The
fabric of Indian society is woven with myriad
threads. The result is multi-textured, many
layered and though this diversity has fuelled
some dissension, it continues to be India’s
strength.
India
is predominantly Hindu and it also has the
world’s largest population of Muslims. Sikhs,
Buddhists, Jains, Christians (Roman Catholic,
Protestant and Syrian Christian), Jews and
Zoroastrians people this great land. There
is phenomenal ethnic diversity too. While
the people of the north are mainly Indo-Aryan,
in the south they are mostly Dravidian. The
tribal population in the northeast is of Tibeto-Burmese
extract, while the ‘adivasis’ of Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat are probably proto Australoid.
Language varies almost every ten miles and
India’s billion-strong population has a total
of 1535 recognized dialects.
One
of the most marked things about Indian society
is the great diversity. This applies to religion,
ethnicity and language as much as to the economic
situation. The yawning gap between the rich
and the poor is bridged by a large middle
class of small businessmen, professionals,
bureaucrats etc.
Most
Indians actively practice their religion,
and despite the creeping westernisation, most
of India is socially orthodox. That means
that caste distinctions have not been forgotten,
man-woman interaction may be frowned upon,
and the public display of affection is strictly
no-no. The cow is sacred and ‘all ye who forget
that-be doomed’. The left hand, which is an
indispensable tool for Indian ablutions, is
considered impure and isn’t used in passing
things around.
On
the whole the Indians are a warm welcoming
people. The guest is next only to God and
crooks and touts notwithstanding, and curious
looks and probing questions notwithstanding,
you’ll find that they are great hosts. Their
idiosyncrasies just make it all the more interesting;
be patient and you will learn to love the
complete package.
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Religion
India
probably has the most religious diversity
in any country. It’s the birthplace of Hinduism,
Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. It’s among
the few places to have a resident Zoroastrian
population. The Syrian Christian Church is
well established in Kerala; the Basilica of
Bom Jesus in Goa, old churches in Calcutta
and Delhi, synagogues in Kerala, temples from
the tiny to the tremendous, ‘stupas’, ‘gompas’
and the Bodhi tree, the Ajmer Sharif and Kaliya
Sharif in Bombay, all reflect the amazing
multiplicity of religious practice in India.
Tribal people in the northeast, Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat practice forms of nature worship.
Secularism
is enshrined in the Constitution.
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Language
The
national language of India is Hindi, which
in one form or another is spoken all over
the north. In the Deccan (south India), the
languages are completely different. The states
were formed on the basis of language so each
has its own. On the whole though, dialects,
accents, idioms and linguistic flourishes
change every few miles. There are 18 official
languages but over a thousand recognised dialects.
English is widely spoken.
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Food
From
DC to Dakota, Warwick to what-have-you, Indian
spices are letting off steam everywhere in
the whole wide world. And you come to India
and realise......hey, there’s nothing authentic
about it! Every kitchen, every man, woman,
cook, chef does it different.
A
meal in the north would typically constitute
chapattis or rice with dal (lentil curry)
and a dish of vegetables or meat. Pappads
(wafers fried or toasted to a crisp), yoghurt
and pickle are usual accompaniments. The chapatti
is a round flat unleavened bread of which
you tear bits to scoop the curry. Variations
of the chapatti are paratha, poorie, bhatoora,
and Tandoori naans.
Idli,
dosa, vada, sambar, uppama! In the south,
too, a meal centres on a base of rice, or
as in the South –Indian case, semolina preparation.
The idli is a steamed rice cake and the crisp
salty pancake often stuffed with potatoes
is the dosa. Eaten alongside is the South-Indian
dal - "sambhar", sour, hot, souped -up with
vegetables. The Brahmins are vegetarian, but
the rest consume sour-hot fish, mutton, and
chicken with gusto. In Kerala seafood is simmered
in coconut milk and delicately flavoured with
curry leaves. Most Indians eat three meals,
each one full-fledged.
Savoury
snacks like pakoras pep the evening cuppa.
Anything coated in batter (of chickpea, flour
et al) and deep-fried will pass for pakora.
Also, readily available on the roadside are
snacks like bhel puri (spiced up puffed rice)
and paapri chaat (wafers and boiled potato
doused in curd and sauces). Vegetarians will
feel like they’ve come home, specially in
the south. But no matter where you are, in
a plush restaurant or a roadside ‘dhaba’,
in Kunnur or Kullu, you can be sure of sumptuous
vegetarian meals.
All
along the coast and extensively in the northeast
fish is consumed almost as a staple. Both
fresh water and sea fish are popular. Indians
love their sweets. There is great regional
variety and among the most popular types is
the Bengali "mishti".
There’s
also a huge variety in drinks. Besides ‘chai’
(tea) and coffee, sweetened/salty churned
yoghurt called lassi, the ubiquitous ‘neemboo-pani’
or lemon-water, fruit juice in tetra packs
and aerated drinks are readily available in
India. IMFL expands into Indian made Foreign
Liquor and spans the entire range from beer
to whiskey. Some examples of local brews are
‘chaang’ in Arunachal, toddy in the South
and Goa’s famous ‘feni’.
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Culture & Crafts
Music.
Much of India’s classical music is devotional
and a lot of that, devoted to the flute playing
god, Krishna. The North Indian Hindustani
and South Indian Carnatic streams are distinct
and both have a complex ‘raga’ framework.
Ghazals in Urdu reflect on life and are light
on the ear. Every region has a distinctive
folk tradition too. Instruments that would
typically accompany Indian music are the stringed
veena, sitar, and the Indian drum: tabla or
mridangam in the south.
Dance:
The legacy of dance in India is tremendous.
On temple walls, on an urban stage, in impromptu
bursts by a mellow evening fire, men and women
twinkle their toes in expression of joy.
The
classical dances of India are numerous. Characterised
by stylised movements and elaborate costumes,
these dances communicate age-old tales of
love, longing and rage. Kathakali of Kerala,
Bharatnatyam of Tamil Nadu, Kuchipudi of Andhra
Pradesh, Manipuri and Odissi from Orissa are
the prominent dance forms in this country
that sways to an altogether novel beat. The
robust bhangra of Punjabi men, the graceful
whirling of Rajasthani women, the gentle sway
of northeastern dancers, vigorous tribal dances,
every corner has developed it’s own unique
form.
Theatre:
There is a robust theatrical tradition. The
Yakshagana, nautanki and puppetry are ancient
folk forms that live on till date. This tribe
of wandering performers is on the decline
but there still are occasional performances
on the rudimentary stages of the rural areas.
Rustic and coarse the flavour might be, but
the techniques are surprisingly sophisticated.
There is a growing body of contemporary work
both in English and in the vernacular.
Art:
The earliest specimens of Indian painting
are the ones on the walls of the Ajanta Caves
dating back to 2nd century BC.
The typical ‘figures in profile’ art of India
came to be when the Jain manuscripts were
being illustrated. The Mughals had a huge
impact on Indian art. The miniature, which
had been only on palm leaves in the northeast,
came into prominence. The influence of Persian
art brought placid garden scenes, illustrations
from myths, legends and history into Indian
art. Later schools include the Bengal School
of Tagore and the Company School of European
influence. More recently the opulent paintings
of Raja Ravi Varma, the paintings of M.F.
Hussain, Jamini Roy and Ganesh Pyne among
others rule the art scene.
Crafts:
Word craft, handicrafts, architecture and
sculpture all contribute to this rich and
varied domain. Indian literature, both in
English and in the vernacular, is ever more
popular around the world. Handicrafts are
as varied as the country itself. The Mughal
and colonial structures and the temple architecture
across the length and breadth of the country
are testaments to the lands exciting past.
Sculptures adorn temple walls, stupas, street
junctions and ancient caves. The oldest schools
are the Gandhara and the Mathura.
Movies: The Hindi movie industry is the
most prolific in the world. Based in Bombay,
hence Bollywood, this spool-spitting
machine takes on the onerous responsibility
of fuelling India’s prime passion. There is
sheer joy in the easy stereotypes of muscle-flexing
machismo, leering villainy and leading ladies
of Hindi filmdom, but not all Hindi films
are a simmering brew of action, romance, and
song and dance. There is a parallel stream
of "art" cinema though it’s not nearly half
as popular as the "commercial" stream.
Giving
competition to the Bollywood masala film is
the equally spicy south Indian fare. Regional
cinema is fairly popular in its local context
and with serious cinemagoers.
Cricket!
Oh for the love of a six-er! India grinds
to a halt when the country’s eleven don their
colours. In cricket-crazy Calcutta, old folk
gather to trash the ‘new fangled’ limited-overs
format; in front of a million TV sets, four
million pray for victory (often knowing they’re
praying for a miracle!) tirelessly. It’s a
mad-mad-mad world and in India cricket stars
adorn the doors of innumerable cupboards.
Hockey,
football and now the ATP tour too have a decent
following.
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Education
59.5%
of India is literate: 70.2% males and 48.3%
females. Kerala is the model state as far
as education levels are concerned boasting
figures of almost 99% literacy. Higher education
in India has a formidable reputation. Whether
in engineering or medicine, business management
or social science education, India universities
are at par with the best in the world.
