Муниципальное образовательное учреждение

средняя общеобразовательная школа №13

п. Цветочный Майкопский район РА

РЕФЕРАТ

The culture

of India

 Работу выполнила

ученица 10  кл.

Савостина В.В.

Руководитель

Погосян Д.К.

C o n t e n t s

Введение…………………………………………………………………………….….3

Religion and Philosophy…………………………….………………………….……...5

Sculpture……………………………………………………………………………….11

Clothing………………………………………………………………….……………..15

Music……………………………………………………………………………………17

Cinema………………………………………………………………………………….19

Cuisine………………………………………………………………………………….21

Заключение……………………………………………………………………………25

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………26

        Введение.

Индия - одна из самых прекрасных стран мира. Пожалуй, никакая страна не может сравниться с ее богатейшей культурой, ее обычаями. Именно поэтому я решила посвятить свой реферат Индии.

Уже с детства каждый ребенок начинает узнавать, что-то об Индии. Сначала это всемирно известные индийские сказки, а затем знаменитые индийские мелодрамы. И поэтому эта страна, как мне кажется, является очень интересной и волнующей. Индия не похожа ни на одну из азиатских стран и уж тем более ни на одну европейскую страну, она очень индивидуальна, - и в этом ее красота.

Актуальность данной работы заключается в изучении иностранного языка, как способа формирования высокой нравственности, развития эстетического вкуса, воспитании любви к Родине через познание культуры и характера различных народов, расширение страноведческого кругозора.

Сейчас английский очень популярен. Это язык компьютеров, науки, бизнеса, спорта и политики. На английском говорят во всем мире. Это официальный язык в Соединенном Королевстве, Ирландии, Соединенных  Штатах, Канаде, Австралии, а также в Индии, Сингапуре, Южно-Африканской Республике, Пакистане и многих других странах. Объектом изучения данной работы является Индия. Предметом исследования является культура Индии. Если вам нравится путешествовать, вы можете отправиться куда угодно, не боясь быть непонятыми остальными. Знание одного или двух или даже большего количества иностранных языков помогает людям из разных стран развивать взаимную дружбу и взаимопонимание. Посредством контактов с людьми другой культуры мы можем также развить наш интеллектуальный и культурный потенциал.  

В Индии говорят более чем на 30 различных языках и 2000 диалектов. В Конституции Индии оговорено, что хинди и английский являются двумя языками работы национального правительства, то есть государственными языками. Было запланировано, что в 1965 году английский язык лишится статуса государственного, и будет называться «дополнительным государственным языком» до тех пор, пока не закончится полномасштабный переход на хинди. Однако в связи с протестами некоторых штатов, в которых хинди не получил распространения, была сохранена ситуация, когда два языка являются государственными. Из-за быстрой индустриализации, и многонационального влияния в экономике, английский язык продолжает оставаться популярным и влиятельным средством связи в государственном управлении и бизнесе.

Целью моей работы является расширение кругозора, развитие художественного вкуса, формирование национально-культурного компонента Индии.

Для достижения этих целей предполагалось осветить следующие задачи:

1. Изучение религиозного разнообразия на территории Индии;
2. Познание искусства Индии;
3. Изложение таких знаменитых частей индийской культуры, как одежда, музыка, кино;
4. Подробное изучение традиций индийской кухни.

Структура данной работы состоит из введения, шести частей, заключения.

Religion and Philosophy

With the origins of Hinduism and Buddhism in India, religion is considered to be extremely important.  Of the two religions, Hinduism is infinitely more popular, with an incredible 82 percent of the population practicing it.  Within this majority, there are significant differences in the belief systems and caste divisions.  Although there is division in some areas of Hinduism, there are many areas in common.   They will all go to the pilgrimage sites, coming from all over India and will- if they go to a Brahman priest for birth, marriage and/or death rituals- hear the same Sanskrit verses from hundreds of years ago.

In the shadow of Hindu dominance, there are a few followers of other beliefs such as Christianity, Sikh and Buddhism.  In India, religion is a way of life. It is an integral part of the entire Indian tradition. For the majority of Indians, religion permeates every aspect of life, from common-place daily chores to education and politics. Secular India is home to Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other innumerable religious traditions. Hinduism is the dominant faith, practiced by over 80% of the population. Besides Hindus, Muslims are the most prominent religious group and are an integral part of Indian society. In fact India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. Common practices have crept into most religious faiths in India and many of the festivals that mark each year with music, dance and feasting are shared by all communities. Each has its own pilgrimage sites, heroes, legends and even culinary specialties, mingling in a unique diversity that is the very pulse of society.

Hinduism

The underlying tenets of Hinduism cannot be easily defined. There is no unique philosophy that forms the basis of the faith of the majority of India's population. Hinduism is perhaps the only religious tradition that is so diversified in its theoretical premises and practical expressions as to be called a "museum of religions". This religion cannot be traced to a specific founder nor does it have a "holy book" as a basic scriptural guide. The Rig Veda, Upanishads and the Bhagwad Gita can all be described as the sacred text of the Hindus.

Unlike most other religions, Hinduism does not advocate the worship of one particular deity. One may worship Shiva or Vishnu or Rama or Krishna or some other gods and goddesses or one may believe in the 'Supreme Spirit' or the 'Indestructible Soul' within each individual and still be called a good Hindu. This gives an indication of the kind of contrasts this religion is marked by. At one end of the scale, it is an exploration of the 'Ultimate Reality'; at the other end there are cults that worship spirits, trees and animals.

There are festivals and ceremonies associated not only with gods and goddesses but also with the sun, moon, planets, rivers, oceans, trees and animals. Some of the popular Hindu festivals are Deepawali, Holi, Dussehra, Ganesh Chaturthi, Pongal, Janamasthmi and Shiva Ratri. These innumerable festive occasions lend Hinduism its amazing popular appeal and make the Indian tradition rich and colorful.

Hindu Mythology and the Living Gods

Heroes of epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are immortalized and are still alive in the day-to-day existence of the common people. The gods of Hinduism are at once super-human and human and there is distinct feeling of warmth and familiarity towards them.

Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, represents qualities such as honor, courage and valor and is held up as a model of manliness. His wife Sita is the prototypal Indian wife who is carried off by Ravana, the king of Lanka, while Rama and Sita are on exile. Sita's eventual rescue by Rama, his brother Lakshmana, and Rama's faithful monkey-general Hanuman are all woven into this engrossing tale. Stories from this epic have been passed down orally from one generation to the next. Religious fairs, festivals and rituals have kept these legends alive, and there is never an occasion that does not offer an opportunity to retell the old stories.

The stirring verses of the Mahabharata tell the story of the dynastic struggle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, who were close cousins. Lord Krishna plays a very important role in this Great Epic. He is a friend, philosopher and guide to Arjuna, one of the Pandavas, and he helps Arjuna overcome his hesitation to kill his close relatives in the battlefield. The wise philosophy of Krishna and his teachings have been embodied in the Bhagwad Gita. Although the popular image of Krishna is that of a god who steals butter as a child, and who, as a youth, plays the flute and entices cows and cowherd girls alike; in his mature years he is depicted as the wise philosopher with a more serious side to his nature.

There are numerous gods and goddesses worshipped by Hindus all over India. Among these, the most fundamental to Hinduism, is the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - creator, preserver and destroyer respectively. Brahma has four heads corresponding to the four directions of the compass. He is the creator of life and the entire universe. Vishnu is the preserver who guides the cycle of birth and rebirth. He is also supposed to have taken many incarnations to save the world from evil forces. Both Rama and Krishna are believed to have been incarnations of Vishnu. Shiva, usually seen with a coiled cobra around his neck, destroys all evil and also has many incarnations, not all of which are terrifying.

The invisible deities are represented by a complexity of images and idols symbolizing divine powers. Many of these idols are housed within ornate temples of unparalleled beauty and grandeur. The Hindu gods are very much alive and live in temples, snow-capped peaks, in rivers and oceans and in the very hearts and minds of the Hindus.

Sikhism

The Sikh religion emerged during the early 16th century in the state of Punjab in North India. The founder of this faith was Guru Nanak, who from his childhood was attracted to both Hindu and Muslim saints. Born a Hindu, but also inspired by the teachings of Islam, he began to preach the message of unity of both religions. According to him, the basic teachings of both faiths were essentially the same. Nanak attracted many followers and came to be known as a Guru or a teacher. His disciples came together to form a new religious tradition called Sikhism.

The Gurus who followed Nanak contributed to the consolidation and spread of Sikhism. The teachings of Guru Nanak were incorporated in the 'Guru Granth Sahib', the Holy Book of the Sikhs which became a symbol of God for Sikhs. The fifth Guru, Guru Arjun built the Golden Temple at Amritsar which became the holiest of Sikh shrines. The tenth Guru, Govind Singh imparted military training to the Sikhs to help them defend themselves.

On Baisakhi day of 1699 at  Anandpur, Guru Govind Singh ordered his Sikhs to assemble before him as was customary and created a new brotherhood of Sikhs called the Khalsa (Pure Ones). Five men selected for their devotion to the Guru were called Panj Pyares and given nectar (amrit) for initiation into the brotherhood of Khalsa. Later the Guru himself received initiation from Panj Payares as did others.

The members of the new brotherhood were instructed to wear the five symbols (the five Ks )- uncut hair, a comb, a steel wrist guard, a sword and breeches. The initiated men took the name Singh (Lion) and the women Kaur (Princess). The Guru also decided to terminate the succession of gurus and was thus the last of the Sikh Gurus.

Sikhism propounds monotheism, i.e. worship of one God. It also opposes the caste system and believes that all men are equal. However the ideas of karma and rebirth from Hinduism are accepted. Today, many Sikh practices are common to Hindus. Intermarriages between the two communities are also common. However the Sikh community has its own unmistakable identity. Though the Sikhs constitute less than 2 percent of the Indian population, they have become a distinct element in the configuration of the Indian religious tradition and the Indian society.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated as an offshoot of Hinduism in India, but eventually it became popular all over Asia. The personality and teachings of Gautam Buddha, the founder of this faith, have illumined the lives of millions of people in Japan, China and Southeast Asia.

There are strong lines of similarity between Buddhism and the basic teachings of Hinduism. Buddhism is based on the principle or the law of impermanence. According to this, everything is subject to change, although some things may last longer than others. The other basic principle of Buddhism is the law of causation, according to which nothing occurs due to pure chance. Besides natural forces, it is the karma which leads to the occurrence of all events. The popular notions of the indestructible soul and the cycle of rebirth emerge from these two basic philosophies.

Buddha advocated the Middle Path, in which he offered a balanced, harmonious way of life, steering between two extremes of self-indulgence and total abstinence. Buddhism rests upon four Noble Truths: (i) suffering is universal, (ii) it is caused by desire and yearning (iii) suffering can be prevented and overcome and (iv) eradication of desires can lead to removal of suffering. To prevent suffering one has to conquer craving and desire and this conquest leads to the attainment of nirvana or complete enlightenment.

Islam

The Arab traders brought Islam to India in the early 8th century, but it was not until the 12th century that it became a force to reckon with in the Indian sub-continent. Unlike Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism which emerged as offshoots of Hinduism, the concept, customs and religious practices of Islam were unique to this faith which professed universal brotherhood and submission to Allah - the God Almighty.

The Muslim invaders in the 12th century and the Mughal rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries helped in the spread of Islam in India. In its first phase, Islam was aggressive. But the mystics of Islam, or the Sufi saints, helped in spreading the message of peace and universal love.

The spirit of brotherhood propounded by Sufi saints and preachers like Kabir and Nanak helped in loosening the rigidity of the caste system. The interaction of the two faiths led to a synthesis of Hindu and Islamic elements in almost every sphere of life and culture. After an initial period of conflict and confrontation, today the two religions have accommodated and enriched each other.

Christianity

Christianity first came to India by way of St. Thomas.  He came to Kerala, in southwestern India, and founded the first church.  Ironically, Shankaracharya, a Hindu reformer and seer, was born in Kerala some five hundred years after St. Thomas.  St. Thomas ended up dying in the Chennai region (then known as Madras) of the Tamils.

Most Christians in India are Catholic (over 60 percent) and a majority of them are found in the south, particularly Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu.  Approximately on third of Kerala's population is comprised of Christians and they are involved in all aspects of society.

Contrary to popular belief, British rule had little to do with the growth of Christianity in India.  The missionaries generally tended to turn public opinion, even those of the Indian Christians, against foreign rule.  Bengali Christians in Calcultta were fairly important in their respective areas, whether it was in education, as a leader or an opinion-maker. 

By tradition, Christianity is said to have arrived in India with Saint Thomas, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, who spent some years in South India and possibly died there. However, others believe that the first missionary to arrive in the country was Saint Bartholomew. Historically, Christian missionary activity started with the advent of Saint Francis Xavier in 1544. He was followed by Portuguese missionaries at first and eventually by missionaries from other countries like Denmark, Holland, Germany and Great Britain. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries Catholic as well as Protestant missionaries preached Christian doctrines in India and also made important contributions to social improvement and education in India.

Much of the modern influences in the Indian society can be attributed to the role of Christianity in India. Christian missionaries helped in setting up schools and colleges all over India and also spread the message of faith and goodwill in the country. Christianity and its teachings influenced a number of intellectuals and thinkers in India, including Mahatma Gandhi.

Today, the Christians in India number about 30 million and consist of people from every denomination of Christianity.

Jainism

Jainism as a religious tradition was established in India about the same time as Buddhism. Mahavira, one of the jinas (conquerors) preached the Jain philosophy around the same time that Buddhism began.

Like Buddhism, Jainism rose against the corruption in the interpretation of Hinduism prevalent at the time. The underlying philosophy of Jainism is that renunciation of worldly desires and self-conquest leads to perfect wisdom. This faith believes in total abstinence and asceticism as practiced by the Jinas and the Tirthankars ("crossing-makers"). The "crossing refers to the passage from the material to the spiritual realm, from bondage to freedom. Followers of this faith accept the popular gods of Hinduism but they are placed lower than the jinas.

The focus of this religion has been purification of the soul by means of right conduct, right faith and right knowledge. This faith also enunciates complete non-violence and the Jain monks can be seen with their nose and mouth covered by a cloth mask to ensure that they do not kill any germs or insects while breathing. Today, Jainism has more than 3 million adherents in India and finds wide acceptance because of its philosophy of sympathy for all living beings.

Zoroastrianism

The first Zoroastrians to enter India arrived on the Gujarati coast in the 10th century, soon after the Arabian conquest of Iran and by the 17th century, most of them had settled in Bombay. Zoroastrian practice is based on the responsibility of every man and woman to choose between good and evil, and to respect God's creations. The religion's founder, Zarathustra, who lived in Iran in 6000 BC was the first religious prophet to expound a dualistic philosophy, based on the opposing powers of good and evil.

Most Zoroastrians can be seen in Bombay today where they are known as Parsees. They have no distinctive dress and few houses of worship. Five daily prayers, usually hymns uttered by Zarathustra and standardized in the religious text Zenda Avesta, are said in the home or the temple, before a fire, which symbolizes the realm of truth, righteousness and order.

Sculpture

 The story of Indian art and sculpture dates back to the Indus valley civilization of the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC. Tiny terra-cotta seals discovered from the valley reveal carvings of people leaves, deities and animals. These elemental shapes of stones or seals were enshrined and worshipped by the people of the civilization. Two other objects that were excavated from the ruins of the Indus valley indicate the level of achievement that Indian art had attained in those days. The bust of a priest in limestone and a bronze dancing girl show tremendous sophistication and artistry.

Buddhist Sculptures - Sarnath and Sanchi, Gandhara and Mathura

The next golden chapter of Indian sculpture opens in the 3rd century BC, when the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka adopted Buddhism and set out on a mission to spread the teachings of the faith as far and wide as possible. He had 85,000 stupas or dome-shaped monuments constructed with the teachings of Buddhism engraved on rocks and pillars. These inscriptions which served as edicts can be seen in Buddhist monuments in Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The famous Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath in Madhya Pradesh gleams in polished sandstone representing the hieratic art under the Mauryan Empire. The lion capital of the pillar is now the official emblem of the Indian Republic and the sacred wheel of law or the dharmachakra is symbolic of the first sermon that Buddha delivered at Sarnath.

The Great Stupa at Sanchi is perhaps the finest surviving relic of the Mauryan Empire and is a renowned Buddhist monument. Its finely carved gateways depict Buddhist legends and lifestyles of two thousand years ago. The foundation of the Stupa was laid by Ashoka and he set up monasteries here as a retreat for the Buddhist monks. The Great Stupa is fifty-four feet high and is surrounded by a stone railing and four elaborately carved gateways on each side. The gateway reliefs depict tales of Buddha's incarnations, his life as a prince, his moment of enlightenment, his sermons and his worshippers. This site at Sanchi also includes remains of smaller stupas, pillars and monasteries.

In the 1st century AD, the position changed somewhat radically in art and sculpture. The human figure replaced the symbolic representation of Buddha and his teachings. Though Buddha opposed the idea of idol worship, his cult image was established and became essential for acts of worship. The Mathura and the Gandhara schools of sculpture imparted human form to Buddha's image. To emphasize his divinity, this human form was depicted with features like a halo around the head, the dharmachakra engraved upon his palms and soles of his feet, and the lion throne representing his royal ancestry. These early stone images of Buddha are awe-inspiring in terms of size and magnificence.

The Buddha statues of the 5th century exhibit a unique sensibility with human figures that are meditative and serene, a body that is subtly modeled and a face that glows with enlightenment. Here, the ultimate definition of the divine is indicated in the soft folds of the dress, the exquisite curvature of the hands and the half-closed eyes of the Buddha.

Hindu Art

The 4th, 5th and 6th centuries AD witnessed a tremendous resurgence of Hinduism when it became the official religion of the Gupta Empire. Consequently, this era was also marked by the emergence of innumerable images of popular Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Images of Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, the Sun-God and goddess Durga evolved in this period. The Udaigiri caves in Madhya Pradesh house a colossal image of Vishnu. Here he is presented as the great savior who rescued 'mother earth' from the depths of the ocean, in his incarnation as a varha (boar). Other statues of this period found in various temples and museums are indicative of the various dimensions of early Hindu art and sculpture.

The link between dance, drama, literature and art became crucial to aesthetic expressionism in centuries to come. This new era in art and sculpture witnessed a unique fusion, a synthesis embodied in the caves at Ajanta and Ellora and the temples of central and South India.

Ajanta and Ellora

North-east of Bombay, near Aurangabad are two astonishing series of temples carved out of living rock over the course of fourteen centuries. During the 4th century AD. in a remote valley, work began on the Ajanta caves to create a complex of Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls. As centuries passed, numerous Buddhist monks and artisans excavated a set of twenty-nine caves, some cells, monasteries and Buddhist temples. All of these were carved from the rock cliff at Ajanta. These caves are adorned with elaborate sculptures and paintings which have withstood the ravages of time.

The sculptures are finely wrought images of animals, guards and deities while the paintings tell ancient tales of courtly life and depict hundreds of Buddhist legends. Amid the beautiful images and paintings are sculptures of Buddha, calm and serene in contemplation.

Work started on the Ellora caves in the seventh century AD where another set of caves were created from living rock. Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism inspired these sculptors to create these elaborate rock carvings. The Buddhist and Jain caves here are ornately carved yet seem quiet and meditative whereas the Hindu caves are filled with a divine energy and power.

The most impressive and majestic creation at Ellora is the Kailasa Temple, a full-sized freestanding temple flanked by elephants carved out of solid rock. Pillars, podiums, spires and towers combine to produce an awe-inspiring representation of Shiva's Himalayan abode.

Khajuraho

The tranquil town of Khajuraho, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh boasts of the best medieval temples in India, known all over the world for their erotic sculptures. These glorious temples are the state's most famous attraction.

Amid green lawns and brilliant pink flowers is a complex of temples, glowing with the warmth of sandstone and ornamented with the sinuous curves of sculpture unparalleled in their beauty. Out of the 85 temples built originally, only 22 survive today. These temples were created by the Chandela rulers in the Indo-Aryan style. The site was forgotten for centuries before it was rediscovered in 1838. The temples were restored and attract visitors from all over the world.

The sculptures include statues of gods and goddesses, warriors, celestial dancers and animals, besides those of couples in erotic poses. The Hindu philosophy of Yoga and Bhoga (physical pleasure), the two paths leading to final liberation, seem to be the underlying theme of these sculptures. These temples celebrated a Hindu faith exuberant in its love for the divine. All life was seen as an expression of divinity, including human love. The union between man and woman was viewed as the culmination of devotion, symbolic of the union of the devotee with god and divinity. The other sculptures in these temples depict the daily lives of the people in the 10th and 11th centuries AD.

The famous temples at Khajuraho include the Lakshmana Temple and the Kandariya Mahadeva temple. The latter is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has a shikhara or spire that is 38 meters high. Here we see an attempt to reconstruct the image of Shiva's home in Mount Kailasha. Giant reliefs also portray various manifestations of Shiva, who is both a destroyer and a savior. Of the many statues found in this temple, the most fascinating is that of an ascetic performing the shirshasan (a yogic posture where the yogi balances himself on his head).

The temples of Khajuraho display a wealth of sculptural beauty, evoking the grandeur of the snow-capped Himalayas as well as the earthly pleasures of life.

Elephanta Caves

The most profound aspect of the mighty Shiva is in evidence at the Shiva temple in the Elephanta caves. Situated near Bombay, these caves present an introduction to some most exquisitely carved temples. One can witness a symphony in stone in praise of Lord Shiva, created by India's expert stone carvers of the sixth century.

The central attraction here is a twenty-foot high bust of the deity in three-headed form. The Maheshamurti is built deep into a recess and looms up from the darkness to fill the full height of the cave. This image symbolizes the fierce, feminine and meditative aspects of the great ascetic and the three heads represent Shiva as Aghori, Ardhanarishvara and Mahayogi. Aghori is the terrible form of Shiva where he is intent on destruction. Ardhanarishvara depicts Shiva as half-man/half-woman signifying the essential unity of the sexes. The Mahayogi posture symbolizes the meditative aspect of the God and here Shiva is shown in his most quiet and serene form. Other sculptures in these caves depict Shiva's cosmic dance of primordial creation and destruction and his marriage to Parvati and Shiva as half man/half-woman . The Elephanta sculptures meaningfully convey the oneness of the human and the divine and the images transcend the scope of human imagination to achieve a grandeur that remains undiminished by time.

Clothing

Clothing in India varies widely and is closely related to local culture, religion and climate.

Traditional Indian clothing for women are the sari or the salwar kameez and also Ghaghra Cholis (Lehengas). For men, traditional clothes are the Dhoti, Lungi or Kurta. Bombay, also known as Mumbai, is one of India's fashion capitals. In some village parts of India, traditional clothing mostly will be worn. Delhi, Mumbai,Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune are all places for people who like to shop. In southern India the men were long, white sheets of cloth called dhoti in English and veshti in Tamil. Over the dhoti, men wear shirts, t-shirts, or anything else Woman wear a sari, a long sheet of colorful cloth with patterns. This is draped over a simple or fancy blouse. This is worn by young ladies and woman. Little girls wear a pavada. A pavada is a long skirt worn under a blouse. Both are often gaily patterned. Bindi is part of the women's make-up. Indo-western clothing is the fusion of Western and Subcontinental fashion. Churidar, Dupatta, Gamchha, Kurta, Mundum Neriyathum, Sherwani are among other clothes.

Woman's Clothing

The traditional style of clothing in India varies with male or female distinctions. This is still followed in the rural areas, though is changing in the urban areas. Girls before puberty wear a long skirt (called langa/ paawada in Andhra) and a short blouse, called a choli, on top of it. Teenage girls wear half-sarees, a three piece set comprising of a langa, a choli and a stole wrapped over it like a saree. Women usually wear full sarees.

A sari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff. The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (pavada/pavadai in the south, and shaya in eastern India), with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped, and as such is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian summers. Cholis may be "backless" or of a halter neck style. These are usually more dressy with a lot of embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be worn on special occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a half-sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist.

The salwar kameez is another form of popular dress for females. It consists of loose trousers (the salwar) topped by a long loose shirt (the kameez. It is often mispronounced as "salwar kameez" or simply "salwar". It originates from the Muslim invaders from Turkey and Afghanistan. For a long time it was considered a "Muslim dress" but now has become popular all across India, as well as other South Asian countries. Due to its Muslim origin, it is very common in Pakistan and Afganistan. It is commonly worn with a narrow scarf called a dupatta, which is used to cover the head. The salwar kameez is most common in the northwestern part of India.

The women of Rajasthan and Gujarat often wear colorful swirling skirts called lehenga, paired with a short bodice called a choli. If they must cover their heads, they do so with bright veils called odhani.

Men's clothing

The most common male attire consists of the dhoti and kurta, worn in most of the western and central regions. A sherwani is typically worn for special occasions. Men of northern India and the Punjab may also wear salwar kameez, often in plain white cotton, and top the kameez with a dark waistcoat. The lungi (a type of wrap-around garment) is worn in many parts of India, but depending on the social practices of the region it may be restricted to indoor-wear only.

A kurta is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women. They were traditionally worn with loose-fitting paijama (kurta-paijama), loose-fitting salwars, tight-fitting churidars, or wrapped-around dhotis; but are now also worn with jeans. Kurtas are worn both as casual everyday wear and as formal dress.

Modern fashion in India

Many aspects of Western fashion have become common among Indian men, particularly in the professional community. Horizontal stripes and plaids are common on casual business shirts, particularly among Punjabs and Indians in North America.

Music

Music has always occupied a central place in the imagination of Indians. The range of musical phenomenon in India, and indeed the rest of South Asia, extends from simple melodies, commonly encountered among hill tribes, to what is one of the most well- developed "systems" of classical music in the world. Indian music can be described as having been inaugurated with the chanting of Vedic hymns, though it is more than probable that the Indus Valley Civilization was not without its musical culture, of which almost nothing is known. There are references to various string and wind instruments, as well as several kinds of drums and cymbals, in the Vedas. Sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 5th century AD, the Natyasastra, on Treatise on the Dramatic Arts, was composed by Bharata. This work has ever since exercised an incalculable influence on the development of Indian music, dance, and the performing arts in general.

The term raga, on which Indian music is based, was first discussed at any length in the Brhaddesi, a work from the 10th century attributed to Matanga. In the 13th century, the theorist Sarngadeva, who authored the large work Sangitaratnakara, listed 264 ragas; by this time, the Islamic presence was beginning to be felt in India. Some date the advent of the system of classical Indian music as we now know it to Amir Khusro. Muslim rulers and noblemen freely extended their patronage to music. In the courts of the Mughal emperors, music is said to have flourished, and the composer-musician Tansen was one of the jewels of Akbar's court. Though songs had traditionally been composed in Sanskrit, by the sixteenth century theywere being composed in the various dialects of Hindi -- Braj Bhasa and Bhojpuri among them - as well as Persian and Urdu. The great poet-saints who chose to communicate in the vernacular tongues brought forth a great upheaval in north India and the bhakti or devotional movements they led gained many adherents. The lyrics of Surdas, Tulsidas, and most particularly Kabir and Mirabai would henceforth be set to music, and bhajans, or devotional songs, continue to be immensely popular.

By the sixteenth century, the distinction between North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) music was also being more sharply delineated. Though music in the north, owing to the strong Muslim presence, had been more open to outside influences, in the eighteenth century South Indian musicians were to show themselves as being quite adept in adopting foreign instruments. Sometime in the mid-eighteenth century, the violin entered the repertoire of South Indian music, an instrument which in the late twentieth century has a dazzling array of extraordinarily brilliant performers. Classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic, may be either instrumental or vocal: the connoisseurs of music maintain, as one might expect, that the vocalists represent the music in its greatest glory, but instrumental music has at least just as large a following. Though traditionally this music would have been performed in temples, courts, residences of noblemen and other patrons, and in small gatherings (called baithaks) of music aficionados, today most classical music concerts are held in concert halls.

In the 1960s, classical Indian music entered a new phase. It found adherents in the West, and the sitar of Ravi Shankar was to be heard on the famous Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Ravi Shankar, along with other well-known musicians like the Sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan, was to make his home in the United States, and for the first time Indian classical music began to acquire Western students. Satyajit Ray, the first Indian director to acquire world fame, and a common name in repertory art cinemas, also brought classical Indian music to the attention of Westerners, for the music of some of his early films was composed by Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan, sometimes described as India's greatest sitarist. Finally, collaborations ensued between Indians musicians and Western musicians, as in the case of Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin, who collaborated on a number of East-West albums. In recent years, Ravi Shankar has collaborated with the American minimalist composer, Philip Glass, on Passages; there have also been successful collaborations between L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam, both violinists, and Western musicians. This music is now routinely described as fusion. Though a musicians such as Ravi Shankar can scarcely be described as a household name in the West, he is unquestionably one of the most well-known non- Western musicians in the West, and Indian classical music can fairly be described as having carved a niche for itself in the world of concert music.

In India, however, music is most commonly associated with film music. Popular Indian films, whether in Hindi, Tamil, or any of the other Indian languages, are most often described and understood in the West as "musicals", as they are seldom without songs, though they by no means constitute a genre as did American musicals. Also popular are ghazals, poetic compositions that aspire more than do popular film songs to poetic qualities: the subject here is usually the loss, memory, and remembrance of love. Qawaalis, compositions in which the subject is also love, though here it is understood that it is the love of man and woman for the Divine, have also attained a certain following, and in recent years the Pakistani qawaali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has established a world-wide reputation.

Cinema

India has one of the oldest film industries in the world. Nine decades ago, the pioneer of Indian Cinema, a man by the name of Dundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke encountered several years of persistent struggle but, the untiring devotion and determination by this great genius, culminated in the first ever film of Indian cinema, called Raja Harishchandra in 1913 - a silent film with four reels with inter titles in Hindi and English.

Raja Harishchandra was a mythological film about a benevolent king who sacrificed his kingdom, wealth and family to uphold his ideals, "truth and integrity". This film was reflective of the standards of a society with strong religious roots. This was so because, technology made it possible tell stories through moving images, it was but natural that the Indian film pioneer turned to his own cultural heritage - the epics and Puranas for source material.

Alam Ara produced in 1913 was the genesis of the talkie feature films. The film's popular dialogues and introduction of songs appealed to the public immensely such that in a movie called "Indrasabha", the number of songs were increased to 71!! Film songs became a Pan-Indian phenomenon. This resulted in the craving to see and hear films in their regional language and thus a burgeoning of regional film industries sprouted.

Today, the Indian film industry is the biggest film industry in the world and produces around 800 films per year! A reasonably budgeted Hindi film would cost around US$ 1 million. Apart from the Hindi cinema popularly called Bollywood, there are others - Kollywood (Tamil cinema), Tollywood (Telugu cinema) and Mallywood (Malayalam cinema). The regional film industries like Tamil, Telegu, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Asamese and English reflect the cultural diversity of the Indian cinema. However, it should be noted here that the cost of making a commercial Hindi film varies from the regional films.

The post-independence period saw the Golden Era of Indian cinema, where one witnessed a shift in focus from mythological issues to melodious socials and melodramas. Films like Pather Panchali produced by Satyajit Ray in 1955, gained international recognition. Satayajit Ray emerged as one of India's best directors and was awarded an Oscar in 1995 for lifetime achievement. The 70's witnessed the dawn of parallel cinema, which promoted realistic cinema. Films like Sholay, Deewar, Amar Prem, Seeta Aur Geeta created waves in the film industry, so did parallel cinema like Ijjazat. Some famous names, who have contributed to the conceptualization and development of parallel cinema are Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar and others.

The 90's saw a different genre of films evolve, the film industry having completed a full circle. The mega blockbuster like "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun", followed by "Dilwale Dulanhiya Le Jayenge" crossed the biggest gross ever, proving that Indian cinema has come a full circle from the rickety iridescent images to a very classy state-of-the-art technology for creation and projection of image and sound track.

So many decades old now, Indian cinema has transcended many facets and genres of films. Bollywood has had a chain of distinct categories of films. A typical Bollywood film can be a musical (a film whose action and dialogue is interspersed with singing and dancing) or a melodrama characterized by moon-struck lovers, angry parents, fraudulent politicians, conniving villains, long lost siblings separated by fate and convenient coincidences etc.

Apart from acting skills, a requisite for all aspiring and established actors in Bollywood these days is the ability to dance. As far as songs are concerned, the professional playback singers record songs in the studio, while the actors lip-sync the words. A new fad in Bollywood is that of the actors singing at least one song in a movie themselves.

Dialogues in Indian cinema are powerful and quixotic. The dialogues in Indian cinema are primarily composed in Hindi, though frequent use of poetic Urdu words are pretty common. Contemporary mainstream movies incorporate a lot of English.

Since 1913, from the time it was created until now, we thus observe how the film industry has grown multi-dimensionally with a inimitable blend of business, art, glamour, social interaction, legendary adjuncts, artistic expression, performing arts, folk forms and above all, a wide-ranging and abiding appeal to the heart, the mind and the conscience.

Cuisine

The cuisine of India is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and vegetables grown across India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism across its society. Considered to be one of the world's most diverse cuisines, each family of this cuisine is characterised by a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques. As a consequence, Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically diverse Indian subcontinent.

India's religious beliefs and culture has played an influential role in the evolution of its cuisine. However, India's cuisine also evolved with the subcontinent's cross-cultural interactions with the neighboring Middle East and Central Asia as well as the Mediterranean, making it a unique blend of various cuisines from across Asia. The colonial period introduced European cooking styles to India adding to its flexibility and diversity. Indian cuisine has also influenced cuisines across the world, especially those from Southeast Asia. In particular, curry has been widely adopted in cuisines around the world.

Elements

The staples of Indian cuisine are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and a variety of pulses, the most important of which are masoor (most often red lentil), chana (bengal gram), toor (pigeon pea or yellow gram), urad (black gram) and mung (green gram). Pulses may be used whole, dehusked, for example dhuli moong or dhuli urad, or split. Pulses are used extensively in the form of dal (split). Some of the pulses like chana and "Mung" are also processed into flour (besan).

Most Indian curries are cooked in vegetable oil. In North and West India, groundnut oil has traditionally been most popular for cooking, while in Eastern India, Mustard oil is more commonly used. In South India, coconut oil and Gingelly Oil is common. In recent decades, sunflower oil and soybean oil have gained popularity all over India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is also a popular cooking medium that replaces Desi ghee, clarified butter (the milk solids have been removed).

The most important/frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi, manjal), fenugreek (methi), asafoetida (hing, perungayam), ginger (adrak, inji), coriander, and garlic (lassan, poondu). Popular spice mixes are garam masala which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly comprised of cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Each region, and sometimes each individual chef, has a distinctive blend of Garam Masala. Goda Masala is a popular spice mix in Maharashtra. Some leaves are commonly used like tejpat (cassia leaf), coriander leaf, fenugreek leaf and mint leaf. The common use of curry leaves is typical of all South Indian cuisine. In sweet dishes, cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, and rose petal essence are used.

The term "curry" is usually understood to mean "gravy" in India, rather than "spices." The term Desi Diet indicates a Diet followed by Indians.

Geographical varieties

Northern

North Indian cuisine is distinguished by the proportionally high use of dairy products; milk, paneer, ghee (clarified butter), and yoghurt (yogurt, yoghourt) are all common ingredients. Gravies are typically dairy-based. Other common ingredients include chilies, saffron, and nuts.

North Indian cooking features the use of the "tawa" (griddle) for baking flat breads like roti and paratha, and "tandoor" (a large and cylindrical charcoal-fired oven) for baking breads such as naan, and kulcha; main courses like tandoori chicken also cook in the tandoor. Other breads like puri and bhatoora, which are deep fried in oil, are also common. Goat and lamb meats are favored ingredients of many northern Indian recipes.

The samosa is a popular North Indian snack, and now commonly found in other parts of India, Central Asia, North America, and the Middle East. A common variety is filled with boiled, fried, or mashed potato. Other fillings include minced meat, cheese (paneer), mushroom (khumbi), and chick pea.

The staple food of most of North India is a variety of lentils, vegetables, and roti (wheat based bread). The varieties used and the method of preparation can vary from place to place. Popular snacks, side-dishes and drinks include mirchi bada, buknu, bhujiya, chaat, kachori, imarti, several types of pickles (known as achar), murabba, sharbat, aam panna and aam papad. Popular sweets are known as mithai (means sweetmeat in Hindi), such as gulab jamun, jalebi, peda, petha, rewadi, gajak, bal mithai, singori, kulfi, falooda, khaja, ras malai, gulkand, and several varieties of laddu, barfi and halwa.

Some common North Indian foods such as the various kebabs and most of the meat dishes originated with Muslims’ incursions into the country. Considering their shared historic and cultural heritage, Pakistani cuisine and north Indian cuisine are very similar.

Eastern

East Indian cuisine is famous for its desserts, especially sweets such as rasagolla, chumchum, sandesh, rasabali, chhena poda, chhena gaja, and kheeri. Many of the sweet dishes now popular in Northern India initially originated in the Bengal and Orissa regions. Apart from sweets, East India cuisine offers delights of posta (poppy seeds).

Traditional Bengali cuisine is not too spicy, not too faint. General ingredients used in Bengali curries are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella, green chillies and cumin paste. Mustard paste, curd, nuts, poppy seed paste and cashew paste are preferably cooked in mustard oil. Curries are classified into bata (paste), bhaja (fries), chochchoree (less spicy vapourized curries) and jhol (thin spicy curries).These are eaten with plain boiled rice or ghonto (spiced rice). Traditional Bengali breakfast includes pantabhat (biotically degenerated boiled rice), doi-chirey, doodh-muree with fruits. Bangladesh's cuisine is very similar to that of West Bengal, corresponding to the link between Pakistani and northern Indian cuisine. Fish is relatively commonly consumed in the eastern part of India, most especially in Bengal.

Like South India, rice is the staple grain in Eastern India too. A regular meal consists of many side dishes made of vegetables. The popular vegetable dishes of Orissa are Dalma and Santula. The most popular vegetable dish of Bengal is Sukto. Deep fried, shallow fried and mashed vegetables are also very popular. Fish is frequently featured in many meals.

Southern

South Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple grain, the ubiquity of sambar and rasam (also called saaru and rasa), a variety of pickles, and the liberal use of coconut and particularly coconut oil and curry leaves. Curries called Kozhambu are also popular and are typically vegetable stews cooked with spices, tamarind and other ingredients. The dosa, poori, idli, vada, bonda and bajji are typical South Indian favorites. These are generally consumed as part of breakfast. Other popular dishes include Kesaribath, Upma, Pulao, Puliyodharai and Thengai Sadham. Hyderabadi biryani, a popular type of biryani, reflects the diversity of south Indian cuisine. South Indian cuisine obtains its distinct flavours by the use of tamarind, coconuts, lentils, rice and a variety of vegetables.

Andhra, Chettinad, Tamil, Hyderabadi, Mangalorean, and Kerala cuisines each have distinct tastes and methods of cooking . In fact each of the South Indian states has a different way of preparing sambar; a connoisseur of South Indian food will very easily tell the difference between sambar from Kerala, sambar from Tamil cuisine, Sambar from Karnataka and pappu chaaru in Andhra cuisine. Some popular dishes include the Biriyani, Ghee Rice with meat curry, seafood (prawns, mussels, mackerel) and paper thin Pathiris from Malabar area.

Western

Western India has three major food groups: Gujarati, Maharashtrian and Goan. Maharashtrian cuisine has mainly two sections defined by the geographical sections. The coastal regions, geographically similar to Goa depend more on rice, coconut, and fish. The hilly regions of the Western Ghats and Deccan plateau regions use groundnut in place of coconut and depend more on jowar (sorghum) and bajra (millet) as staples. Saraswat cuisine forms an important part of coastal Konkani Indian cuisine. Gujarati cuisine is predominantly vegetarian. Many Gujarati dishes have a hint of sweetness due to use of sugar or brown sugar. Goan cuisine is influenced by the Portuguese colonization of Goa.

North Eastern

The food of the North East is very different from other parts of India. This area's cuisine is more influenced by its neighbours, namely Burma and the People's Republic of China. For example it uses less of the well known spices that are popular in other parts of India. Yak is a popular meat in this region of India.

Beverages

Tea is a staple beverage throughout India; the finest varieties are grown in Darjeeling and Assam. It is generally prepared as masala chai, wherein the tea leaves are boiled in a mix of water, spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, and large quantities of milk to create a thick, sweet, milky concoction. Different varieties and flavors of tea are prepared to suit different tastes all over the country. Another popular beverage, coffee, is largely served in South India. One of the finest varieties of Coffea arabica is grown around Mysore, Karnataka, and is marketed under the trade name "Mysore Nuggets". Indian filter coffee, or kaapi, is also especially popular in South India. Other beverages include nimbu pani (lemonade), lassi, chaach, badam doodh (milk with nuts and cardamom), sharbat and coconut water. India also has many indigenous alcoholic beverages, including palm wine, fenny and Indian beer. There's also bhang, prepared using cannabis, and typically consumed, especially in North India, during Holi and Vaisakhi. However the practice of drinking a specific beverage with a meal, or wine and food matching, is not traditional or common in India.

Although the above listed beverages are popular, people prefer to consume drinking water with their food becuase drinking water does not overshadow the taste of the food. In fact it is customary to offer drinking water to guests before serving any hot or cold drinks.

Заключение.

В заключение настоящей работы стоит, подводя итоги по проведенному исследованию, остановиться на главных моментах:

1. Индия страна с богатейшей культурой. Индия так же является страной, где удачно сочетаются различные виды и направления искусства. Те обычаи и направления искусства, которые есть в Индии не существуют больше ни в какой другой стране мира.
2. Религия оказала огромное влияние на становление культуры Индии. Так как в Индии исповедуется масса религий, это и индуизм, и ислам, и буддизм, и сикхизм и т.д., а религии откладывают свои традиции на развитие культуры, то в культуре Индии великолепно переплелись те религиозные традиции, которые существуют там. И это сделало культуру Индии непохожей ни на одну другую культуру в мире.
3. Знание английского языка помогает в познании мира и даёт стимул изучать культуру зарубежных стран, обогащать духовное и социальное мировоззрение.

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10. Интернет