2. Digital Folio Task 5: Indian Culture

3. India’s culture is among the world's oldest because civilization in India began about 4,500 years ago. Despite this, Western cultures didn’t always see the Indian culture in a good light because societies that did not follow the Western style of life were considered to be culturally inferior. However, India made many significant advances in areas such as architecture (the building of the Taj Mahal) and mathematics (the invention of the number zero). Being the second most populated country in the world, it’s very diverse with many different spoken languages, religions, foods and arts.

4. Languages
India is home to not just one or two different languages but to an uncountable number of lingual families. There is not one single Indian language that is spoken across the whole country and there is no official language because the language that North Indians speak is often not a popular means of communication in South India and vice versa. Many people living in India also write in Devanagari script. In fact, it is a misconception that the majority of people in India speak Hindi. Though many people speak Hindi in India, 59 percent of India residents speak something other than Hindi, according to The Times of India. Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil and Urdu are some other languages spoken in the country.

5. Religions
More than 80% of India’s population follow the world’s 3rd largest religion, Hinduism. Known for its millions of deities, Hinduism is actually quite simple. Each deity is believed to be an incarnation of one supreme being and Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is a continuous cycle of life and death where the quality of each life is dependent on how one lived their previous life. This concept is also known as karma.
Other main faiths of India include Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Buddhism.

6. Clothing
When people think of Indian clothing, they may immediately think of the colourful silk saris that are worn by many Indian women. The traditional clothing for men is the dhoti which is an unstitched piece of cloth that is tied around the waist and legs and a kurta, which is a loose shirt worn about knee-length.
For special occasions, men may wear a sherwani which is a long coat that goes down to their knees and is buttoned up to the collar.
Not all people dress traditionally in India, but the clothing is always loose due to the heat.

7. Celebrations
Like all other countries, there are certain holidays that play an important part in the national culture. In India, one of the largest and most important holidays is Diwali. It is the beginning of the new year and is a five day festival that is also known as the festival of lights because of the lights that are lit during the celebration. These lights are symbolic of the inner light that protects every citizen from spiritual darkness.
Another important festival is Holi, also known as the festival of colours and the festival of love, is popular in the spring. Following an ancient legend, Indian couples long to colour their beloved as an expression of love and during the festival, people love to drench themselves and others in coloured water.

8. Art and dance
India is well known for its film industry, which if often referred to as Bollywood. These films are known for their elaborate singing and dancing. Additionally, Indian dance, music and theatre traditions span back more than 2000 years and the major classical dance traditions draw on themes from mythology and literature and have rigid presentation rules.

9. Food
In India, many people are vegetarians. Hindus believe that the cow is a sacred animal and thus, never eat beef. Food also plays an important role in nearly every Indian festival and holiday. Spices are used in many Indian dishes. When it is hot, spices such as chili peppers and garlic help the body sweat and cool it down. In colder weather, spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, and nutmeg help warm the body.
Indians eat several small meals a day. Many families begin the day at dawn with prayers and the first meal of the day is often chai (Indian tea) and a salty snack with breakfast taking place a few hours after this. Traditionally, dinner is served quite late and consists of two or three side dishes with rice. In many households, both adults and children take a cup of hot milk that is flavoured with sugar and cardamom before going to sleep.

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