A Treasure That Goes Unappreciated
Sunday, January 24, 2021
On the 26th of January, we all celebrate the ever-glorious republic day. On this day, we celebrate the greatness of India with a lot of pride and fervour. On this day,
we embraced the true feeling of independence and democracy by finally becoming a sovereign, secular, socialist, democratic republic.
There is, however, one thing that many forget to celebrate. This thing is one that everyone seems t forget about, so let me remind you—India's diverse culture and heritage.
India is an extremely diverse country in terms of language, food, physical features, culture, traditions, and many more. Indian culture is usually referred to as an amalgamation of other cultures. This is because our culture was born from the years and years of rule that we went under. From the Delhi dynasties to the British colonialism. Let me tell exactly why we consider our culture so diverse.
Languages
It is already a well-known fact - at least among Indians - that we have 23 different official languages, indicating that almost every state has a language of its own. Along with this, we also have about twenty thousand different dialects. As we went through the rule of different colonizers and suffered multiple raids, we got to take from them a part of their culture. They left us with several different languages and dialects according to who is speaking. It is a common misconception that the Devanagari script and the language Hindi is the official language and most spoken. However, anyone who has learnt about India in their elementary years would know that we have no single language as official. Along with this, it is worth to note that over 59% of our country speaks languages other than Hindi.
Religion
Our country is secular for a reason. We believe that no matter what religion a person is they shall remain equal in the eyes of the law and accordingly we did not want a single religion to dominate over the others by having an official religion. Another reason is the sheer number of religions that take abode in our native land. Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism are just a few that our land holds. Along with these, we have other smaller religions as well. With different religions, we got different customs, traditions, festivals, and a lot more.
Food
Yes, food. As the years passed, we acquired different cuisines and many different types of food. In many areas, there are different styles of biriyani. In others, we have different sweets, and some can only be found in certain areas of India. The most infuriating part of this, in my opinion, is that, if you live abroad then you already know that any sort of Indian cuisine you get outside will never ever compare with the traditional English dish. There will always, ALWAYS be something wrong with it. A jalebi will be too sweet, the butter chicken will taste of pure tomato etc. etc. etc. Need I go on. We are also quite liberal with our spices and herbs. Many Indians prefer food on the spicier side of the spectrum, others prefer milder tastes. Nevertheless, one thing peculiar to Indians is that most of us have a higher than average tolerance to heat. We eat most of our food by hand. Did you know that eating with our hand, something we learned from when we were little children is suspiciously hard for outsiders?
Architecture and art
We have a fantastic array of architecture that awaits you when you enter India. It is one of the many reasons that tourists are drawn to our country. Forts and palaces. Some built-in Turkish styles, others on European. Religions brought architecture too. Every place of worship has different styles. Some have domes others look like the little shrines one would find on top of a hill station. Along with it, we are skilled in many many handicrafts. We also have our own type of classical music and have carved a niche for ourselves in cinema and theatre. Not to mention the many musicians and artists our country has given birth too.
We are a diverse country. A diverse culture that everyone should be proud of. Spo on this republic day let us love and respect our country's culture and heritage as we should.
Jai Hind.
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