Sebika Saha
(sebikasaha10@gmail.com)
Indian culture has gained wide dignity and respect in the world. Indian culture has been unique and diversified since its inception and has evolved and taken its current form through many ups and downs. This is the incredible side of India that is gaining recognition all over the world. India boasts the maximum of religions, cultures and dialects, geographical diversities, maintaining a healthy and equal balance, respect and prestige through its magical unity. Indian culture has a special flavour and grandeur that maximizes and encourages the nation's pride. India has also managed to spread its culture almost all over the world. Foreigners are often captivated by its great diverse culture. Some of them even prefer to settle in India. This is another specialty of our culture and tradition. Indians are always liberal and apply a broader sense and outlook, so they have left their gates open for all who want to settle down and share their ways of life and lifestyle, with equal respect and freedom, of course. A composite sign of our culture is its own identity, which gives outsiders an open choice to start their journey from there. Of course, it goes without saying that it fascinates foreigners. An inquisitive person is more inclined to know Indian culture and traditions and its diversity in lifestyle, customs, traditions, region, outlook, caste and much more.
In India, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians etc., coexist in peace and progress. They freely practice their religious rituals, style of dress and even eat the food of their choice. All religions preach to their followers to live a peaceful and prosperous life; to offer your prayer to your respective or all existing forms of God; to be secular at the core; do not attack anyone under any circumstances; and above all to contribute to the improvement of society. They are thus an integral part of Indian values.
Arranged marriages are also an integral part of Indian culture. It is also rare in the world. In Western countries, customs such as cohabitation, live-in relationships and love marriages are popular. The growing trend of love marriages in India adds flavour to this custom and increases its diversity. But arranged marriage is important and even many love marriages are born in arranged marriage. People have a growing tendency towards the nuclear family. But there are still countless joint families. But even the present generation feels the importance of the joint family, and some of them are inclined to preserve the custom, because there is a wide scope for taking care of the old generation; spending time with elders and grandchildren, sharing with them and helping them to be aware of the world and grow with knowledge of moral values and ethics. In fact, being in a joint family is beneficial. In difficult times, a person can have a lot of guidance and support from within the family and encouragement to move forward with confidence.
India's traditional way of dressing is still prevalent, although it is sensitive to western culture. It is a fact that many westerners appreciate the Indian style of dressing and some may even wear a saree or a suit like a native Indian. In a word, Indian clothing style is to cover the body enough to hide the parts of our body which are against the custom of decency in public. Indians have a serious side, while Westerners are prone to consider lack of modesty as part of being attractive in public.
India has been a hotbed of many diverse groups of people since the beginning. Obviously, it also has ample varieties of cuisine in the kitchen. There are varieties of food in different states with different smell and taste. The cuisine has taste and nutrition as well as tradition. Some of the most popular ones are bhel puri and batata pao from Mumbai; Delhi's chat; biryani from Hyderabad; daal baati choorma from Rajasthan, peda from Mathura; Agra's petha, Goa's seafood and so on. In addition, India is a land of spices, so the dishes do not lack a bit of flavour. Different spices are blended in each dish in a unique way to enrich the best-in-class taste.
Again, India is a land of many ethnic groups, castes, creeds and sub-castes, apart from the upper classes. Normally there are languages as well as dialects. They are even enriched with their own dialectical flavour. People from different parts of India attract outsiders with the specialties of their dialects as they are the only source to know more about their origin and evolution over the ages.
Ancient India reveals the taste and superiority of music and dance forms. Each state practices its own folk tales, folk dances and folk songs. They are unique in their charm. Some of the most famous ones are bhangra, kuchipudi, bharatnatyam, uttamthullal etc. Music also has its various forms from classical, Hindustani, mellow light music, high beats to western music forms. The world is attracted to the various dance and music forms of India. India has also produced many great artists who have enthroned our art in the world and left a significant impression on the art world. Art ranges from different types of paintings, sculptures, artisans and many more.
Since ancient times, our heritage has proven to be a superior and enriched culture and civilization. So our heritage also attracts people from all over the world. Governments are taking possible measures to preserve this national treasure for future generations.
A country with different religions has many holidays and celebrations. Indians celebrate some days of national importance like Independence Day, Republic Day and birthdays of national leaders and freedom fighters. Festivals are mainly based on different religions. Therefore, the respective religions celebrate them in their own way. The most popular ones include Diwali (festival of lights), Holi (festival of colors), Christmas, Easter, Eid, Ramzan, Guru Purab, Budh Poornima and so on. Each festival has its own specialty and magnificence. Happiness is not limited to people of one religion, with the passage of time and people's awareness of the holidays, it spreads to others.
A mixed culture as well as its unity in diversity is always a challenge to maintain integrity, peace and communal harmony because every sect and religion has people with a different outlook, which very often creates unrest and violence in the society. In this regard, the role of the government as well as the citizens in general is undoubtedly to make endless efforts to satisfy the egos and demands of the people from all the communities of the society.
The cultural composition of India is especially captivating. There is nothing in the world that gives only happiness and no sadness. But our only responsibility is to maintain and maintain a healthy balance so that we can always get the better side.