Culture

India's culture is marked by a high degree of syncretism; it has managed to preserve established traditions whilst absorbing new customs, traditions and ideas from invaders and immigrants. Many Indian cultural practices, languages, customs and monuments are examples of this co-mingling over centuries.

Literature

The earliest literary traditions in India were mostly oral, and were only later transcribed. Most of these are represented by religious texts such as the Vedas, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana; Sangam literature from Tamil Nadu is among India's oldest. The many notable Indian writers of the modern era, using both Indian languages and in English, include Rabindranath Tagore.

Art

The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the petroglyphs as found in places like Bhimbetka, and some of them are older than 550 BC. Ancient texts outline theories of darragh and anecdotal accounts suggesting that it was common for households to paint their doorways or indoor rooms where guests resided.

Cave paintings from Ajanta, Bagh, Ellora and Sittanavasal and temple paintings testify to a love of naturalism and God. Most rock art in India is Hindu or Buddhist. A freshly made coloured flour design (Rangoli) is still a common sight outside the doorstep of many (mostly South Indian) Indian homes.

Music

Indian music is highly diversified. Classical music is mainly split between the North Indian Hindustani and South Indian Carnatic traditions. Highly regionalised forms of popular music include Filmi and folk music like Bhangra. Many classical dance forms exist, including Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Odissi and Yakshagana. They often have a narrative form and are usually infused with devotional and spiritual elements.

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 nine main styles are Garba, Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Yakshagana, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Bhangra, Manipuri and Kathakali. In addition, there are several forms of Indian folk dances, and special dances observed in regional festiva.

Drama and Theatre

Indian drama and theatre is perhaps as old as its music and dance. Kalidas' plays like Shakuntala and Meghadoot are some of the oldest plays from literary traditions. The tradition of folk theatre is alive in nearly all the linguistic regions of the country. In addition, there is a rich tradition of puppet theatre in rural India. Group Theatre is also thriving in the cities, initiated by the likes of Utpal Dutt, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and maintained by groups like Nandikar and Prithvi Theatre.

Architecture

Indian architecture is that vast tapestry of production of the Indian Subcontinent that encompasses a multitude of expressions over space and time, transformed by the forces of history considered unique to the sub-continent, sometimes destroying, but most of the time absorbing new ideas. The result is an evolving range of architectural production that nonetheless retains a certain amount of continuity across history. The earliest production in the Indus Valley Civilisation was characterised by well planned cities and houses where religion did not seem to play an active role, but which demonstrated world-famous city planning.

During the reign of the Gupta and Maurya empires, several Buddhist architectural examples like caves of Ajanta and Ellora and the monumental Sanchi Stupa were built. South India contains several Hindu temples like Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur, the Sun Temple, Konark, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, and the Buddha stupa (Chinna Lanja dibba and Vikramarka kota dibba) at Bhattiprolu. Angkor Wat and other Buddhist and Hindu temples carry the evidence of Indian influence on South East Asian architecture, as they are built in styles almost identical to traditional Indian temple building.

With the advent of Islamic influence from the west, the erstwhile Indian architecture was slightly adapted to allow the traditions of the new religion. Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahal, Gol Gumbaz, Qutub Minar, Red Fort of Delhi are the creations of this era, and are often used as the stereotypical symbols of India, despite the greater antiquity and originality of traditional architecture. The colonial rule of the British Indian Empire saw the development of Indo-Saracenic style, and mixing of several other styles, including European gothic, Victoria Memorial, Victoria Terminus. Recent creations such as Lotus Temple, and the various modern urban developments of India, are also notable.

The traditional system of Vaastu Shastra serves as India's version of Feng Shui, influencing town planning, architecture and ergonomics. Though Vastu is conceptually similar to Feng Shui in that it also tries to harmonise the flow of energy, (also called life-force or Prana in Sanskrit and Chi/Ki in Chinese/Japanese), through the house, it differs in the details, such as the exact directions in which various objects, rooms, materials etc are to be placed.

Indian architecture has influence the world, especially eastern Asia, due to the spread of ideas with Buddhism. A number of Indian architectural features such as the temple mound or stupa, temple spire or sikhara, temple tower or pagoda and temple gate or torana, have become famous symbols of Asian culture, used extensively in East Asia and South East Asia. The central spire is also sometimes called a vimanam. The variant southern temple gate, or gopuram, is noted for its intricacy and majesty. The arch, a cornerstone of world architecture, was first developed by the Indus Valley civilisation and would later be a staple of Indian architecture.

Sports

India's national sport is field hockey, although cricket is the most popular sport in India. In some states, particularly those in the northeast and the coastal states of West Bengal, Goa and Kerala, football is the more popular sport. Chess, commonly held to have originated in India, is also gaining popularity with the rise of the number of recognised Indian grandmasters. Traditional sports include Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, and Gilli-Danda, which are played nationwide. It is also home to one of the world's oldest martial art forms - Kalari Payattu.

Cinema

The Indian film industry is the world's most prolific in terms of number of films produced and number of tickets sold. Its most recognisable face is the Mumbai-based 'Bollywood', which produces mainly Hindi films. Other strong cinema industries are based on the Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Bengali, Marathi languages.

Bollywood films are usually musicals, though not in the Western sense of the word. Indian movies have a regular plot, with songs and dances interspersed to add to the entertainment value of the movie. Few movies are made without at least one song-and-dance number. Indian audiences expect full value for their money; they want songs and dances, romance, comedy and dare-devil thrills, all mixed up in a three hour long extravaganza with intermission. Such movies are called masala movies, after the Indian spice mixture masala. Plots tend to be melodramatic, frequently employing formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers and angry parents, corrupt politicians, kidnappers, conniving villains, courtesans with hearts of gold, long-lost relatives and siblings separated by fate, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences, and even movies with tri polar changes that can turn a movie and its plot upside down. Bollywood is becoming increasingly popular in other countries including several places in Europe and the US Some Bollywood actors have adapted to more Hollywood-type films in movies like Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. Bollywood's fame is increasing internationally as more and more people across the globe are exposed to its style.

Besides the regular masala film, India has also produced many critically acclaimed cinema-makers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Girish Kasaravalli, Ram Gopal Varma, Mani Ratnam, G. Aravindan and others. Indian commercial movies have also started following authentic, real world themes with a lower amount of melodrama.

Religion

India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with one of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of the country and most of its people. The religion of more than 80.4% of the people is Hinduism, considered the world's oldest religious and philosophical system.

Islam is practiced by around 13.4% of all Indians. Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism are systems that are strong and influential not only in India but across the world. Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the Bahá'í Faith are also influential but their numbers are smaller. Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life, atheism and agnostics are also visible influences.