Indian food

Indian food is different from rest of the world not only in taste but also in cooking methods. It reflects a perfect blend of various cultures and ages. Just like Indian culture, food in India has also been influenced by various civilizations.

Foods of India are better known for its spiciness. Throughout India, be it North India or South India, spices are used generously in food. But one must not forget that every single spice used in Indian dishes carries some or the other nutritional as well as medicinal properties.
Indian food types are diversed by the ingredients, spices and the cooking methods which are unique to the regional parts of the country. Rice and wheat are India main staple foods. Spicy food and sweets are very popular in India.

INDIA'S NATIONAL FRUIT

A fleshy fruit, eaten ripe or used green for pickles etc., of the tree Mangifera indica, the mango is one of the most important and widely cultivated fruits of the tropical world. Its juicy fruit is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D. In India there are over100 varieties of mangoes, in different sizes, shapes and colours. Mangoes, have been cultivated in India from time immemorial. The poet Kalidasa sang its praises. Alexander savoured its taste, as did the Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang. Akbar planted 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga, known as Lakhi Bagh.

clothes

Clothing

A girl from Tripura sports a bindi while preparing to take part in a traditional dance festival.Traditional Indian clothing for women are the saris and also Ghaghra Cholis (Lehengas). For men, traditional clothes are the Dhoti, pancha / veshti or Kurta. Delhi is considered to be India's fashion capital, housing the annual Fashion weeks. In some village parts of India, traditional clothing mostly will be worn. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune are all places for people who like to shop. In southern India the men wear long, white sheets of cloth called dhoti in English and in Tamil. Over the dhoti, men wear shirts, t-shirts, or anything else. Women wear a sari, a long sheet of colourful cloth with patterns. This is draped over a simple or fancy blouse. This is worn by young ladies and woman. Little girls wear a pavada. A pavada is a long skirt worn under a blouse. Both are often gaily patterned. Bindi is part of the women's make-up. Traditionally, the red bindi (or sindhur) was worn only by the married Hindu women, but now it has become a part of women's fashion. A bindi is also worn by some as their third eye. It sees what the others eyes can't and protect your brain from the outside and the sun. [22] Indo-western clothing is the fusion of Western and Subcontinental fashion. Churidar, Dupatta, Gamchha, Kurta, Mundum Neriyathum, Sherwani, uttariya are among other clothes.

Indian Culture

Few countries in the world have such an ancient and diverse culture as India. Stretching back in an unbroken sweep over 5000 years, India's culture has been enriched by successive waves of migration which were absorbed into the Indian way of life.It is this variety which is a special hallmark of India. Its physical, religious and racial variety is as immense as its linguistic diversity. Underneath this diversity lies the continuity of Indian civilization and social structure from the very earliest times until the present day. Modern India presents a picture of unity in diversity to which history provides no parallel.

a Country of Festivals

Someone once remarked that in India, there is a festival on every day of the year. There are innumerable national, regional, local, religious, seasonal and social festivities that give credence to this statement. This is not surprising considering the innumerable gods, goddesses, saints, gurus and prophets who are worshipped in India.
Festivals of India are characterized by colour, gaiety, enthusiasm, feasts and a variety of prayers and rituals. Foreign travellers are struck by the scale and multiplicity of the festivals that have evolved in the Indian society.

Religion

In India, religion is a way of life. It is an integral part of the entire Indian tradition. For the majority of Indians, religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics. Secular India is home to Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other innumerable religious traditions. Hinduism is the dominant faith, practised by over 80% of the population. Besides Hindus, Muslims are the most prominent religious group and are an integral part of Indian society. In fact India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia.
Common practices have crept into most religious faiths in India and many of the festivals that mark each year with music, dance and feasting are shared by all communities. Each has its own pilgrimage sites, heroes, legends and even culinary specialties, mingling in a unique diversity that is the very pulse of society.

Indian Languages

It has been said that India is a living Tower of Babel! There are fifteen national languages recognized by the Indian constitution and these are spoken in over 1600 dialects.

India's official language is Hindi. However, English continues to be the official working language. For many educated Indians, English is virtually their first language, and for a great number of Indians who are multi-lingual, it will probably be the second.
The country has a wide variety of local languages and in many cases the State boundaries have been drawn on linguistic lines. Besides Hindi and English, the other popular languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Oriya, Telugu and Urdu.

these are the flag and the shield of india

the lions are symbols os power, courage and confidence. the figure of lions stand on a circular abacus that is surrounded by four smaller animals that act as guardians of the four directions:

the lion in the north, the elephant in the east, the horse in the south and the bull in the west. The abacus is placed on a lotus in full bloom, alluding to the origin of life and creative inspiration. The national motto सत्यमेव जयते "Satyameva Jayate" is inscribed on the bottom of the shield, which, in Devanagari script means' truth alone triumphs. "

Mystic India: An Incredible Journey of Inspiration, was created to honor and share the essence of India, using the story of Neelkanth, a child yogi, as a connecting thread. As explained in the film, yogis are special individuals who undertake a journey to attain a deep understanding of the existence of life. In the process, they develop amazing powers of body and mind through the means of yoga, meditation and self-discipline.

indian culture

these are some beautiful pictures of India
the indian culture is colorful and extravagant.

This is a video of typical dance in India.
I hope you enjoy.