India - Culture & Tradition

From Bengal's sweets to Gujrat's Khakhras, India is so diverse when it comes to delicious recipes. Passed on from generation to generation, its lip-smacking delicacies are a perfect blend of spices and flavour. India is a country where each state is different from one another, yet so alike! So alike in the grandeur, rich architecture, and magnificent structures. Tourism in India promotes National Integration and supports cultural pursuits and local handicrafts. It also develops an international understanding of our values, culture, and heritage.

Rathyatra, Rath means Chariot and Yatra means journey, is an age-old Chariot festival in India. It is a Hindu religious festival associated with Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister Goddess Subhadra. Rathyatra takes place every year in Puri in the state of Odisha. It is also celebrated in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and other parts of India as well as abroad. Rathyatra is the oldest chariot festival in the world. Its reference and description is even found in ancient religious books, like Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana, and Kapil Samhita which were written thousands of years ago.

Among the weaves Patola, Garcholi, Mashru, Zari, Single Ikat stand to be the most popular fabrics used in Gujarat.

Pithora painting is one of the arts that the state of Gujarat prides itself in. Rogan Painting created in the form of surface embellishments, the geometrical and floral motifs have been practiced for several years.

The exquisitely printed and woven clothes, pottery, beadwork, tribal art, and embroidery work resonate with the folklore and festivals of the state. People of India are fond of Gujarati jewellery, furniture, patola sarees, embroidered items, mirror work, and baked clay articles among other things. 

Triumph over darkness with the brightness of purity. Vijaydashami, also known as Dussehra, celebrated on the 10th day of Navratra marks the victory of purity over evil, both symbolically and mythologically. It births prosperity, festivity painted with good health and well being, piousness in the atmosphere and an honour to every woman by revering the Goddess of power-Durga Ma. Every house marks it as the beginning of a prosperous today and tomorrow. 

The amusing fact is that almost every Indian community celebrates it, but with its own ethnic touch. That is what brings the multicultural diversity to a traditional blend. The heterogenic traditions across the nation have their own style of commemorating this day.

We bring to you 10 different ways in which Navratra is celebrated in