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The culture of India has been
shaped by the long
history of India, its unique
geography and the absorption of customs, traditions
and ideas from some of its neighbors as well as by
preserving its ancient heritages, which were formed
during the
Indus Valley Civilization and evolved further during
the
Vedic age,
rise and decline of Buddhism,
Golden age,
Muslim conquests and
European colonization. India's great diversity of
cultural practices,
languages, customs, and traditions are examples of
this unique co-mingling over the past five millennia.
Religious systems such as
Hinduism,
Jainism,
Buddhism, and
Sikhism. The various religions and
traditions of India that were created by these
amalgamations have
influenced other parts of the world too.
[edit]
Language
Language families in
South Asia
The great number of languages in
India have added to the diverse cultures and traditions
at all levels. 216 languages are spoken by a group of
more than 10,000 people; however there are many others
which are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people.
Altogether, there are 415 living languages in India. The
Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of
Hindi and
English to be the two
official languages of communication for the
Union Government. Individual
state's own internal communications are done in the
state's language. The two major linguistic families
in India are those of the
Indo-Aryan languages and the
Dravidian languages, the former being largely
confined to
northern,
western,
central and
eastern India and the latter to
southern India. The next largest language family in
India is the
Austro-Asiatic language group, which contains the
Munda languages of central and eastern India, the
Khasian languages of northeastern India, and the
Nicobarese languages of the
Nicobar Islands. The fourth largest language family
in India is the
Tibeto-Burman languages, which are themselves a
subgroup of the larger
Sino-Tibetan language family.
[edit]
Literature
[edit]
History
-
The earliest works of Indian
literature were
orally transmitted.
Sanskrit literature begins with the
Rig Veda a collection of sacred hymns dating to the
period 1500–1200 BCE. The Sanskrit epics
Ramayana and
Mahabharata appeared towards the end of the
first millennium BCE.
Classical Sanskrit literature flourished in the
first few centuries of the first millennium CE, as did
the
Tamil
Sangam literature, and the
Pāli Canon.
In the medieval period, literature in
Kannada and
Telugu appears in the 9th and 11th centuries
respectively,[1]
followed by the first
Malayalam works in the 12th century. Later,
literature in
Marathi,
Bengali, various dialects of
Hindi,
Persian and
Urdu began to appear as well.
During the
British Raj, modern literature represented by the
works of
Rabindranath Tagore,
Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar',
Subramania Barathi,
Rahul Sankrityayan,
Kuvempu,
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay,
Michael Madhusudan Dutt,
Munshi Premchand,
Muhammad Iqbal,
Devaki Nandan Khatri became well known. In
contemporary India, among the writers who have received
critical acclaim are:
Girish Karnad,
Agyeya,
Nirmal Verma,
Kamleshwar,
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer,
Indira Goswami,
Mahasweta Devi,
Amrita Pritam,
Maasti Venkatesh Ayengar,
Qurratulain Hyder and
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and others have received
critical acclaim. In contemporary Indian literature,
there are two major literary awards; these are the
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship and the
Jnanpith Award. Seven Jnanpith awards each have been
awarded in
Hindi and
Kannada, followed by four each in
Malayalam and
Marathi, and three in
Urdu.[2]
[edit]
Poetry
-
Main article:
Indian poetry
Illustration of the
Battle of Kurukshetra. With more than
74,000 verses, long prose passages, and
about 1.8 million words in total, the
Mahābhārata is one of the longest
epic poems in the world.
India has strong traditions of poetry
ever since the
Rigveda, as well as prose compositions. Poetry is
often closely related to musical traditions, and much of
poetry can be attributed to religious movements. Writers
and philosophers were often also skilled poets. In
modern times, poetry has served as an important
non-violent tool of nationalism during the Indian
freedom movement. A famous modern example of this
tradition can be found in such figures as
Rabindranath Tagore and
K. S. Narasimhaswamy in modern times and poets such
as
Basava (vachanas)
,
Kabir and
Purandaradasa (padas and devaranamas)
in medieval times, as well as the epics of ancient
times. Two examples of poetry from Tagore's Gitanjali
serve as the national anthems of both
India and
Bangladesh.
.jpg)
-
The
Ramayana and
Mahabharata are the oldest preserved and still
well-known epics of India; some of their versions have
been adopted as the epics of Southeast Asian countries
like
Thailand,
Malaysia and
Indonesia. In addition, there are five epics in the
classical Tamil language -they being
Silappadhikaram,
Manimegalai,
Jeevaga-chintamani,
Valayaapathi,
Kundalakesi. Other regional variations of them as
well as unrelated epics include the Tamil
Kamba Ramayanam, in Kannada, the Pampa Bharata by
Adikavi Pampa, Torave Ramayana by Kumara Valmiki and
Karnata Bharata KathaManjari by
Kumaravyasa, Hindi
Ramacharitamanasa, Malayalam
Adhyathmaramayanam.
[edit]
Performing arts
-
Main article:
Music of India
The music of India includes multiples
varieties of religious,
folk,
popular,
pop, and classical music. The oldest preserved
examples of Indian music are the melodies of the
Samaveda that are still sung in certain Vedic
Shrauta sacrifices.
India's classical music tradition is heavily
influenced by Hindu texts. It includes
Carnatic and
Hindustani music and is noted for the use of several
Raga, has a history spanning millennia, and,
developed over several eras, remains instrumental to the
religious inspiration, cultural expression and pure
entertainment. Alangside distinctly subcontinental
forms, there are some similarities with other types of
Oriental music.
Purandaradasa is considered the "father of carnatic
music" (Karnataka sangeeta pitamaha).[3][4][5]
He concluded his songs with a salutation to Lord
Purandara Vittala and is believed to have composed as
many as 475,000[6]
songs in the
Kannada language. However, only about 1000 are known
today.[7][3]
-
Main article:
Indian dance
Indian dance too has diverse folk and
classical forms. Among the well-known
folk dances are the
bhangra of the
Punjab, the
bihu of
Assam, the
chhau of
Jharkhand and
Orissa, the
ghoomar of
Rajasthan, the
dandiya and
garba of
Gujarat, the
Yakshagana of Karnataka and
lavani of
Maharashtra and
Dekhnni of Goa. Eight dance forms, many with
narrative forms and
mythological elements, have been accorded
classical dance status by India's
National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama.
These are:
bharatanatyam of the state of
Tamil Nadu,
kathak of
Uttar Pradesh,
kathakali and
mohiniattam of
Kerala,
kuchipudi of
Andhra Pradesh,
manipuri of
Manipur,
odissi of the state of
Orissa and the
sattriya of
Assam.[8]
Kalarippayattu or
Kalari for short is considered one of the world's
oldest
martial art. It is preserved in texts such as the
Mallapurana. Kalari and other later formed martial arts
have been assumed by some to have traveled to
China, like Buddhism, and eventually developing into
Kung-fu. Other later martial arts are
Gatka,Pehlwani,and
Malla-yuddha. There have been many great
practitioners of Indian martial Arts including
Bodhidharma who supposedly brought Indian martial
arts to
China.
[edit]
Drama and theater
-
Indian drama and theater has a long
history alongside its music and dance.
Kalidasa's plays like
Shakuntala and
Meghadoota are some of the older plays, following
those of Bhasa. One of the oldest surviving theatre
tradition of the world is the 2000 year old
Kutiyattam of
Kerala. It strictly follows the
Natya Shastra. The dramas of
Bhasa are very popular in this art form.
Nātyāchārya (late)
Padma Shri
Māni Mādhava Chākyār- the unrivaled maestro of this
art form and
Abhinaya, revived the age old drama tradition
from extinction. He was known for mastery of
Rasa Abhinaya. He started to perform the Kalidasa
plays like
Abhijñānaśākuntala,
Vikramorvaśīya and
Mālavikāgnimitra ; Bhasa's
Swapnavāsavadatta and
Pancharātra;
Harsha's
Nagananda in Kutiyattam form.
The tradition of folk theater is
popular in most linguistic regions of India. In
addition, there is a rich tradition of puppet theater in
rural India, going back to at least the second century
BCE. (It is mentioned in Patanjali's commentary on
Panini). Group Theater is also thriving in the cities,
initiated by the likes of
Gubbi Veeranna[9]
Utpal Dutt,
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas,
K. V. Subbanna and still maintained by groups like
Nandikar,
Ninasam and
Prithvi Theatre.
[edit]
Visual arts
Main article:
Indian art
[edit]
Painting
-
The earliest Indian paintings were
the rock paintings of
pre-historic times, the
petroglyphs as found in places like
Bhimbetka, some of which go back to the Stone Age.
Ancient texts outline theories of darragh and anecdotal
accounts suggesting that it was common for households to
paint their doorways or indoor rooms where guests
resided.
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 coloured flour
design (Rangoli)
is still a common sight outside the doorstep of many
(mostly South Indian) Indian homes.
Madhubani painting,
Mysore painting,
Rajput painting,
Tanjore painting,
Mughal painting are some notable Genres of Indian
Art; while
Raja Ravi Varma,
Nandalal Bose,
Geeta Vadhera,Jamini
Roy and B.Venkatappa[10]
are some modern painters. Among the present day artists,
Atul Dodiya, Bose Krishnamacnahri, Devajyoti Ray and
Shibu Natesan represent a new era of Indian art where
global art shows direct amalgamation with Indian
classical styles. These recent artists have acquired
international recognition. Devajyoti Ray's paintings
have been acquired by the National Fine Arts Museum in
Cuba and so have been the works of some of the new
generation artists. Lol
Jehangir Art Gallery,
Mumbai,
Mysore Palace has on display several good Indian
paintings.
[edit]
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 century) 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
contributing to Buddhist and Hindu sculpture throughout
Southeast Central and East Asia.
[edit]
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 production are found in the Indus Valley
Civilization (2600-1900 BCE) 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.
During the period of the
Maurya 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, the
Sun Temple,
Konark,
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at
Srirangam, and the
Buddha
stupa (Chinna Lanja dibba and Vikramarka kota dibba)
at
Bhattiprolu.
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.
With the advent of Islamic influence
from the west, Indian architecture was adapted to allow
the traditions of the new religion.
Fatehpur Sikri,
Taj Mahal,
Gol Gumbaz,
Qutub Minar,
Red Fort of Delhi are creations of this era, and are
often used as the stereotypical symbols of India. The
colonial rule of the British Empire saw the development
of
Indo-Saracenic style, and mixing of several other
styles, such as European Gothic. The
Victoria Memorial or the
Victoria Terminus are notable examples. Recent
creations such as the
Lotus Temple, and the various modern urban
developments of India, are notable.
The traditional system of
Vaastu Shastra serves as India's version of
Feng Shui, influencing town planning, architecture,
and ergonomics. It is unclear which system is older, but
they contain certain similarities.
Feng Shui is more commonly used throughout the
world. Though Vastu is conceptually similar to
Feng Shui in that it also tries to harmonize the
flow of energy, (also called life-force or
Prana in
Sanskrit and
Chi/Ki
in
Chinese/Japanese),
through the house, it differs in the details, such as
the exact directions in which various objects, rooms,
materials, etc. are to be placed.
Indian architecture has influenced
eastern and southeastern Asia, due to the spread of
Buddhism. A number of Indian architectural features such
as the temple mound or
stupa, temple spire or
sikhara, temple tower or
pagoda and temple gate or
torana, have become famous symbols of Asian culture,
used extensively in
East Asia and
South East Asia. The central spire is also sometimes
called a
vimanam. The southern temple gate, or
gopuram is noted for its intricacy and majesty.
[edit]
Recreation and sports
-
In the area of recreation and sports
India had evolved a number of games. The modern eastern
martial arts originated as ancient games and martial
arts in India, and it is believed by some that these
games were transmitted to foreign countries, where they
were further adapted and modernized. A few games
introduced during the
British Raj have grown quite popular in India,
field hockey,
football (soccer) and especially
cricket.
Although field hockey is India's
official national sport, cricket is by far the most
popular sport not only in India, but the entire
subcontinent, thriving recreationally and
professionally. Cricket has even been used recently as a
forum for diplomatic relations between India and
Pakistan. The two nations' cricket teams face off
annually and such contests are quite impassioned on both
sides. Traditional indigenous sports include
kabaddi and
gilli-danda, which are played in most parts of the
country. Indoor and outdoor games like
Chess,
Snakes and Ladders,
Playing cards,
Polo,
Carrom,
Badminton are popular. Chess was invented in India.
Games of strength and speed
flourished in
India. In ancient India stones were used for
weights, marbles, and dice. Ancient Indians competed in
chariot racing, archery, horsemanship, military tactics,
wrestling, weight lifting, hunting, swimming and running
races.
Traditional Indian clothing for
women are the
sari or the
salwar kameez and also Ghaghra Cholis (Lehengas).
For
men, traditional clothes are the
Dhoti,
Lungi or
Kurta.
Bombay, also known as Mumbai, is one of India's
fashion capitals. In some village parts of India,
traditional clothing mostly will be worn.
Delhi,
Mumbai,Chennai,
Ahmedabad, and
Pune are all places for people who like to shop. In
southern India the men were long, white sheets of cloth
called dhoti in English and veshti in
Tamil. Over the dhoti, men wear shirts, t-shirts, or
anything else. Woman wear a sari, a long sheet of
colourful cloth with patterns. This is draped over a
simple or fancy blouse. This is worn by young ladies and
woman. Little girls wear a pavada. A pavada
is a long skirt worn under a blouse. Both are often
gaily patterned.
[edit]
Cuisine
-
Fish curry and rice
served in
Goa.
The multiple families of Indian
cuisine are characterized by their sophisticated and
subtle use of many spices and herbs. Each family of this
cuisine is characterized by a wide assortment of dishes
and cooking techniques. Though a significant portion of
Indian food is
vegetarian, many traditional Indian dishes also
include
chicken,
goat,
lamb,
fish, and other
meats.
Food is an important part of
Indian culture, playing a role in everyday life as
well as in festivals. In many families, everyday meals
are sit-down affairs consisting of two to three main
course dishes, varied accompaniments such as
chutneys and pickles, carbohydrate staples such as
rice and
roti (bread), as well as
desserts. Food is not just important for an Indian
family by ways of eating, but it is also taken as a sort
of socializing, getting together with a family of many.
Diversity is a defining feature of
India's geography, culture, and food. Indian cuisine
varies from region to region, reflecting the
varied demographics of the ethnically diverse
subcontinent. Generally, Indian cuisine can be split
into four categories: North, South, East, and West
Indian. Despite this diversity, some unifying threads
emerge. Varied uses of
spices are an integral part of food preparation, and
are used to enhance the flavor of a dish and create
unique flavors and aromas. Cuisine across India has also
been influenced by various cultural groups that entered
India throughout history, such as the
Persians,
Mughals, and European powers.
[edit]
Popular media
[edit]
Cinema
-
Bollywood is the informal name given to the popular
Mumbai-based
film industry in
India. Bollywood and the other major cinematic hubs
(Bengali,
Kannada,
Malayalam,
Marathi,
Tamil,
Telugu) constitute the broader
Indian film industry, whose output is considered to
be the largest in the world in terms of number of
films produced and number of tickets sold.
Besides the commercial films, India
has also produced many critically acclaimed
cinema-makers like
Satyajit Ray,
Ritwik Ghatak,
Guru Dutt,
K. Vishwanath,
Adoor Gopalakrishnan,
Girish Kasaravalli,
Shekhar Kapoor,
Hrishikesh Mukherjee,
Shankar Nag,
Girish Karnad,
G. V. Iyer, etc. (See
Indian film directors). In fact, with the opening up
of the economy in the recent years and consequent
exposure to world cinema, audience tastes have been
changing. In addition, multiplexes have mushroomed in
most cities, changing the revenue patterns.
[edit]
Television
Indian television started off in 1959
in New Delhi with tests for educational telecasts.[11]
Indian small screen programming started off in the mid
1970s. At that time there was only one national channel
Doordarshan, which was government owned. 1982 saw
revolution in TV programming in India, with the New
Delhi Asian games, India saw the colour version of TV,
that year. The
Ramayana and
Mahabharat were some among the popular television
series produced. By the late 1980s more and more people
started to own television sets. Though there was a
single channel, television programming had reached
saturation. Hence the government opened up another
channel which had part national programming and part
regional. This channel was known as DD 2 later DD Metro.
Both channels were broadcasted terrestrially.
In 1991, the government liberated its
markets, opening them up to
cable television. Since then, there has been a spurt
in the number of channels available. Today, Indian
silver screen is a huge industry by itself, and has
thousands of programmes in all the states of India. The
small screen has produced numerous celebrities of their
own kind some even attaining national fame for
themselves. TV soaps are extremely popular with
housewives as well as working women, and even men of all
kinds. Some small time actors have made it big in
Bollywood. Indian TV has evolved to be similar to
Western TV, including stations such as Cartoon Network,
Nickelodeon, and MTV India.
-
Radio broadcasting began in India in
1927, with two privately owned
transmitters at
Bombay and
Calcutta. These were nationalised in 1930 and
operated under the name "Indian Broadcasting Service"
until 1936, when it was renamed
All India Radio (AIR). Although officially renamed
again to Akashwani in 1957, it is still popularly
known as All India Radio. All India Radio is a division
of
Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India),
an autonomous corporation of the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting,
Government of India. It is the sister service of
Prasar Bharati's
Doordarshan, the national television
broadcaster.Since the turn of the 20th century, radio
frequencies in India have been aggressively opened up to
broadcasters on the FM and AM bands, although such
service has been mostly limited to the metropolitan
areas. Cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, and many others have many private
FM channels to broadcast popular Hindi and English
music, although they are still not allowed to broadcast
news like Akashwani does. Recently
World Space launched the country's first satellite
radio service.
[edit]
Religion and philosophy
[edit]
Philosophy
-
Swami Vivekananda was one of the most
famous and influential social reformers of
the 19th century.
Indian philosophy throughout the ages
has had a tremendous impact on world thought, especially
in the east. Following the
Vedic period, various schools of philosophy, such as
the many sects of
Buddhism and
Hinduism, have developed over the past 2500 years.
However, India has also produced some of the oldest and
most influential secular traditions of
logic,
rationalism,
science,
mathematics,
materialism,
atheism,
agnosticism, etc., which are often overlooked due to
the popular conception that India was and is a
'mystical' country.
Many of complex scientific and
mathematical concepts, such as the idea of
zero, found their way to
Europe via
Arab intermediaries. The most famous school of
Indian atheism, is
Cārvāka, considered by some to be the oldest
materialistic school of thought in the world, composed
around the same time as the early philosophy of
Buddhism and
Jainism. The period around 500 BCE is marked a huge
leap in both Indian and world philosophy, with
contemporaneous
Greek schools emerging simultaneously. Some believe
that certain Indian philosophical concepts have been
introduced to Greece, while others traveled via the
Persian empire to India; during and after the campaigns
of
Alexander the Great such mutual exchanges increased.
In addition to the unbroken high
emphasis placed on philosophy in India since ancient
times, modern India has produced some very influential
philosophers, who have written both in their
native languages, and often in
English. During the British colonization of India,
certain secular and religious thinkers achieved a
similar level of recognition across the world as ancient
Indian texts; the work of some of them was translated
into English,
German and other languages.
Swami Vivekananda traveled to America and
participated in the 1893
World Parliament of Religions, impressing delegates
with a groundbreaking speech that for many of them
provided a first introduction to Hindu philosophy.
Various religious thinkers such as
Mahatma Gandhi,
Rabindranath Tagore and other members of the Indian
freedom movement, created new forms of political
philosophy that formed the basis of modern Indian
democracy, secularism and liberalism. Today, economists
such as
Amartya Sen, who won Asia's first
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, continue
to give India a reputation as an important contributor
to world thought.
[edit]
Religion
-
Indian religions, a major form of world religions
next to the
Abrahamic ones, include
Hinduism,
Buddhism,
Sikhism,
Jainism. Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the
world's third- and fourth-largest religions
respectively, with around 1.4 billion followers.
India is one of the most religiously diverse nations
in the world, with some of the most deeply religious
societies and cultures. Religion still plays a central
and definitive role in the life of most of its people.
The religion of more than 80.4% of
the people is
Hinduism.
Islam is practiced by around 13.4% of all Indians.[12]
Sikhism,
Jainism and especially
Buddhism are influential not only in India but
across the world.
Christianity,
Zoroastrianism,
Judaism and the
Bahá'í Faith are also influential but their numbers
are smaller. Despite the strong role of religion in
Indian life,
atheism and
agnostics also have visible influence. |
