- 2. Tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a
group or society with symbolic meaning or special
significance with origins in the past.
While it is commonly assumed that traditions have ancient
history, many traditions have been invented on purpose,
whether that be political or cultural, over short periods of
time.
- 3. The English word tradition comes from the Latin traditio
via French, the noun from the verb tradere (to transmit, to
hand over, to give for safekeeping); it was originally used
in Roman law to refer to the concept of legal transfers and
inheritance.
- 4. Mark Twain rightly said - "India is the cradle of the
human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of
history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand
mother of tradition".
India is an incredible land offering magical travel
experiences to tourists who come here from across the
globe.
India is unique, so are its customs and traditions. India's
rich cultural heritage encompassing the real flavor of it is
famous the world over and has fascinated many a poets,
writers, scholars and other famous personalities of the
world. Get acquainted with its wonderful customs and
traditions and feel the pulse of this enchanting land.
- 5. Namaskar/ Namaste
It is the word which is used for greeting people in India.
Although other forms of greetings are also used but this is the
most common one. It is used to welcome someone and also to
bid farewell. This gesture is marked by placing both the palms
together raised below the face to greet a person.
Tilak
It is a ritual mark made on the forehead between the
eyebrows with kumkum, haldi or chandan (sandalwood) as a
sign of greeting, blessing or auspiciousness.
- 6. Aarti
It is an act of devotion, love or welcoming someone. Mostly it
is performed during worshiping God. A plate with aarti lamp is
circulated around a deity or person. Mostly it is accompanied
by singing of songs in praise of that deity or person. "Aa"
means "towards or to", and "rati" means "right or virtue" in
Sanskrit.
Offering Flower Garland
Offering of flower garlands shows respect and honor. They
are generally offered to deities and guests.
- 7. Bindi
The married Indian women wear bindi on their forehead
as an auspicious mark made with vermilion powder.
Symbolizing Goddess Parvati, a bindi signifies female
energy.
- 8. Knowledge
- 9. Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding
of someone or something, such as facts, information,
descriptions, or skills, which is acquired through
experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or
learning.
- 10. Knowledge can refer to a theoretical or practical
understanding of a subject.
It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or
explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject);
it can be more or less formal or systematic.
- 11. In philosophy, the study of knowledge is called
epistemology; the philosopher Plato famously defined
knowledge as "justified true belief",
However, several definitions of knowledge and theories to
explain it exist.
- 12. Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitive
processes: perception, communication, and reasoning;
while knowledge is also said to be related to the capacity
of acknowledgement in human beings
- 13. Language
- 14. Language is a medium through which we express our
thoughts while literature is a mirror that reflects ideas and
philosophies which govern our society.
Hence, to know any particular culture and its tradition it is
very important that we understand the evolution of its
language and the various forms of literature like poetry,
drama and religious and non-religious writings.
- 15. Indian languages: Their classification
The Indian people, composed of diverse racial elements,
now speak languages belonging to four distinct speech
families—'the Aryan, the Dravidian, the Sino-Tibetan (or
Mongoloid), and the Austric.
- 16. Aryan
Of these linguistic and cultural groups, the Aryan is the most
important, both numerically and intrinsically.
As a matter of fact, Indian civilization has found its
expression primarily through the Aryan speech as it
developed over the centuries—'through Vedic Sanskrit (Old
Indo-Aryan), then Classical Sanskrit, then Early Middle
Indo-Aryan dialects like Pali and Old Ardha-Magadhi, then
Buddhist and Jaina Sanskrit and after that the various
Prakrits and Apabhramsas, and finally in the last phase, the
different Modern Indo-Aryan languages of the country.
- 17. Dravidian
Dravidian is the second important language family of
India and has some special characteristics- of its own.
After the Aryan speech, it has very largely functioned as
the exponent of Indian culture, particularly the earlier
secular as well as religious literature of Tamil. It forms a
solid bloc in South India, embracing the four great literary
languages, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu and a
number of less important speeches all of which are,
however, overshadowed by the main four.
- 18. Sino-Tibetan and Austric
Peoples of Mongoloid origin, speaking languages of the
Sino-Tibetan family, were present in India at least as early
as the tenth century B.C, when the four Vedas appear to
have been compiled. The Sino-Tibetan languages do not
have much numerical importance or cultural significance
in India, with the exception of Manipuri or Meithei of
Manipur. Everywhere they are gradually receding before
the Aryan languages like Bengali and-Assamese.
- 19. Artifacts
- 20. Series of objects of art, sculptural pieces of great skill
terracotta figures depicting the everyday activities and
sources of entertainment in daily life and chores of ancient
man together help an observer and learner of our ancient
past moving down the lanes and annals of historical pages
in becoming familiar with ourselves and our forefathers
One striking feature is the seals of clay embossed with
figures of boats, trees and animals from Harappan
Civilization, giving us horde of information into their
religious and trade practices.
- 24. The bronze figure of Natraja, the image of dancing girl
from the harappan civilization the colloasal image of
Buddha all throw light on their times and the lives of
people
- 25. The scientific acumen is brought forward by the massive
glistening Iron Pillar at Mehrauli which has not suffered
any rusting despite centuries of storms and rains which the
pillar has bravely withstood.
The quantity of Indus Seals that have been discovered is
so large, that expets suggest that each merchant or
mercantile had its own seal.
