Indian Culture

Mother Nature has played a very vital role in the history of our country’s culture, festivals, and rituals. The role of nature is very much visible in our daily lives as we depend on it for survival and we must safeguard it as well.

As our previous generations were working very close to Mother Nature, their understanding of nature was far superior to ours. In the larger interest of us, they have tried to implant nature consciousness through rituals, scriptures, worship. But with numerous changes in science, technology, and knowledge over the extensive history of mankind, now we are made to feel our ancestors were irrational and illogical. But we need to accept the fact that they did not have the education or access to facilities as we have now.

There are many countries on the planet having various festivals in line with nature. We too have similar festivals for harvesting crops, New Year, the celebration of the victory of good over evil, etc. Many of these symbolically make us show gratefulness to nature towards all gifts received to lead a comfortable life. 

Makara Sankranthi Celebration 

During the harvest season variety of crops are worshipped on Makara Sankranti day. Farmers of our country express their joy and delight through this festival. It is celebrated in various states of the country by different names in regional languages. 

It is called Pongal in Tamil Nadu and observed as a form of thanksgiving to nature. On the day of the festival, people adore harvested crops like sugarcane, cereals, rice. Also for the immense contribution of cattle in the agriculture operations, they are worshipped with great devotion and decorated with bells, colors, and flowers.  

In North India too, it is a very popular and most celebrated harvest festival. It marks the beginning of a blessed phase ‘Uttarayana’. People of Punjab and Haryana call it Lohri and they thank God for the good yield. It showcases traditional dance and songs by families gathering around the bonfire and singing together, offering grains, corns, nuts and also showing thankfulness and respect to Mother Nature. In Assam, farmers celebrate the reaping of the crops as BhogaliBihu. Maharashtra celebrates harvest festival as GudiPadwa, which is the beginning of a New Year. People decorate houses with rangoli drawings and flowers.

Yugadi and Dasara Celebration 

The tender leaves of the mango tree, plantain, neem tree mark the arrival of the spring celebration ‘Yugadi’. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana celebrate New Year on this day. Tender neem leaves and jaggery (gur) consumed on Yugadi stand for sweet and bitter moments to be taken in the right spirit throughout the year and life as well. The fresh neem leaves bunting at the main door of the house is a symbol of celebration and also helps to keep away sickness-causing micro-organisms in the air.

Shami leaves and trees are worshipped and made part of the celebrations during Dasara. 

Peepal trees, tulsi plants are also worshipped daily for the wellbeing of the family members. 

RathaSaptami indicates the transition from the spring season to the harvesting season. As we all know, sun is the main source of light and energy. For this reason, Lord Surya is worshipped on Rathasaptami. 

Besides water in the form of rivers across the country is worshipped too and in south India, Cauvery Tulasankramana is one of the popular events. It is a respect to Mother Cauvery as she is the lifeline for most parts of Karnataka and Tamilnadu on this auspicious day. Devotees gather in large numbers to get a glimpse of this annual celebration in Kodagu. 

The present lifestyle of our generation is one of the key reasons why many of us do not even know about the value of festivals. Currently native places are left with senior citizens, festive spirit has largely gone missing as we are busy earning. This pandemic is a blessing in disguise from the family’s point of view as it has sent most of us back to our native place at least for a year now. 

Indian Practices going Global

Earlier, Yoga, a very Indian way of improving mental and physical well-being, is now adopted across the globe. As Yoga has a deep impact on the entire mankind, even United Nations have recognized June 21 as International Yoga Day. Now there is a choice of customized Yoga methods like Power yoga, Restorative yoga practiced in our country and other parts of the world as well. 

Namaste is the way we greet people. Namaste simple sign of folded hands or bowing our head to any person you meet indicates – ‘I bow to the divine in you’. Namaste naturally allows you to maintain social distance and avoids handshakes or hugging and a medically approved way to avoid the rapid spread of Corona too. 

Conclusion

We have so many festivals that bring us close to Mother Nature that are celebrated in different parts of the country with equal fervour and joy. Names are different, but the festive spirit remains the same. If you loved reading my article, do share your thoughts and sentiments in the comment section.

Written by: Pavan Madahavamurthy, Digital Writoprenuer

Edited by: Rajinder Soni, Digital Coach, CEO DW Hub

Indian Culture and its rich heritage

Summary :

Do you want to know the importance and interesting facts about Indian culture and Heritage? Then this article is for you. In this article, we will come to know about our rich culture filled with love, affection, caring, and beauty. We will also know some interesting facts related to Indian Culture and Heritage. Also, we discussed “How Indian culture is unique?”.

Introduction :

 Indian Culture is an ancient and one of the most popular cultures in the world. India is well known for its rich cultural heritage with a combination of customs, traditions, lifestyle, religion, languages, rituals, etc.

“Unity in Diversity”, we all have heard this phrase at least once in our lifetime. This is the expression used to explain the harmony and unity between dissimilar individuals or groups and India is one of the best examples to represent such unity.

There are different types of people with different religious practices like Hinduism, Sikhism, Islamism, Christianity, Jainism, and Buddhism sharing the motherland of India. This is one of the important features of the Indian Subcontinent which makes it different from others.

Now we will know 7 interesting facts about Indian Heritage :

1. In India, 22 languages are spoken. Every state has its language and every language has its beauty and charm. Although having 22 languages, Hindi is the official and most spoken language all over India.

     2. There are a whopping 32 UNESCO world heritage sites in India which comprise The Taj Mahal,           hill forts in Rajasthan, mountain railways in Shimla, Darjeeling, and the Nilgiri Hills, etc.                

3. Varanasi is the one of oldest and still inhabited cities in the world and is believed to be one of the holiest places in India. Many Hindus aim to die here because doing so is believed to free a person from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Nowadays, a large modern city also spreads out from the riverbank.
4. India’s Kumbh Mela also called Pushkar Fair is the world’s largest human gathering. Crores of people gather every year and offer their prayers to god and bathe in the holy rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Narmada, etc.
5. Padmanabhaswamy temple located in Kerala’s capital city Thiruvananthapuram is the world’s richest temple with lots of gold, silver, and other precious stones present in the vaults of the temple.
6. There are more than 140 types of traditional desserts like Gulab Jamun, rasogolla, jalebi, gajar ki halwa, kheer, pudding, etc. Indian desserts are often very sweet, rich with ghee, and heavily flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, saffron, coconut, rosewater, and nuts.
7. India has long been a center of fashion. Since ancient times India was famous for its textiles and was known as a producer of the finest cotton and silk.

   Nowadays, the Indian fashion industry is booming once again, with fashion weeks being held in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Also, a design aesthetic that combines traditional items and fabrics with more modern features. Many traditional techniques have been preserved such as handloom weaving and block printing which are available all over India and the world.

Bonus fact:

There are some weird and wonderful post offices in India. With the world’s largest postal system, India has post offices in some pretty unusual places.

 The town of Hikkim, in Himachal Pradesh, has the world’s highest post office (as well as the highest polling booth) at over 15,400 feet.

 Dal Lake in Kashmir has a floating post office, with an attached philatelic museum, built to resemble Srinagar’s famous houseboats.

In the ‘70s, some Rajasthani towns were serviced by mobile camel post offices. With the mountainous Darjeeling area of West Bengal featuring mule post offices.

How is Indian Culture unique? 

Indian culture has its beauty in every field like art, fashion, monuments, architecture, and most importantly cuisine including main course dishes to snacks.

A variety of traditional, pleasant music and dance forms have originated in India with beautiful and colorful clothing. These art forms are still practiced in many parts of India on special occasions. Whereas western culture promotes hip-hop, rock music, rock-n-roll, heavy metal, etc.

Western cuisine mostly contains non-veg, with less oily and spiced dishes. Indian cuisine has a variety of dishes in both veg and non-veg and also helps in maintaining a balanced diet.

Indian culture has a variety of religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, etc. whereas in western culture the people mostly belong to Christianity.

Indian architecture holds a separate fan base in world heritage. Best examples are Indian Temples, Ancient Citadels and palaces, and many more buildings across all parts of India, and the famous Taj Mahal which is one of the 7 wonders in the world.

Conclusion:

There is a lot to learn from Indian cultures like manners, traditional lifestyle, and yoga which keeps us healthy. For the last few decades, Indian culture has been influenced by western culture and we are adopting merits of western culture like equal rights for men and women, frankness, etc.

Readers are requested to share their opinion on Indian Culture and share any other information not mentioned in the article. Thanks for reading.

Written by : D.Vamsidhar, Content Writer and Digital Writopreneur 

#dvamsidhar #rajindersoni #digitalwritopreneur #indianculture #india #culture #interestingfactsindianculture