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A Glimpse of India

LIT 002 – WORLD LITERATUREBy JACS

India-a Diverse Nation

India is a picture of diversity seen in her people,cultures, colorful festivals, dresses and costumes,religions, flora and fauna and varying landscapes.

India is roughly one third the size ofUSA. It has 29 states and 6 unionterritories. There are 18 official languages, 114languages, 216 mother tongues and 900dialects in India.

India-a Diverse Nation

Religions of India

Four major religions of the world haveoriginated from India: Hinduism,Jainism,

Sikhism and Buddhism.

Hindu Temple Jain Temple

Sikh Gurudwara Buddhist Pagoda

Religions of India

Bahai Lotus Temple Parsi Fire Temple Jewish Synagogue

St. Paul's Cathedral Nakhoda Mosque

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India-the Largest Democracy

India is the largest democracy in the world,seventh largest country and the second most

populous.

India-an Ancient Civilization

India is one of the oldest continuous civilizations.The story of civilization begins in India with theHarrapan civilization which was nurtured by theSarasvati and Sindhu rivers in Northwestern India in3000 B.C.

Dances of India

The cultural richness of India isreflected in her numerous classical and

folk dances.

Bharatnatyam is one of the seven majorclassical dance forms, which originatedin India. It originated in the state of

Tamil Nadu.

Bharatnatyam

Kathakali

Kathakali is one ofthe oldest theatreforms in the world.It originated in

the area ofsouthwestern Indianow known as thestate of Kerala.

Mohiniyattam

This classicalstyle was born

out of aclever fusionof Kathakali

withBharatnatyam.It shows deepaffinitieswith both

these styles.

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Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi was bornin a remote villageof Andhra Pradeshfrom which it

derives its name.The style portraysvarious religiousthemes in the formof a dance drama.

Odissi

Odissi may be the earliestclassical dance style of

India. Natyashastra, the mostancient and authentic text on

Indian Dance andDramatics,also acknowledges

its existence.It is nurtured in the famousshrines of Orissa situated atPuri, Konark and Bhubaneswar.

.

Manipuri

Manipuri danceoriginated in Manipur.The love of LordKrishna and Radha isthe dominant theme inthis dance form.

Kathak

The Kathak dance formoriginated in the northand at first was verysimilar to theBharatanatyam. Persianand Muslim influenceslater altered the dancefrom a temple ritual toa courtly entertainment.The influence of theMughal tradition isevident in this danceform.

Folk DancesDandiya - A folkdance of Gujarat. Itspopularity has spreadall over India.

Bhangra – This folkdance from Punjab ischaracterized byvigorous movements.Bhangra is a rage inIndia.

Folk Dances

Bihu is thefolk dance ofAssam.

Yakshagana is afolk dance ofKarnataka. It hasbeen revivedrecently.

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Classical Music

Indian classical music has a richtradition. The earliest musicalcompositions are attributed in theSamveda more than 4000 years ago. Indianmusical instruments like sitar, tablaand sarangi are popular throughout theworld today.

Yoga

Yoga originated inIndia more than 5000years ago. It meansunion. The part ofYoga dealing withphysical exercise,Hathayoga, is widelypracticed throughoutthe world today.

Wildlife

Royal BengalTiger. Its habitatis the mangroveforest of theSunderbans.

Peacock is thenational bird ofIndia.

Wildlife

Kaziranga is the homeof the one-hornedRhino.

The Red Panda is foundin the hills ofDarjeeling.

Wildlife

The Indian elephantis smaller than itsAfrican counterpart.Elephants wereextensively used inwarfare in ancienttimes. They are stillused for varioustemple rituals.

Monuments

The Meenakshi temple ofMadurai was built by the

Pandiyan kingKulashekhara in the 14th

century.

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Monuments

Jagannath temple at Puri

Monuments

The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor ShahJahan in the 17th century. It is considered to beone of the most beautiful constructions in theworld.

Monuments

The Red Fort in Delhiwas built by Shah Jahanin the 17th century.

The Iron pillar in NewDelhi constructed 1600

years ago byChandragupta Maurya

has been ametallurgical wonder bydefying rust and thevagaries of nature.

Monuments

The Hawa Mahal of Jaipur wasbuilt by Sawai Pratap Singhin the 18th century.

Monuments

Karnataka State Assemblybuilding, Bangalore.

Mysore Place.

Statue of Mahavira, atGomteshwara.

Festivals

Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the mostimportant festivals of India. It iscelebrated every year around September.

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Festivals

The Durga Puja is celebrated inKolkata every year around October.

Festivals

Diwali-the festival of lights-is the mostpopular festival in India. It is celebratedthroughout the country either in the lastweek of October or in the first week ofNovember.

Festivals

Holi–the festival of colors-is celebrated allover India. The above picture shows Indianstudents celebrating Holi at NCSU.

Festivals

The above picture shows my friends and mecelebrating Holi at JNTU, Hyderabad, India backin 2000.

Scenic Beauty

Kanchenjungha, thethird highest peak inthe world(8598m), inthe Himalayas, is thehighest peak ofIndia.

The Thar desertis located inRajasthan.

Scenic Beauty

The backwaters ofKerala.

Ladakh is one of thecoldest inhabitedregions of theworld.

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Costumes

A lady in a saree.

Costumes

A lady in a Ghagra Choli.

A lady in a Churidar.

Costumes

Costumes

A Sikh in a turban.

Marriage

An Indian marriage ceremony.

Technology

India developed her ownsupercomputer in the mideighties. India successfullylaunched her GeostationarySatellite in 2001. India is the leadingnation in the world inprofessional softwaredevelopment.

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India-the Largest Film Industry

India is the largest film producing nation inthe world. Each year India produces

approximately 1000 movies in 14 differentlanguages.

Sports

Cricket is the mostpopular sport in

India.

Hockey is the national sport of India.

Sports

The game of Polooriginated in

Manipur.

Kabaddi is verypopular in the

villages.

The End