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India, a country
with natural and cultural richness has a timeless
heritage. Though moving with the world today, India
still holds that mystic charm and that charm breathes in
every art and craft coming from the hands of remote
artists of her tribes and villages.
The rich and beautiful Indian culture started its
journey long back with the journey of humanity on this
land. It reflects their art of living, basic attitude
towards life, talents and creativity. People from every
walk of life, from the enormous estates to the remote
and petit villages, everyone has continuously
contributed to the heritage and richness of Indian
culture.
The fact that India was invaded and ruled by various
kings down the ages is already reflected by its impact
on India culture. Among many other dynasties that ruled
this rich country, Mughal dynasty was the one that left
its most prominent and everlasting marks on its culture
and people. Time to time our much-treasured culture
shows impacts of being treated quite ruthlessly by the
foreign invaders and rulers but with a steel strong base
it was never completely shaken. It survived with a few
ugly scars in form of ruined monuments in some part of
the country. When we take a journey through the richness
of Indian culture, we see how each form of art was given
birth and nurtured with care, brought to its peak, held
there firmly and down the ages modified and developed
further.
Music, inspired perhaps by the whistles of the wind or
the splash of the waves, chirping of the birds or may be
falling of the rain, exists on this land since the
existence of humanity. Many musical instruments and
countless tunes (Ragas) are invented by them. They
developed different Ragas for different times, seasons
and feelings. Different regions developed their own
style of singing, not following the ragas but their own
folk tunes and taking the lyrics in their own language
and themes from their day-to-day life.
Art its countless existing style date back to the
ancient time, it was influenced by the desire for
expression of how they interpreted their surroundings.
Also what the women folk painted on the walls for ritual
purposes or simply to decorate them, became art later.
From the caves of the primitive folks, to the walls of
the remote villages followed by the courts of the kings
and now to the modern style, Indian culture has seen
many faces of art in its journey since antiquity. In
this field of Indian culture the Mughals contributed in
abundance by promoting and patronizing the miniature
artists. The British influence too contributed in the
heritage of Indian art and culture by mingling the style
of the two countries. What resulted was a pleasant blend
that left its beautiful mark in the history of Indian
culture.
Crafts this area has also existed since people started
living on. this land. Experimenting with clay, wood,
stone, metal and various other gifts of the nature, gave
birth to craft. To make their living more comfortable
initially utensils, wheels and many other useful items
were discovered. And when this art was mastered,
decorative items came into the scene. With the unmatched
talent and creativity of those who moulded the base of
the Indian culture, crafts soon reached its peak and
modernized as well as developed from time to time.
Jewelry and cloth hold an honored place in the history
of Indian culture. Jewellery made by stones, unfinished
initially, has come a long way down the ages. Metal,
gems and stones, jewelry has all existed since the
existence of desire of wearing them. Clothes entered the
scenario when the use of loom was discovered. Till then
perhaps leaves played the role but since the discovery
of loom, the Indian culture has seen tremendous
experiments on it, with hands or with machine. The heavy
zari clothes, silk fabric, unequalled quality of woolen
fabric like toosh and Pashmina extend richness to the
Indian culture.
This is not all, for Indian culture in total is far from
possible to write and next to impossible to know. But
yet we are certain of its richness and beauty as well as
its impressive journey till date. All Indians, if not of
many other features of this country, are proud to be
Indians when the world bows down to the unparalleled
heritage Indian culture.
Hinduism, one of the most complex yet rich religion to
follow and a faith existing since time immemorial, lives
still but with a changed face. It can be understood not
only by studying its evolution but also its everyday
practice.
The recorded textual history of the Hindus can be said
to begin with the Vedas. The term 'Vedas' does not
denote any single book; it denotes an entire literature.
The composition of the various texts, which constitute
the Vedas, was spread over many centuries and over
different localities, and is ascribed to many
generations of poets and seers.
The Vedas, the origin of Hinduism, constitute the Hindu
revelation and it is traditionally claimed that no human
force was ever responsible for their creation. The
Hindus believe that the Vedas have excised from the time
of creation and will exist till eternity. The various
seers, it is believed, merely saw or discovered them
with their special intuitive insight.
From generation to generation the Vedas have been
transmitted through the oral tradition. That is why the
traditional term for Vedas is shruti, which means
recited and heard, not written and read. The first of
the Vedas Rig Veda was composed between 1500 to 1000 BC.
It is a collection of 1,028 hymns divided into ten
sections. According to the concept of Hinduism derived
from this literature, Dharma as a concept unites all of
Hinduism and links its different parts into a single
totality. Derived from the Sanskrit root 'dhr' (to bear,
to support, to maintain) the word Dharma literally means
that which is established by law, duty or custom.
The Brahmans provide information on Hinduism as a
practice or as a religion between the period of the Rig
Veda and the Upnishads, the mystical and metaphysical
dimension of Hinduism. The Brahmans are lengthy prose
text, which describe the major Vedic sacrifices. The
philosophy given to Hinduism through these texts is that
sacrifice is the fundamental to the universal process.
The famous hymn of Brahman celebrates the creation of
the world by gods through dismembering of the cosmic
giant, Purusa, the primeval male person, who in a
typical Vedic paradox is both the performer and the
victim of the sacrifice. This sacrifice is believed to
have created the whole universe.
According to this philosophy of Hinduism, women are not
regarded as having autonomous ritual activity, but they
are necessarily associated with the rites performed by
their husbands. Thus they have no personal destiny in
life, and after death, the most virtuous of them are
rewarded by being reunited with their husbands. To be
reborn as a woman, even in a Brahmin family, is
therefore in Hinduism another form of expiation of past
sins.
Composed from the 6th century BD onwards the Upnishads
develop the mystical and metaphysical dimension of
Hinduism. The Upnishads, literally meaning 'sitting
near' describes Hinduism as profound consciousness of
the indivisible wholeness of life.
Inspired by the vision of God in all things and all
things in God. According to that the belief of Hinduism
lies in a cosmic spirit-infinite, creative, benevolent
and deathless. It is the final transcendent truth -the
real power behind all tangible forces. A vast ageless
ocean of which everything that is experienced is a wave.
Facing acceptance as well as challenges, Hinduism with
time has a subtly changed face but still matches closely
to it's original descriptions and continues to charm and
amaze the human race with its vastness and ambiguity.
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