India is a land of diversity and colours. The people of India and their lifestyle are as diverse as the geography of the country and its varied religions and traditions. Indian way of living presents a beautiful amalgamation of diversity, complexity and simplicity.
It is an experience in itself to notice the how the rich history, culture and traditions vary with change in location and in turn resulting in different kinds of people and their lifestyle.
This constitutes distinctive mannerisms, different habits and cuisines. The lifestyle here in India presents amazing mixture of age old traditions and practices with development and modern world beliefs and living patterns.
The country has emerged as one of rapidly growing countries in just economic sector but other field as well. In spite of this, the people in India still follow their traditions and practices with slight change and addition from the outside world.
In the subcontinent of India, people belonging to various races stay together. There are 6 main kinds so ethnic group such as Negrito, Proto – Australoids or Austrics, Mongoloids, Mediterranean or Dravidian, Western Brachycephals and Nordic Aryans.
Traditionally in India, most of the people live in a joint family which sometimes constitutes of group of 5-6 to 20 members. If we look into traditional Indian houses, the eldest male of the family is in the commanding position and women take care of the household and the entire family and children. However, now one can see many nuclear families as well and women playing equal role in running a family.
Worshiping forms an integral part of Indian families. Along with temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras, most of the Indians have a personal space for worshipping in their houses as well. Worshiping pattern not just differ with religion but also with caste. In Indian society still some parts follow age old practices of castes and positions.
Indian people are quite hospitable and consider their guests as their Gods. This can be seen in the way they their guests. No matter what the situation and timing is, guests are invariable offered with food and drinks.
Elders are given utmost importance in Indian society. In some parts of the country, elders are greeted by younger ones by touching their feet. Children are taught at home to not answer back their elders or parents and to respect elders.
These habits are inculcated in them deliberately by parents. Children are supported by supported by their parents throughout their educational life.
Indian Culture & Languages
India is a land of varied culture and origins. With the variation in location, even the languages people speak also differ. Languages in fact represent the variation in lifestyle of the people and their different cultures.
The country has 22 official languages each with a rich literature and history. Most of the languages in India can be divided into two main group- Aryan languages which are spoken mostly in Northern part and Dravidian languages which are spoken mostly in the southern part of the country.
There are other families of languages as well such as Sino-Mongolian and Austro-Asiatic, etc. There are umpteen numbers of dialects as well spoken by comparatively smaller group of people.
Weddings and other celebrations in India
Indian weddings are not just a religious or societal recognition of two people starting their life together but an association of two families, an event filled with merriment, wide range of functions, music, dances and religious chants. These are no less than any other festivals and form an important part of lives of Indian people.
The weddings also differ with geographical locations varying from elaborate 4-5 days wedding of North India to comparatively smaller and one day weeding of some Southern states, from Hindu weddings to Christian weddings to Muslim weddings to Sikh wedding to any other. No matter which part and to which religion the wedding is associated with, colours and enjoyment is common to all.
Along with wedding, in India almost every day one festival is celebrated. These festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas, Mahavir Jayanti, Republic Day, etc. add further colours and charm to India with their varied forms and importance.
Clothing Style in India
There is similar kind of traditional attire for entire Indian subcontinent. Indian traditional clothing style differs from region to region depending on the religion, geographical conditions and culture over there as well as the history of the place.
The common attire for women in most part of the country is sari which is a long strip of unstitched cloth and is worn with a blouse or short top. Along with daily wear for many around the country, it is gaining popularity in function and festivals especially amongst young generation.
The patterns of wearing saris differ from one geographical reason to another such as from Northern states to West Bengal to Karnataka to Maharashtra, etc. Salwar-kameez also forms an important wear for Indian women.
With the advent of globalisation and lessened gap with the western world, western dressing can also be found common all over India, especially amongst the young generation.
Men in India mostly wear pajama-kurta in most part of the Northern India. In southern part, they can be seen wearing wraparound cloth called Mundu or Dhoti and angavastram which is a shawl. However, now you will many wearing pant and shirts on a daily basis.
In some parts of the country, men can be seen wearing turban which is more common with people of Sikh faith. Pagari and Safa which are also worn on head are mainly worn on occasion like marriages and other festivals. Functions and festivals are the time when various ethnic groups of India wear their traditional attires with authentic jewellery.