Culture of India Essay

Indian last can be comp bed to a rapid river, which takes source from a little well high in the Himalayas and flows down among blossomy valleys and thick forests, beautiful gardens and farms, small villages and big cities. Many tributaries amount it, and the mainstream becomes stronger and more powerful. There is a keen variety of ethnic groups and communities with their beliefs, languages and burnish living in India. However, numerous aspects of exclusive traditional Indian goal can be easily spotted everywhere.For centuries, the country lived through a lot of changes, assimilated various elements of other cultures, but it successfully preserved its old-fashioned traditions and legacy. The progression of Indian culture started from the earliest civilizations. Historical records of Hrappa and Brahmanic epochs (5000-800 B. C. ) prove that a great deal of traditions and ethnical elements (such as Sanskrit, yoga, early Hinduism, and so forth ) were sound in those times. Buddhis m and Jainism emerged in the 5th century B. C. The epoch of Mautya and Gupta Empires is called Golden season of Indian culture.The Emperors of Gupta dynasty loved arts and favored the development of literature, medicine and early plastic arts, to the highest degreely dominated by religious motifs. As a result of European and Oriental colonization, Indian culture absorbed the elements of Greek, Roman, Chinese and other cultural traditions. Muslim conquests in the 11th-15th centuries had a great push on Indian social and cultural life. In particular, Hinduism adopted some(prenominal) philosophical ideas of Sufism, and the influence of Islamic artistic traditions can be seen in Indian architecture (Gol Gumbaz, Taj Mahal), literature (the works of Amir Khusrau Dehlavi and Kabir) and music.In the 16th-18th centuries, Indian culture was again influenced by European domination that resulted in adoption of English educational system and other progressive social standards. Since Christi an missionaries started changing religious and social aw arness of Indian masses to a great extent, in the end of the 18th century a great reformatory movement for cultural and spiritual revival of the nation (known as Brahmo Samaj) was initiated (Henderson). new(a) India has a complex ethnic composition and very several(a) linguistic lines. Over 400 languages and 1,100 various dialects argon spoken.Southern ethnic groups use Dravidian languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada, which are among the 15 official languages of the country. Indo-Aryan languages, such as Hindi, Marathi, Gujatari, Bangali and others, are used in the northern regions. These languages take source from antique Sanskrit and are used by al almost one third of Indian population (Culturopedia). Indian social culture is one of the most buttoned-up and rigid in the world. such traditions as cast system or arranged marriages are still widely practiced. On the other hand, topical anaesthetic soc ial environment is connected with everything relaxing, joyful and colorful.Traditional Indian habilitate (sari, Lungi, Dhoti, ect. ) has a plethora of styles and colors. Also, India is known as a land of celebrations, fairs and festivals (Diwali, Ganpati, etc. ), crowded ceremonies, communication, dancing and other social leisure activities. Religious practices are central in the life of every Indian and people travel by a lot of time in Hindu temples, where they socialize, listen to music and dance. Indian cultural environment is a cradle of Buddhism, one of the most influential philosophical creations and .. a seed bed for human rights (Henderson 4).At the same time, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrism and other worlds religions are quite habitual in modern India as well. Indian visual arts realise a great range of forms and motifs, starting from intricate architecture of Hindu shrines and ending with traditional decorated textiles. Such crafts as stone work, timberlan d work, metal works and glass products are very popular in todays India. Indian painting has been flourishing for centuries, and there are a number of traditional artistic schools (such as Pahari, Kalighat, Kangra, Tanjore, Rajput, etc. ).Modern Indian art is dominated by social, philosophic and humanitarian motifs. flick industry in India has more than 100 years of history and is passing successful and lucrative. Indian movies are being watched in many countries of the world, and they halt a tremendous influence on domestic economy and cultural life. The movies portray political and social aspects, and some are based on local folklore. Indian literature and poetry take source from antediluvian patriarch Sanskrit, Vedic and epic texts (Ramayana, the Mahabharata) and embrace a lot of schools (Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Manipuri, etc.). R. Tagore is the most known Indian writer and poet, who got the Noble prize for literature in 1913 (UCLA). In modern Indian culture, music is mostly associated with cinema, because Indian movies are filled with songs and dancing. However, there are a lot of people who are fond of classic Indian music styles (Hindu devotional dhrupad, khayal or raga). Such music is played with traditional Indian folk instruments, such as sitar and surbahar, as well as with flute, violin, tabla, veena, etc. Indian dance culture is very diverse and unique.Its roots go back to ancient epochs and perplex clear spiritual, expressive and cosmic elements, symbolizing human emotions (9 rasas of emotions) and wholeness with Gods. The role of Indian culture and science to the world is unprecedented. Chess, the decimal system and the concept of zero, significant innovations in astronomy, new medical approaches and therapeutic techniques, the start-off university in the world are among the most valuable and precious gifts of the Indians to the humanity. India has a unique and rich cultural heritage, which can be characterized by unity and diversity, trad itionalism and innovations.Taking into account all these numerous achievements of Indian nation, it is unrealizable to question the opinion of Will Durant, who wrote that Mother India is in many shipway the mother of us all (Culturopedia). Works Cited Encyclopedia of Indian tillage. Culturopedia. jimmy House of Indias Culture and Heritage. 2008. 19 Oct. 2008 . Henderson, Carol E. Customs and Culture of India. Westport, CT Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Manas Culture of India. UCLA. College of Letters and Science. 19 Oct. 2008 .