India Festival Souvenir Book-2009 (Part 4)

India Festival 2009
India: Unity in Diversity
By Mona Shah
As a daughter of Indian American parents, I have had the opportunity to visit and travel around India
several times. I couldn’t help but notice one interesting fact: the amount of diversity existing in India. It
was even more interesting to note that, in spite of that diversity, the whole country and its people, feel and
behave as one. On further observation, the details that I found were even more thrilling.
Languages
All countries have some degree of diversity. The most unique
diversity in India is the number languages spoken in one
country. It is estimated that there are more than1652 “mother
tongues” spoken in India. Out of these languages, 18 are recognized
as “official languages.” Some of these major languages
include Hindi, Punjabi, Kashmiri (northern India), Gujarati
and Marathi (western India), Tamil, Telugu, Kannad, Malayali
(southern India), Oriya (southeastern India), and Bengali and
Assames (eastern India). There are also several different written
languages.
Holidays
Indians celebrate their holidays with great enthusiasm and flourish.
The major holidays are Deepawali, Makar Snakrant, Holi
and Janmashtami, which are celebrated throughout the country,
differing only in manner. Regional festivals include, but are not
limited to, the following: Navratri (western India), Durga Pooja
(eastern India), Baisakhi and Nanak Jayanti (northern India),
Iyyappan Pujas (southern India), Kumbh Mela (northeastern
India), and Rath yatra (southeastern India), to name a few.
Religions
Religions practiced in India are also equally diverse. Hinduism
(82%), Christianity (2.5%), Islam (11.7%), Sikhism (2%) gives
some idea of the distribution in religion. Jainism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Zorastrianism etc. are other examples.
Clothing
Clothing and fashion in India varies widely in different regions.
Besides usual shirts and pants, men wear dhotis, kedia, safo,
turbans, lungi, khes, kamarbandh and much more. There are
several varieties of saries and styles of wearing them. This differs
significantly from region-to-region.
Architecture
Due to a long and rich history, Indian architecture is also very
diverse. Mogul style architecture is seen in the north with their
vast palaces, forts and mosques. The world famous Taj Mahal
is one example of such architecture. The temples with tall
shikhars are studded with intricate carvings like the Minakshi
temple in Madurai and the temples of Rameshwaram and
Tirumali. The caves of Ajanta, Ellora and Delwara temples
display their unique style in western India. The Golden temple
in the north carries a special flavor of its own.
Art
India has a significant variety of craft. One cannot help admire
the art work in Kanchivarm saries of south or the Pashmina
shawls of the north. Styles of paintings also differ from regionto-region.
Dance/Music
There are so many varieties of dances that it is believed that
each state has its own set of unique dances. The Bharat Natyam,
Kathakali, Garba/Raas, Manipuri, Oddisi are few of the more
widely known dances. The variety of languages, customs and
dances are also supported by a vast variety of music.
Cuisine
Indian food is liked throughout the world. Interestingly, it varies
from region to region. Punjabi dishes such as chana, daal,
paneer, naan, subji are different than western daal, rice, roti,
and subji. Southern dishes such as dosa, Uttapam, Medu vada
are popular throughout the country. Eastern India is known for
its sweets such as Gulab Jamun, Ras Gulla, Ras Malai, Sandesh
etc.
Geography/Climate
India’s geography is equally diverse. The cold Himalayas in the
north contrast greatly with the warm and humidity of the south.
The desert of the west hardly gets any rain while some places in
the eastern forests receive 600 inches of rain in a year.
In spite of this diversity, India displays an unquestionable unity.
While languages are plentiful, most of them are derived from
three or four major languages so many words are similar. Due
to the popularity of Bollywood movies, Hindi and English are
spoken nearly throughout the country. Although the holidays
are celebrated with different flavors across the country, many of
the festivals, such as Deepawali, Holi, and Sankrant, are common
to all regions.
Above all, Hinduism and its message of tolerance and welcoming
diversity, is a major bonding factor for the majority of the
population. Clothing, cuisine, literature, music, architecture all
have differences but it also has lots of common ground elements.
The Vedic literature and epics such as Mahabharata and
Ramayana are common to the entire country. Geographically,
India is truly a subcontinent separated from the rest of the world
by the Himalayas in the north, desert in the west and oceans in
the south and east. The geographic boundaries have naturally
made Indians feel united and safer from invasions. India's
struggle for freedom against Britain was a greatly unifying
force. The independent India’s democratic and secular constitution
also seems to have helped the feeling of equality and unity.
Interestingly, thousand years of foreign intrusions have contributed
to enrichment of India's diversity to some degree. The
most important benefit of diversity that I noted was that Indians
are used to different opinions, ideas and thoughts, which they
respect, cherish and benefit from.
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