immigration, colonisation, or influence, particularly in South Asia
and Southeast Asia. India's languages, religions, dance, music,
architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the
country.
Many elements of Indian culture, such as Indian religions,
mathematics, philosophy, cuisine, languages, dance, music, and
movies have had a profound impact across the Indosphere, Greater
India, and the world. The British Raj further influenced Indian
culture, such as through the widespread introduction of the English
language, which resulted in a local English dialect and influences on
the Indian languages.
Religious culture
Indian-origin religions Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,
are all based on the concepts of dharma and karma. Ahimsa, the
philosophy of nonviolence, is an important aspect of native Indian
faiths whose most well-known proponent was Shri Mahatma Gandhi,
who used civil disobedience to unite India during the Indian
independence movement – this philosophy further inspired Martin
Luther King Jr. and James Bevel during the American civil rights
movement. Foreign-origin religion, including Abrahamic religions,
such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are also present in India as
well as Zoroastrianism and Baháʼí Faith both escaping persecution by
Islam have also found shelter in India over the centuries.
India has 28 states and 8 union territories with different cultures and is
the most populated country in the world. The Indian culture, often
labeled as an amalgamation of several various cultures, spans across
the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced and shaped by a
history that is several thousand years old. Throughout the history of
India, Indian culture has been heavily influenced by Dharmic
religions India is one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse
nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies
and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the lives of
many of its people. Although India is a secular Hindu-majority
country, it has a large Muslim population. Except for Jammu and
Kashmir, Punjab, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Lakshadweep,
Hindus form the predominant population in all 28 states and 8 union
territories. Muslims are present throughout India, with large
populations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam; while only Jammu and
Kashmir and Lakshadweep have majority Muslim populations.
Christians are other significant minorities of India.
Because of the diversity of religious groups in India, there has been a
history of turmoil and violence between them. India has been a theatre
for violent religious clashes between members of different religions
such as Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs. Several groups have
founded various national-religious political parties, and in spite of
government policies minority religious groups are being subjected to
prejudice from more dominant groups in order to maintain and control
resources in particular regions of India.
Family structure and wedding
For generations, India has had a prevailing tradition of the joint
family system. It is when extended members of a family – parents,
children, the children's spouses, and their offspring, etc. – live
together. Usually, the oldest male member is the head of the joint
Indian family system. He mostly makes all important decisions and
rules, and other family members are likely to abide by them. With the
current economy, lifestyle, and cost of living in most of the metro
cities are high, the population is leaving behind the joint family model
and adapting to the nuclear family model. Earlier living in a joint
family was with the purpose of creating love and concern for the
family members. However, now it's a challenge to give time to each
other as most of them are out for survival needs. Rise in the trends of
nuclear family settings has led to a change in the traditional family
headship structure and older males are no longer the mandated heads
of the family as they mostly live alone during old age and are far
more vulnerable than before.
In a 1966 study, Orenstein and Micklin analyzed India's population
data and family structure. Their studies suggest that Indian household
sizes had remained similar over the 1911 to 1951 period. Thereafter,
with urbanization and economic development, India has witnessed a
break up of traditional joint family into more nuclear-like families.
Sinha, in his book, after summarising the numerous sociological
studies done on the Indian family, notes that over the last 60 years, the
cultural trend in most parts of India has been an accelerated change
from joint family to nuclear families, much like population trends in
other parts of the world. The traditionally large joint family in India,
in the 1990s, accounted for a small percent of Indian households, and
on average had lower per capita household income. He finds that joint
family still persists in some areas and in certain conditions, in part due
to cultural traditions and in part due to practical factors. Youth in
lower socio-economic classes are more inclined to spend time with
their families than their peers due to differing ideologies in rural and
urban parenting. With the spread of education and growth of
economics, the traditional joint-family system is breaking down
rapidly across India and attitudes towards working women have
changed.
Arranged marriage
Arranged marriages have long been the norm in Indian society. Even
today, the majority of Indians have their marriages planned by their
parents and other respected family members. In the past, the age of
marriage was young. The average age of marriage for women in India
has increased to 21 years, according to the 2011 Census of India. In
2009, about 7% of women got married before the age of 18.
In most marriages, the bride's family provides a dowry to the
bridegroom. Traditionally, the dowry was considered a woman's share
of the family wealth, since a daughter had no legal claim on her natal
family's real estate. It also typically included portable valuables such
as jewellery and household goods that a bride could control
throughout her life. Historically, in most families the inheritance of
family estates passed down the male line. Since 1956, Indian laws
treat males and females as equal in matters of inheritance without a
legal will. Indians are increasingly using a legal will for inheritance
and property succession, with about 20 percent using a legal will by
2004.
Wedding rituals
Weddings are festive occasions in India with extensive decorations,
colors, music, dance, costumes and rituals that depend on the religion
of the bride and the groom, as well as their preferences. The nation
celebrates about 10 million weddings per year, of which over 80% are
Hindu weddings.
While there are many festival-related rituals in Hinduism, vivaha
(wedding) is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu
undertakes in his or her life. Typical Hindu families spend significant
effort and financial resources to prepare and celebrate weddings. The
rituals and processes of a Hindu wedding vary depending on the
region of India, local adaptations, family resources and preferences of
the bride and the groom. Nevertheless, there are a few key rituals
common in Hindu weddings – Kanyadaan, Panigrahana, and
Saptapadi; these are respectively, gifting away of daughter by the
father, voluntarily holding hand near the fire to signify impending
union, and taking seven circles before firing with each circle
including a set of mutual vows. Mangalsutra necklace of bond a
Hindu groom ties with three knots around the bride's neck in a
marriage ceremony. The practice is integral to a marriage ceremony as
prescribed in Manusmriti, the traditional law governing Hindu
marriage. After the seventh circle and vows of Saptapadi, the couple
is legally husband and wife. Sikhs get married through a ceremony
called Anand Karaj. The couple walks around the holy book, the Guru
Granth Sahib four times. Indian Muslims celebrate a traditional
Islamic wedding following customs similar to those practiced in the
Middle East. The rituals include Nikah, payment of financial dower
called Mahr by the groom to the bride, signing of a marriage contract,
and a reception. Indian Christian weddings follow customs similar to
those practiced in the Christian countries in the West in states like
Goa but have more Indian customs in other states.
Festivals
India, being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society,
celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. The three
national holidays in India, the Independence Day, the Republic Day
and the Gandhi Jayanti, are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm
across India. In addition, many Indian states and regions have local
festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic
demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals
of Chhath, Navratri, Janmashtami, Diwali, Maha Shivratri, Ganesh
Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Holi, Rath Yatra, Ugadi, Vasant Panchami,
Rakshabandhan, and Dussehra. Several harvest festivals such as
Makar Sankranti, Sohrai, Pusnâ, Hornbill, Chapchar Kut, Pongal,
Onam and Raja sankaranti swinging festival are also fairly popular.
India celebrates a variety of festivals due to the large diversity of
India. Many religious festivals like Diwali (Hindu) Eid (Muslim)
Christmas (Christian), etc. are celebrated by all. The government also
provides facilities for the celebration of all religious festivals with
equality and grants road bookings, security, etc. providing equality to
the diverse religions and their festivals.
Chapchar Kut cheraw dance in Mizoram. Chapchar Kut festival is
celebrated during March after completion of their most arduous task
of Jhum operation i.e., jungle-clearing (clearing of the remnants of
burning).
The Indian New Year festival is celebrated in different parts of India
with a unique style at different times. Ugadi, Bihu, Gudhi Padwa,
Puthandu, Vaisakhi, Pohela Boishakh, Vishu and Vishuva Sankranti
are the New Year festival of different part of India.
Certain festivals in India are celebrated by multiple religions. Notable
examples include Diwali, which is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs,
Buddhists, and Jains across the country and Buddha Purnima, Krishna
Janmashtami, Ambedkar Jayanti celebrated by Buddhists and Hindus.
Sikh festivals, such as Guru Nanak Jayanti, Baisakhi are celebrated
with full fanfare by Sikhs and Hindus of Punjab and Delhi where the
two communities together form an overwhelming majority of the
population. Adding colors to the culture of India, the Dree Festival is
one of the tribal festivals of India celebrated by the apprentice of the
Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh, which is the easternmost state of
India. Nowruz is the most important festival among the Parsi
community of India.
Greetings
Indian greetings are based on Añjali Mudrā, including Pranāma and
Puja.
Greetings include Namaste (Hindi,Sanskrit and Kannada), Nômôskar
in Odia, Khulumkha (Tripuri), Namaskar (Marathi), Namaskara
(Kannada and Sanskrit), Paranaam (Bhojpuri), Namaskaram (Telugu,
Malayalam), Vanakkam (Tamil), Nômôshkar (Bengali), Nomoskar
(Assamese), Aadab (Urdu), and Sat Shri Akal (Punjabi). All these are
commonly spoken greetings or salutations when people meet and are
forms of farewell when they depart. Namaskar is considered slightly
more formal than Namaste but both express deep respect. Namaskar is
commonly used in India and Nepal by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists,
and many continue to use this outside the Indian subcontinent. In
Indian and Nepali culture, the word is spoken at the beginning of
written or verbal communication. However, the same hands folded
gesture may be made wordlessly or said without the folded hand
gesture. The word is derived from Sanskrit (Namah): to bow,
reverential salutation, and respect, and (te): "to you". Taken literally, it
means "I bow to you”. In Hinduism it means "I bow to the divine in
you. In most Indian families, younger men and women are taught to
seek the blessing of their elders by reverentially bowing to their
elders. This custom is known as Pranāma.
FOOD
Indian food is as diverse as India. Indian cuisines use numerous
ingredients, deploy a wide range of food preparation styles, cooking
techniques, and culinary presentations. From salads to sauces, from
vegetarian to meat, from spices to sensuous, from bread to desserts,
Indian cuisine is invariably complex. Harold McGee, a favourite of
many Michelin-starred chefs, writes "for sheer inventiveness with the
milk itself as the primary ingredient, no country on earth can match
India.
India is known for its love of food and spices. Indian cuisine varies
from region to region, reflecting the local produce, cultural diversity,
and varied demographics of the country. Generally, Indian cuisine can
be split into five categories – northern, southern, eastern, western, and
northeastern. The diversity of Indian cuisine is characterised by the
differing use of many spices and herbs, a wide assortment of recipes
and cooking techniques. Though a significant portion of Indian food
is vegetarian, many Indian dishes also include meats like chicken,
mutton, beef (both cow and buffalo), pork and fish, egg and other
seafood. Fish-based cuisines are common in eastern states of India,
particularly West Bengal and the southern states of Kerala and Tamil
Nadu.
Clothing
Traditional clothing in India greatly varies across different parts of the
country and is influenced by local culture, geography, climate, and
rural/urban settings. Popular styles of dress include draped garments
such as sari and mekhela sador for women and the kurta, dhoti or
lungi or panche (in Kannada) for men. Stitched clothes are also
popular such as churidar or salwar-kameez for women, with dupatta
(long scarf) thrown over shoulder completing the outfit. The salwar is
often loose fitting, while churidar is a tighter cut. The dastar, a
headgear worn by Sikhs is common in Punjab.
Indian women perfect their sense of charm and fashion with makeup
and ornaments. Bindi, mehendi, earrings, bangles and other jewelry
are common. On special occasions, such as marriage ceremonies and
festivals, women may wear cheerful colors with various ornaments
made with gold, silver or other regional stones and gems. Bindi is
often an essential part of a Hindu woman's make up. Worn on their
forehead, some consider the Bindi as an auspicious mark.
Traditionally, the red Bindi was worn only by married Hindu women,
and colored Bindi was worn by single women, but now all colors and
glitter have become a part of women's fashion. Some women wear
sindoor – a traditional red or orange-red powder (vermilion) in the
parting of their hair (locally called mang). Sindoor is the traditional
mark of a married woman for Hindus. Single Hindu women do not
wear sindoor; neither do over 1 million Indian women from religions
other than Hindu and agnostics/atheists who may be married. The
make-up and clothing styles differ regionally between the Hindu
groups, and also by climate or religion, with Christians preferring
Western and Muslim preferring the Arabic styles. For men, stitched
versions include kurta-pajamas and European-style trousers and
shirts. In urban and semi-urban Centre’s, men and women of all
religious backgrounds, can often be seen in jeans, trousers, shirts,
suits, kurtas and variety of other fashions.
Visual arts
Painting: Cave paintings from Ajanta, Bagh, Ellora and Sittanavasal
and temple paintings testify to a love of naturalism. Most early and
medieval art in India is Hindu, Buddhist or Jain. A freshly made
colored floor design (Rangoli) is still a common sight outside the
doorstep of many (mostly South Indian) Indian homes. Raja Ravi
Varma is one of the classical painters from medieval India.
Sculpture: The first sculptures in India date back to the Indus Valley
civilization, where stone and bronze figures have been discovered.
Later, as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism developed further, India
produced some extremely intricate bronzes as well as temple
carvings. Some huge shrines, such as the one at Ellora were not
constructed by using blocks but carved out of solid rock.
Sculptures produced in the northwest, in stucco, schist, or clay,
display a very strong blend of Indian and Classical Hellenistic or
possibly even Greco-Roman influence. The pink sandstone sculptures
of Mathura evolved almost simultaneously. During the Gupta period
(4th to 6th centuries) sculpture reached a very high standard in
execution and delicacy in modeling. These styles and others
elsewhere in India evolved leading to classical Indian art that
contributed to Buddhist and Hindu sculptures throughout Southeast
Central and East Asia.
Architecture: Indian architecture encompasses a multitude of
expressions over space and time, constantly absorbing new ideas.
The result is an evolving range of architectural production that
nonetheless retains a certain amount of continuity across history.
Some of its earliest productions are found in the Indus Valley
civilisation (2600–1900 BC) which is characterised by well-planned
cities and houses. Religion and kingship do not seem to have played
an important role in the planning and layout of these towns.
Rani ki Vav (The Queen's stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat
Hall of Thousand Pillars at Meenakshi Amman Temple
During the period of the Mauryan and Gupta empires and their
successors, several Buddhist architectural complexes, such as the
caves of Ajanta and Ellora and the monumental Sanchi Stupa were
built. Later on, South India produced several Hindu temples like
Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at
Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura, Brihadeeswara
Temple, Thanjavur built by Raja Raja Chola, the Sun Temple, Konark,
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, and the Buddha stupa
(Chinna Lanja dibba and Vikramarka kota dibba) at Bhattiprolu. Rajput
kingdoms oversaw the construction of Khajuraho Temple Complex,
Chittor Fort and Chaturbhuj Temple, etc. during their reign. Angkor
Wat, Borobudur and other Buddhist and Hindu temples indicate strong
Indian influence on South East Asian architecture, as they are built in
styles almost identical to traditional Indian religious buildings.
