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| The Culture |
 India is a country well known for its rich culture and colourful customs and traditions.
The culture of India has been shaped by the long history of India, its unique geography and the absorption of customs, traditions and ideas from both immigrants and invaders, while preserving its ancient heritage from the Indus Valley Civilization.
India's great diversity of cultural practices, languages, customs, and traditions are examples of this unique co-mingling over the past five millinnea. India is also the birth place of several religious systems such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, which have had a great influence not only over India but also over the rest of the world. From the twelfth century onwards, following the Islamic conquests and the subsequent European occupation, the culture of India was influenced by Persian, Arabic, Turkish and English cultures. The various religions and the multi-hued traditions of India that was created with those amalgamations have influenced South East Asia and other different parts of the world.
The culture of India is one of the oldest and unique. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. In the matter of cuisine, for instance, the North and the South are totally different.
India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations. Festivals in India are characterized by color, gaiety, enthusiasm, prayers and rituals. Many Indian festivals are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed.
Indian culture treats guests as god and serves them and takes care of them as if they are a part and parcel of the family itself. “Respect one another” is another lesson that is taught from the books of Indian culture. All people are alike and respecting one another is ones duty. To greet a friend or another Indian, We join our hands (palms together), bow down in front of the other person, and say Namaste, Namaskar, or Pranam. The Lord dwells in the heart of every human being. This joining of hands symbolizes the meeting of two souls; our real self actually meets Itself. This signifies reverent Salutations and Unity of Souls.
Indian Architecture, including notable monuments, such as the Taj Mahal and other examples of Mughal architecture and South Indian architecture, is the result of traditions that combined elements from several parts of the country and abroad. Vernacular architecture also displays notable regional variation.
In the realm of music, there are varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The classical tradition of music in India includes the Carnatic and the Hindustani music. Indian dance too has diverse folk and classical forms. The earliest works of Indian literature were transmitted orally and only later written down. Theatre in India often incorporates music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue. The Indian film industry is the largest in the world. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, makes commercial Hindi films and is the most prolific film industry in the world. Established traditions also exist in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu language cinemas.
Traditional Indian dress varies across the regions in its colours and styles and depends on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men; in addition, stitched clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pyjama and European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.
The culture of India, its people, its infrastructure, and indeed its very soil, encourage and breed Spiritualism, allowing spiritual traditions to thrive, flourish and prosper. Ancient philosophies like sciences of yoga, ayurveda, vastu, ( India’s counterpart of chinese Feng Shui) are all worldy recognised, practiced and respected. India is home to the age-old disciplines of the ancient martial arts, Kalarippayattu and Varma Kalai.
India is a country which has a legacy of culture in all spheres of life and still open to imbibe the essence of cultures around the globe.
Namaste or Pranam -- How we greet each other in India.
 To greet a friend or another Indian, We join our hands (palms together), bow down in front of the other person, and say Namaste , Namaskar, or Pranam. The Lord dwells in the heart of every human being. This joining of hands symbolizes the meeting of two souls, our real self actually meets Itself. This signifies reverent Salutations and Unity of Souls.
 Bowing down & joining hands symbolizes humility and also makes us humble. Thus when we joins our hands and say Namaskar , we actually see the Lord in the other persons and believe, "I bow with deep respects to the all-loving, all-powerful and omnipresent (present everywhere) Lord in you."
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