Indian culture is diverse as well as filled with tradition that goes way back to the early century. Throughout the generations a lot of festivals have also come up, many of which deal with different traditions, religions and basically how the country came to be. India is famous for being an exotic country filled with many mysteries of exotic culture and traditions. Known as the land of gods, goddesses, saints, gurus and prophets, it is no wonder you will find many festivals occurring in India. Some of the festivals celebrated in India include Diwali or Deepawali (which is the most famous Hindu festival), Buddha Purnima, Christmas (A Christian Holiday symbolizing Christ’s Birth usually celebrated in states that have Christians), Dussehra, Easter (Christian holiday symbolizing Christ death and rising), Ladakh Festivals, Mahavir Jayanti, Makar Sankranti, Ganesh Chaturthi, Muharram, Holi (Festival of Colors), New Year(End of each year), Onam, Id (Muslim Holiday symbolizing the end of the fasting), Janamashtami, Raksha Bandhan, and Rath Yatra. Deepawali or Diwali, the word itself means rows of diyas (clay lamps) and Diwali the day is the festival of lights symbolizing the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness. Known as a family festival, Diwali is celebrated twenty days after Dussehra, on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Asvin between October and November. Another notable festival is Holi, which is another big holiday that happens during spring time in India. It originally was a celebration for good harvest and fertile lands. Nowadays the country goes wild with people running on the streets and smearing each other with brightly hued powders and colored water. The festival is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year

For centuries, India has captured the imagination of the world with its charm and uniqueness. It is one of the oldest countries in the world boasting about the oldest civilization. And every aspect of this civilization, the music, dance, languages, religions, co-exists and blends in so beautifully that it could never be identified as a separate mien and collectively called as an ancient culture and heritage of India. With so many people following various religions and traditions, it was natural to have a culture that will surpass every other culture with leaps and bounds.

As a spectator of Indian culture, one gets a peak into this magical world during the major festivals. Be it Diwali of Hindus, Eid of Muslims, or Christmas of Christians, all are celebrated with spectacular extravagance and gala. What is terrific to see is a single festival is celebrated in numerous ways in different parts of the country. If we pick one, Dussehra would be the most prominent example. It is celebrated throughout the country, but if you travel from north to south of India, you will be experiencing the different flavours of same festival. The events, the moods, the rituals are all different. It is during the festivals, you get to see the best of performing arts and taste the best of cuisines. Music and Dances form the core of the Indian culture. Every region has its own specialty dance that have made it big on the international level as well. If we count, the list of famous Indian dances just goes on. Bharatnatyam, Odissi Dance, Kuchipudi, Kathak, the classic dance form of India have been gaining fame for India. There are few festivals that are dedicated to celebrate dance and music. The Khajuraho Dance Festival and Tansen Music Festival are two such festivals that take place in Madhya Pradesh.

For a culture to flourish and spread, one thing that has to keep pace with time is language and literature. India has mind-boggling number of languages prevalent in India. There are around 415 languages still spoken in India, with 215 languages having more than 10,000 people speaking it. Although only 23 of them have been given official status. As the language develops, with it expands Literature. In fact, literature plays a major role in taking a country’s culture out to the world. And with so many languages, literature knows no boundary. Starting with Vedas, then epics like Mahabharata by Sage Ved Vyasa and Ramayana by Sage Valmiki, India gave the world its very first literary works. Since then, India has produced innumerable poets and writers who have received acclaim from world over. Rabindranath Tagore became Asia’s first Nobel laureate when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in year 1913. Indian writers today have not only mastered their own language but have given masterpieces in English as well.