Indian Culture

The culture of India has been shaped by its long history, unique geography, diverse demographics and the absorption of customs, traditions and ideas from some of its neighbours 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 religious practices, languages, customs, and traditions are examples of this unique co-mingling over the past five millennia. The various religions and traditions of India that were created by these amalgamations have influenced other parts of the world too.

Contents [hide] •

1 Religion

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2 Society ○

2.1 Overview

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2.2 Family

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2.3 Animals

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2.4 Namaste

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2.5 Festivals

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3 Cuisine

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4 Clothing

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5 Literature

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5.1 History

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5.2 Poetry

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5.3 Epics

6 Performing arts ○

6.1 Music

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6.2 Dance

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6.3 Drama and theater

7 Visual arts ○

7.1 Painting

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7.2 Sculpture

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7.3 Architecture

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8 Recreation and sports

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9 Popular media ○

9.1 Television

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9.2 Cinema

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10 See also

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11 References

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12 Further reading

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13 External links

Main articles: Religion in India and Indian religions

India is the birth place of Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. [2] Dharmic religions, also known as Indian religions, is a major form of world religions next to the Abrahamic ones. Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with around 1.4 billion followers altogether. 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.[3] 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 along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other faiths.

[edit] Society [edit] Overview

According to Eugene M. Makar, the traditional Indian culture is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. He also mentions that from an early age, children are reminded of their roles and places in society.[4] This is reinforced by the fact that many believe gods and spirits have integral and functional role in determining their life.[4] Several differences such as religion divide culture. [4] However, far more powerful division is the traditional Hindu bifurcation into non-polluting and polluting occupations.[4] Strict social taboos have governed these groups for thousands of years.[4] In recent years, particularly in cities, some of these lines have blurred and sometimes even disappeared.[4] Nuclear family is becoming central to Indian culture. Important family relations extend to as far as gotra, the mainly patrilinear lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth.[4] In rural areas it is common that three or four generations of the family live under the same roof.[4] Patriarch often resolves family issues.[4] Among developing countries, India has low levels of occupational and geographic mobility. People choose same occupations as their parents and rarely move geographically in the society.[5] During the nationalist movement, pretentious behavior was something to be avoided. Egalitarian behaviour and social service were promoted while nonessential spending was disliked and spending money for ‘showing off’ was deemed a vice. This image continues in politics with many politicians wearing simple looking / traditionally rural clothes. Family Main articles: Hindu joint family, Arranged marriage in India, and Women in India

A bride during a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding ceremony.

India for ages has had a prevailing tradition of the joint family system. It’s a system under which even extended members of a family like one’s parents, children, the children’s spouses and their offspring, etc. live together. The elder-most, usually the male member is the head in the joint Indian family system who makes all important decisions and rules, whereas other family members abide by it. Arranged marriages have the tradition in Indian society for centuries. Even today, overwhelming majority of Indians have their marriages planned by their parents and other respected familymembers, with the consent of the bride and groom.[6] Arranged matches were made after taking into account factors such as age, height, personal values and tastes, the backgrounds of their families (wealth, social standing) and their castes and the astrological compatibility of the couples' horoscopes. In India, the marriage is thought to be for life[7], and the divorce rate is extremely low — 1.1% compared with about 50% in the United States.[8] The arranged marriages generally have a much lower divorce rate. The divorce rates have risen significantly in recent years: "Opinion is divided over what the phenomenon means: for traditionalists the rising numbers portend the breakdown of society while, for some modernists, they speak of a healthy new empowerment for women."[9]

Although child marriage was outlawed in 1860, it is continued to be practiced in some rural parts of India.[10] According to UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children-2009” report, 47% of India's women aged 20–24 were married before the legal age of 18, with 56% in rural areas.[11] The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur in India.[12] Indian names are based on a variety of systems and naming conventions, which vary from region to region. Names are also influenced by religion and caste and may come from religion or epics. India's population speaks a wide variety of languages. Although women and men are equal before the law and the trend toward gender equality has been noticeable, women and men still occupy distinct functions in Indian society.Woman's role in the society is often to perform household works and pro bono community work[4]. This low rate of participation has ideological and historical reasons. Women and women's issues appear only 7-14% of the time in news programs.[4] In most Indian families, women do not own any property in their own names, and do not get a share of parental property.[13] Due to weak enforcement of laws protecting them, women continue to have little access to land and property. [14] In many families, especially rural ones, the girls and women face nutritional discrimination within the family, and are anaemic and malnourished.[13] They still lag behind men in terms of

income and job status. Traditional Hindu art, such as Rangoli (or Kolam), is very popular among Indian women. Popular and influential woman's magazines include Femina, Grihshobha and Woman's Era.