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Indian music ranges over various traditions and regional styles. Classical music encompasses two genres and their various folk offshoots: the northernHindustani and southern Carnatic schools.[259] Regionalised popular forms include filmi and folk music; the syncretic tradition of the bauls is a well-known form of the latter. Indian dance also features diverse folk and classical forms. Among the better-known folk dances are the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhau of West Bengal and Jharkhand, sambalpuri of Orissa, ghoomar of Rajasthan, and the lavani of Maharashtra. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have been accorded classical dance status by India's National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama. These are:bharatanatyam of the state of Tamil Nadu, kathak of Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and mohiniyattam of Kerala, kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, manipuri of Manipur,odissi of Orissa, and the sattriya of Assam.[260]
Theatre in India melds music, dance, and improvised or written dialogue.[261] Often based on Hindu mythology, but also borrowing from medieval romances or social and political events, Indian theatre includes the bhavai of Gujarat, the jatra of West Bengal, the nautanki and ramlila of North India, tamasha of Maharashtra, burrakatha of Andhra Pradesh, terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu, and the yakshagana of Karnataka.[262] The Indian film industry produces the world's most-watched cinema.[263] Established regional cinematic traditions exist in the Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, andTelugu languages.[264] South Indian cinema attracts more than 75% of national film revenue.[265]
Society
Traditional Indian society is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. The Indian caste system embodies much of the social stratification and many of the social restrictions found in the Indian subcontinent. Social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis, or "castes".[266] Most Dalits("Untouchables") and members of other lower-caste communities continue to live in segregation and often facepersecution and discrimination.[267][268] Traditional Indian family values are highly valued, and multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm in India, though nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas.[269] An overwhelming majority of Indians, with their consent, have their marriages arranged by their parents or other family members.[270] Marriage is thought to be for life,[270] and the divorce rate is extremely low.[271] Child marriages are common, especially in rural areas; more than half of Indian females wed before reaching 18, which is their legal marriageable age.[272]
Many Indian festivals are religious in origin; among them are Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Thai Pongal, Navaratri, Holi, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id,Christmas, and Vaisakhi. India has three national holidays which are observed in all states and union territories: Republic Day, Independence Day, andGandhi Jayanti. Other sets of holidays, varying between nine and twelve, are officially observed in individual states. Traditional Indian dress varies in colour and style across regions and depends on various factors, including climate and faith. Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as the sari for women and the dhoti or lungi for men. Stitched clothes, such as the shalwar kameez for women and kurta–pyjama combinations or European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.[273] Use of delicate jewellery, modelled on real flowers worn in ancient India, is part of a tradition dating back some 5,000 years; gemstones are also worn in India as talismans.[274]
Indian cuisine features an unsurpassed reliance on herbs and spices, with dishes often calling for the nuanced usage of a dozen or more condiments;[275] it is also known for its tandoori preparations. The tandoor, a clay oven used in India for almost 5,000 years, grills meats to an "uncommon succulence" and produces the puffy flatbread known as naan.[276] The staple foods are wheat (predominantly in the north),[277] rice (especially in the south and the east), and lentils.[278] Many spices that have worldwide appeal are native to the Indian subcontinent,[279] while chili pepper, native to the Americas and introduced by thePortuguese, is widely used by Indians.[280] Āyurveda, a system of traditional medicine, used six rasas and three guṇas to help describe comestibles.[281]Over time, as Vedic animal sacrifices were supplanted by the notion of sacred-cow inviolability, vegetarianism became associated with high religious status and grew increasingly popular,[282] a trend aided by the rise of Buddhist, Jain, and bhakti Hindu norms.[283] India has the world's highest concentration of vegetarians: a 2006 survey found that 31% of Indians were non-ovo vegetarian.[283] Common traditional eating customs include meals taken on or near the floor, caste- and gender-segregated dining,[284][285] and a lack of cutlery in favour of the right hand or a piece of roti.
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