Indian+Culture

   India Ka Safar    Journey to India Bhavya Religion and Language  Indian culture is very vast, spread out over a large area and many different types of people. There is an enormous amount of different religions such as Sikh, Hindu and, Parsi. As a matter of fact there are over 100 different religions in India almost all speaking different languages, all slightly similar. The reason for all these different religions and languages is because most of the languages evolved from one or two base languages. There is one main language; Hindi, but Hindi is most popularly spoken in North India. While in South India Tamil and Telegu is more common. Another important fact is that India is very commonly stereotyped into a divide creating North India and South India. These two regions have slightly different lifestyles, holidays, religions, and languages, so if you ever cross the border you will definitely notice the change in culture.

Places of Worship There are many places of worship in India. Most for different religions in India, there are multiple for each religion. There are Buddhist temples, Hindu Temples, and Gurudwaras. Sadly there are too many different types of places of worship so I have listed the more popular religions in India. Buddhist Temples There are many Buddhist temples in India since it is such a widely practiced religion there. Chaukandi Stupa~ Chaukandi Stupa is a Buddhist Temple in Saranath, 13 kilometers from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Chaukandi Stupa is a descendant of burial mounds and serves as a shrine for a relic of the Buddha. Dambal~ Dambal is in the Gadag district of Karnataka, India. It was a center for Buddhism until around the 12th century. The Buddha's teachings flourished in Karnataka and many Buddhist relics are found scattered around town. Kanheri Caves~ Located on the west outskirts of Mumbai, India and North of Borivli within the forests of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit word Krishnagiri which means black colored. The caves were carved out of Basaltic rock. Mahabodhi Temple (The Great Awakening)~ This was the actual location where Siddhartha, the Buddha, attained enlightenment. It is located in Bodh Gaya, near Patna, Bihar. Hindu Temples There are over one thousand different Hindu temples in India so I will focus mostly on temples in New Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Annamalaiyar Temple~ One of the largest temples in India, it is located at the foot of the Annamalai hill in the village of Tiruvanamalai, located in Tamil Nadu, India. Sripuram~ A Spiritual Park situated at the foot of a small range of hills, also known as Malaikodi, near the town of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, India Akshardham~ Akshardham is a very large Hindu Temple complex. It was dedicated to the President and Prime Minister of India, at the time, President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Sitting on the banks of the Yamuna River, Akshardham is crafted entirely out of stone. Akshardham contains an IMAX, musical fountains, landscaped gardens, exhibitions on Swami Narayan and Hinduism, and many other educational and recreational activities. I have actually been to Akshardham. Laxminarayan Temple~ Laxminarayan Temple was built in honor of the goddess Laxmi and her spouse Lord Vishnu. The temple holds many shrines, gardens, and fountains. Laxminarayan Temple attracts people mostly on Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna.

Gurudwaras~ Temples of the Sikh There are many Gurdwaras in India, since Sikhism is very popular there. Sikhism is slightly different from Hinduism, for example, you must cover your head inside the temple and true Sikhs don't cut their hair. Also Sikhs worship a book of holy writings and words of the many Gurus, including Guru Nanak Ji. The largest and most well known Gurudwara is the Golden Temple. But Gurudwaras are not just in India, in fact there is even a Gurudwara in Grand Rapids, Michigan. __Clothing__

Clothing is a very important part of Indian Culture. There are many different types of traditional clothing, yet most of the time Indians wear jeans and a tee shirt, normal "American" clothing. Actually many of the styles that are in America now were in India a year ago. This is because India is very close to Europe so all the trends and new styles are sent to India straight away. Fashion is very important to everyone in India. Have the latest clothes, the latest bags, newest shoes, and all cool fashionable stuff. Since "American" clothing is already an area of expertise in most of the world I will expose you to some of the more traditional clothing of India. There are saris, lehengas, cholis, ghagras, and salwar-kameez for women and for men there is either "American" clothing or kurta. I will show you some examples of these outfits. Click the link below to see photos of these outfits.

Traditional Indian Clothing Citations Bollywood Pictures of Actors and Actresses

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