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Culture of India
Few countries in the world can boast of such an ancient, diverse and rich culture as India's. Going back to an enormous 6000 years, India's culture has been enriched by successive migration of people from various parts of the world thus absorbing their customs and traditions into the Indian way of life. On such a platform lies the permanence of Indian civilization and communal structure from the earlier times to the present day. Modern India presents a vibrant picture of unity in diversity unparalleled in history. The various regions of India, the South, North, and North-East, have their own individual identities and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. Indian religions, festivals, rituals, artifacts, monuments, costumes, music and dance forms, language and literature contribute to its affluent rich culture.
Literature
From the Vedas and Upanishads to the Ramayana and Bhagavad-Gita, India has produced great works of literature, philosophy and religion. The rituals have continued in modern-day India. Practically every major Indian language has a rich tradition of literature. Tales from the Puranas, the Jataka and the Panchatantra folk tales, fairy and phantom tales have made India a huge library of literature. Works on a variety of themes like astronomy, health, law, grammar and administration also form a part of Indian Literary Heritage. India has given the world in the form of scripts and knowledge, Vaastu Shahstra, Ayurveda and Yoga which are much acclaimed all over the world.
Dance
India offers a number of Classical Indian dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. Each form represents the culture and ethos of a particular region or a group of people. The eight main styles are Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Bhangra, Manipuri and Kathakali. Besides, there are several forms of Indian folk dances, and special dances observed in regional festivals.
Music
The two main classical schools of music in India are Hindustani, popular in the northern, eastern and western parts of the country, and Carnatic, which has its ancestry in south India. The classical music tradition has survived through the practice of Guru (teacher) passing on his skills orally to the Shishya (disciple). This led to the existence of the system of Gharanas and Sampradayas in classical music. Folk and tribal music has also thrived in India and, lately, it has been brought to the cities. Light music has also become very popular in urban centers.
Paintings
The tradition of painting in India goes back to ancient times, as is evident from the wall carvings of Ajanta, Ellora and other murals, the Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts, the Jain texts and the Deccan, Mughal and Kangra schools. A touch of modernization came with the Bengal resurgence while many contemporary painters have adopted abstract and other modern styles.
Sculptures
The first sculptures in India date back to the Indus Valley civilization, where stone and bronze carvings have been discovered.This is one of the earliest instances of sculpture in the world. Later, as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism developed , India produced some of the most intricate bronzes in the world, as well as unparalled temple carvings. Some huge shrines, such as the one at Ellora were not really constructed using blocks, but instead carved out of solid rock, making them perhaps the largest and most intricate sculptures in the world.
Crafts
Indian crafts are world renowned for their artistic work and grandeur. The vast ethnic and cultural diversities paved way for a variety of crafts with different motifs and techniques that boomed.