The 15th of August dawns as a bright and auspicious day for us citizens of India; it’s a day of pride, of joy and of celebration. On this very day, seventy-three years ago, our Motherland broke free from the shackles that bound her to nearly nine long decades of tyranny, brutality and utter shame. She spread her wings and flew, well, not quite high, for the physical and mental scars owing to the oppression remained etched in her mind. Wholly aware that the harshness of the past was just the tip of the iceberg, and with the ill-effects of the aftermath and other obstructions that awaited her in the time to come, the flight ahead could never be smooth, she advanced on her journey, determined to recover from the trauma of the past and to withstand the challenges of the near future.

And here we are now, almost three-fourths of a century hence, soaring and scaling new heights, accomplishing feats, in innumerable fields. From the ashes of humiliation and defeat, we’ve risen as one community, firmly set on earning a name for ourselves, one that would make our hearts swell with pride and honor.

However, within this community lay a plethora of cultures, traditions, religions and languages, which seemed to threaten the task of maintaining our status of togetherness. But through trials and difficulties, we’ve managed to instill a sense of unity amongst ourselves, whilst retaining our identity and individuality in almost all aspects.

Today, we have twenty-eight linguistic states, along with eight Union Territories, each possessing its own culture, lifestyle and practices, upon which the respective natives place immense value and respect. With such variety within a whopping 3.28 million square kilometers, India is definitely one among the more diverse countries across the globe, a fact that we Indians hold very close to our heart. Having said that, let’s have a quick tour of the beautiful Indian states, starting right from the South, steadily working our way up to the North.

It is almost impossible to capture all of India’s splendour in just one article, therefore, I’ve chosen to provide a very brief description of the states, which includes the stand-out features of the regions alone.

I. South India

Welcome to the Southern part of India, which comprises of five states- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The languages spoken in these states are Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu respectively. Apart from the mouth-watering cuisine - of which rice and fish are major components - that each state proudly presents, they are well-renowned for their different classical dances, namely Kathakali and Mohiniyattam (Kerala), Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu), Yakshagana (Karnataka), Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh) and Perini Shiva Thandavam (Telangana).

II. West India

On to the West of India, which again, includes five states- the largest, Rajasthan (it’s Northwestern, to be exact), as well as the smallest, Goa, along with Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh (Yes, Madhya Pradesh is precisely in the centre- hence the name- but it has been included in the West for easier classification). Here, people communicate using Rajasthani, Konkani, Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi sequentially. Each state holds pride in the dishes they prepare, ranging from pure vegetarian to non-vegetarian, which, of course, vary from one another. In the field of dance, we witness the traditional dances like Dandiya and Garba (Gujarat), Dhalo (Goa), Lavani (Maharashtra), Matki (Madhya Pradesh) and Ghoomar (Rajasthan).

III. East India (inclusive of North-Eastern region)

Moving on to the Eastern part of India, where we can find the states Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. Widely spoken languages here include Chhattisgarhi, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Assamese, Meitei, Khasi, Mizo, Bengali and Nepali. Again, there is a dashing variety visible in the cuisine, with each state owning its specialty, while rice and fish are a staple. Popular dances, as in the South and West, are unique to each state, and they are War dance (Nagaland), Bihu (Assam), Hojagiri (Tripura), Raas Leela or Manipuri dance (Manipur), Nongkrem (Meghalaya), Aji Lamu (Arunachal Pradesh), Mask dance (Sikkim), Chhau (Jharkhand), Dalkhai (Odisha), Kirtan (West Bengal), Jumari dance (Bihar), Cheraw dance (Mizoram) and Kapalik (Chhattisgarh).

IV. North India

Last, but not the least, here is the Northern part of India. The Northern states are Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand, along with a must-mention union territory, the capital city, Delhi. The languages majorly spoken are Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Like its counterparts, the cuisine has its diversity, whilst wheat (rotis or chapatis) and vegetarian dishes form an essential part of one’s diet here. Kathak (Uttar Pradesh), Nati (Himachal Pradesh), Bhangra (Punjab), Chholiya (Uttarakhand) and Loor (Haryana) are the most popular folk dances of this quintet.

Apart from this, festivals also play an important role in showcasing our unity. Indian festivals are broadly of three types- National, Religious and Seasonal. While religious and seasonal festivals are, as the names suggest, religion-specific and season- specific, it’s a common sight to see different religious groups come together to celebrate Diwali, Christmas, Eid and other religious festivals with zest, as well as mass celebrations of harvest festivals like Onam, Pongal, Baisakhi, Holi and many more, wherein people of different states enthusiastically participate.

I wish to mention a few notes – firstly that the languages spoken in each and every state are plenty (various dialects), but here, I’ve only penned the predominant/official language of the respective state. Secondly, Hindi and English are the official languages of India, and are thus spoken in almost every state. Thirdly, the dance forms too are many in number, and hence, I’ve put down either the most popular dance or a folk dance of the lot that represents each state.

There you go! Our short trip around India, which explored its immense DIVERSITY, has come to an end. But this isn’t to say that each state strictly adheres to having their traditional food ALONE, enjoying their dances ALONE, or just sticking to their thing, with no exposure to their fellow states whatsoever. No, each state is supportive of the other, just as protective as they are of their own. We love to experience the lifestyle of states other than our own; the food, environment, festivals, music & dance, social behavior…the list goes on.

Here is where the UNITY comes in: we have our differences and unique identities, yet we remain rooted in unity through support and appreciation. I sure am proud of my country, her richness in heritage, culture and beauty, and above all, I’m proud of our strength, that’s Unity in Diversity.

Jai Hind!