During the last 5,000 years, the culture of India has been impacted by war, invasion, waves of immigration and the development of some of the world’s largest non-Christian religions.
The result has been a rich and diverse country that is emerging as a world leader.
Most Indian people are descendants of the Dravidians, believed to be the first inhabitants of the subcontinent, but many other racial and ethnic groups are also represented.
Regional resemblance
People in the north tend to be more fair-skinned, and people in northeastern India have the Asian features of their Mongolian ancestors.
Each state is represented by its own distinctive dress. Since early times, visitors have been enthralled by the traditional women’s garment, known as the sari.
The sari is a rectangle of fabric about six yards long that is wrapped, tucked, pleated and draped to form an elegant garment that wearers claim is comfortable to wear.
Even with increasing urbanization of Indian society, the sari continues to be the garment of choice for a majority of adult Indian women.
People who are familiar with India can tell where a woman is from by the way she wears her sari.
Another traditional feature of Indian fashion is the dot worn on the forehead, called a bindi.
Once worn to signify that a woman was married, the bindi now has become a fashion accessory worn by both married and single women.
The traditional bindi was round, but is now available in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.
Men in urban areas have generally adopted western-style dress, but villagers often wear a knee-length shirt over pajama-like pants.
Many times, they wear a turban made of a length of cloth wrapped around the head.
In the recent past, marriages were arranged by the parents of the bride and groom, sometimes when the future partners were still children.
Couples were generally matched according to their social status and their religion.
While this is still the custom in rural areas, many young men and women in urban areas now choose their own mates.
This is resulting in increasing numbers of marriages between people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups.
Education in India is free, but many rural children get little or no schooling.
The rate of illiteracy among adults is high — more than 40 percent among people over 15 years old.
The system of higher education is excellent but available only to those who have money or outstanding academic achievement.
The arts are highly prized in the nation of India. Some of the sacred writings of Indian clerics are among the oldest in the world.
Carvings and buildings dating back as far as the sixth century reflect the influence of the various groups that occupied the nation over its history.
And music in many forms is also present in India, ranging from traditional to classical to popular.
One notable musical form is the raga, a unique style in which a small group of musical notes can be played in any order.
Today, India produces more movies than any other nation in the world, having begun in the early days of silent films and advanced to modern techniques and newer cinematic styles.
Most movies produced in India are intended for Indian audiences, although some are made to export to other locales.
Indians love sports, particularly field hockey, cricket, soccer and football.
With the exception of hockey teams, Indian athletes are rarely able to compete internationally.
Some people in India blame the government there for not having a policy to promote sports and for not having the necessary infrastructure to support athletic development.
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