NOEL, in India

Indian culture has the special character to adapt whatever new things enter into her heat in its real meaning and sense. So as in the case of Christmas even though if it is came from outside. In India Christmas is celebrated with most enthusiasm and joy. Even though the Christmas is not a major festival of India, and even the Christians are less than two percentage, the Christmas has become an important festival over the years. Even though Christmas is a festival of Christians, now people from other religions and communities participate in the Christmas festivities with marked fervor and zest.

Christmas celebration in India may be celebrated a little differently in different states of India and is heavily influenced by Indian culture. Christmas celebrations in urban areas are very similar to those in the West when we compare with the rural areas. Streamers, lights, balloons and buntings are used to add a festive look to shopping centers. Special discounts, bargain offers and bonuses are offered to make shopping more attractive. Even if the friends and relatives exchange presents, it is not much particular as we see in the western countries. Santa Claus distributes gifts and sweets to children especially in the church after the vigil mass. And in most of the churches they singing the carols as the part of the ritual. And in Christmas day it is customary for families to eat Christmas dinner together, all the members even if they are working so far, on this day however they find opportunity to be at home with parents. Elaborate puddings, special cakes and wine are prepared. Roasted chicken is a special item on Christmas day, for the meal. In the coastal regions, people have fish too.

In the tribal and rural areas of India, the menu is very different. Cakes made of rice flour and bananas form part of the ceremonial feast. As a gesture of good will, these confections are sent to homes which are in mourning. Women also make the kudas and namkeens. In some parts of southern India, payas is distributed among friends and relatives. Carol singing is also popular, but it is accompanied by rhythmic dancing. The dance forms vary from region to region. In the eastern states of Bihar, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, it is customary to intersperse the feast with tribal dances.

DANCE, the living gesture of culture

The dance in India is an age-old tradition. It covers a wide range of dances, from the ancient classical to modern styles. This vast sub continent has given birth to varied forms of dancing, each shaped by the influences of a particular period and environment. All Indian dances portray some expression of life and almost every dance posture has a specific meaning. Different sates in India have different and colorful folk dances.

India offers man forms of classical dances to the world of dance. In which each dance can be traced to different parts of the country. The criteria of classical style are depending on the guidelines laid down in Natyashastra written by Bharata Muni (400 BC). It is the first book, which gives the details about the technique and forms of dance. Abhinaya Darpanam was another book on dance. It gives the fundamental techniques. According to those instructions, in India, it is considered there are eight classical dances. Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniaattam, Sattriya, Kathak, Kathakali.

But here in this article I would like to highlight two main classical dances that originated typically from the state of Kerala that is Kathakali and Mohiniaattam.

Kathakali:- This dance form shows a story play or a dance drama. And it has a unique combination of literature, music, painting, acting and dance. The themes of Kathakali dances are very religious in nature and is typically taken from the epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. It is mostly performed by men. Costumes and painting on the face are most distinctive characteristics of Kathakali. It generally started at dusk and go through out the night.

Mohiniaattam:- This dance is generally performed by women and has graceful and bobbing movements. The dancers wear an off-white color saree with gold border; hairs are gathered in a bun in one side with golden jewelry. Mohiniaattam dance is a beautiful dance form of feminine styles to flow body movements. The theme of Mohiniaattam is mostly ‘sringara’ or love. These subjects are executed with subtle gestures, rhythmic footwork and lilting music.

Cinema, the visual culture of India.

It is accepted fact all over the world that the Indian cinema is the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and number of productions. Bollywood is the name that is given to the popular Mumbai based film industry in India. The central board of film certification of India cites on its website that every three months an audience as large as India’s billion strong population visits cinema halls. Indian cinemas are popular in various parts of the world, especially in countries with significant Indian communities.
Since India is a large country where many languages are spoken, the cinema too are produced in many languages. Even though mainly there are 415 language in India, the Indian film producers have made films in thirty of the largest languages. However the largest language groups support major regional industries in India are Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada and Odiya.
The cinema was introduced to India with the Lumiere Brothers’ Cinematography on July 7, 1896. but the first full length Indian feature film was Raja Harishchandra made by Dadasaheb Phalke on May 1913.
There have been many influences that have shaped the conventions of Indian popular cinema. The first among them is the ancient Indian epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana which have exerted a profound influence on the thought and imagination of Indian cinema. It influenced a lot in its narration, side story, back story and story within the story etc. The other influence was the impact of ancient Sanskrit drama with its highly stylized nature and emphasise on spectacle, where music, dance and gesture combined to create a vibrant artistic unit with dance and mime being central to the dramatic experience.
Through the cinemas the film makers always try to exhibit a different aesthetic and political sensibility and were inclined to explore the case and class contradictions of Indian society the nature of oppression suffered by women, the dislocations created by industrialism and migration from rural to urban areas, the problem of landless, the impotency of ordinary democratic and constitutional procedures of redress, and so on.
It is important that anyone who wishes to explore the world of Indian cinema should also reflect on its presence in Indian spaces, its relation to vernacular art forms and mass art, and highly stratified and gendered space of the Indian cinema hall.

Fire to the heart of India.

India is not yet get out from the great shock because of the horrible terrorist attack to her heart. More than 125 people have already dead during the attack that took place in 13 different places simultaneously in Mumbai, the economical capital of India, and more than 300 people are injured. Still the chaos is continuing.
The terrorist entered the city by a ship. They fired toward the people in foul mail public places with A K 47 guns. All the attacks took place within the 3 kilometre. The first attack was in the Leopold Caffe, the famous tourist spot in Mumbai. Then neat the hotel Taj Mahal and Obroy Hotel respectively. They bombed in the hotels and kept many people in hostage.

In its method and scale, the shooting down of innocent people and courageous police officers in different places across the city represents an affront to the Indian state of a type not seen in recent past. The sophisticate arms that the terrorist used and the manner of the attacks point to a well-funded, well-trained group that bears the signature of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its several variants.

The targeting of well-known landmarks and high profile places, including the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (the main railway station in the city), the Taj Mahal hotel and Trident hotel etc shows that some foreknowledge of the place obtained by prior reconnaissance or through local collaborators.

The terrorist started the arrack on Wednesday late evening around 10.30 and still the government forces cant not cease them from their attack. The situation is so pathetic and terrible. The dignity and pride of India is still burning. She was on her way to reach the level of top powerful countries, but the attacks and the situation like this pull her back from reaching her goal.

Music, the Rythm of Culture

The music of India is said to be one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world. The music has always occupied a central place in the imagination of Indians. It is said that the origins of this system go back to the ‘Vedas’, the ancient scripts of the Hindus. Many different legends have grown up in different parts of India concerning about the origin and development of Indian music. Such legends go a long way in showing the importance that music has in defining Indian culture.

The Indian music includes varieties of folk, popular, pop and classical music. India’s classical music tradition can be divided into Carnatic Music and Hindustan Music. It is generally say that the Carnatic Music is more famous in the south India and the Hindustani Music in the North India. The Hindustani Music tradition that goes back to Vedic times, and further developed the 13th and 14th centuries from the religious, folk and theatrical performance practices the practice of singing based notes was popular even from the early Vedic times. The Carnatic Music is based on historical developments that can be traced on the 15th and 16th centuries.

This tradition has a history spanning millennia and, developed over several eras, it remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as source of religious inspiration, culture expression and pure entertainment.

The basic for Indian music is “sangeet”. It is a combination of three art forms: vocal music, instrumental music and dance. Although these three art forms were originally derived from the single field of stagecraft, today these three forms have differentiated into complex and highly refined individual art forms. Many musical instruments are peculiar to India. The most famous among them are the sitar and tabala. However there are many more that the average person may not be familiar with.

The advent of modern historical and cultural research has also given us a good perspective on the field. This has shown that Indian music has developed within a very complex interaction between different races and cultures. It appears that the ethnic diversity of present day India has been there from the earliest times. All of these makes up the complex and exiting field of Indian music. Its understanding easily consumes an entire lifetime.

Alphonsa, first woman saint of India

October 12th was the day that the endless of flowers fallen upon the millions of people in India, especially, Kerala where Alphonsa was born. Because she has got the first woman saint in the more or less 1900 years history of Christians in kerala. In front of more or less 50000 people (among them 25000 people of inidan origin) who gathered together in st. peter’s square, Sr. Alphonsa became Saint Alphonsa after she was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI during the ceremony at St. Peter’s square.

The ceremony began at 10. 00 am (in India 1.30 pm) in st. peters square and the millions of people in India was watching the ceremony lively through television.

Pope Benedict had declared Sr. Alphonsa’s name for canonization on June 1st 2007, a process that was startd 55 years ago. Alphonsa was born in Kudamaloor, a village near Kottayam, to Joseph and Mary in August 19,1910 and after facing several health problems she She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in1986 in Kottayam, Kerala 40 years after her death, in recognition of the numerous miracles associated with her.

She is the second saint from India to be canonized. In the 19th century, Saint Gonsalo Gracia, born in Vasai near Mumbai in 1556 was declared a saint.

Deepavali (Diwali): a feast of light, in the dark

The Indians all over the world are celebrating the feast of Deepavali, the feast of light on 28th october,2008. But in today’s present social and political condition in India tends us to say a celebration of light in the dark. The people in India really lost its moral power to say that we are celebrating Deepavali in all its meaning and real depth.

Deepavali is one among the major Indian festival and a significant festival in Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. It is the Festival of Lights, where the light or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being. In India it is celebrated on the first day of the lunar Kartika month, which comes in the month of October or November.

Deepavali literally means a row of lamps and in due course, the popular name has shortened to Diwali, especially in India. The inner significance of Deepavali is to lead man from darkness to light. Light has always been the symbol of the highest ideals of man, and the festival of light, is celebrated all over the world in different forms.


Om

asato ma sadga maya,
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya,
mrityorma amritamgamaya
Om
shantih shantih shantih

Oh Almighty!

Lead us from the unreal (falsity) to the real (truth)

From darkness to light!
From mortality to immortality!
Oh Almighty!
May there be Peace! Peace! Peace!

- Brihdaranyaka Upanishad 1:3:27


Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. Yet the heart of the vast majority of the people in India are as dark as the night of the new moon. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of darkness and ignorance.

Unity in diversity = INDIA

“Isa vasya midam sarvam Yatkinja jagatyam jagat”(Upanishad)

This world is full of God, and in everything there is God.

In a nut shell we can say this is what the Indian culture is and shows and the Indian philosophy teaches.

Every ancient culture has to tell a story of a river from where it has got the power and resources to grow up and to become one among the great and rich cultures in the world. The Indian culture too has to tell a story of the river Indus. The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus .

The Indian culture starts from the Indus valley civilization. Indian culture is both ancient and diverse and stretches back in an unbroken sweep over 5000 years. India's culture is marked by a high degree of syncretism and cultural pluralism. It has been shaped by the long history of India, its unique geography and the absorption of customs, traditions and ideas from both immigrants and invaders, while preserving its ancient heritage from the Indus Valley Civilization. India's great diversity of cultural practices, languages, customs, and traditions are examples of this unique co-mingling over the past five millennium. India is also the birth place of several religious systems such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, which have had a great influence not only over India but also over the rest of the world. From the twelfth century onwards, following the Islamic conquests and the subsequent European occupation, the culture of India was influenced by Persian, Arabic, Turkish and English cultures. Indian architecture is one area that represents the diversity of Indian culture. Much of it, including notable monuments such as the Taj Mahal and other examples of Mughal architecture and South Indian architecture, comprises a blend of ancient and varied local traditions from several parts of the country and abroad. Vernacular architecture also displays notable regional variation.

Indian music covers a wide range of traditions and regional styles. Classical music is split mainly between the North Indian Hindustani and South Indian Carnatic traditions. Indian dance too has diverse folk and classical forms. Among the well-known folk dances are the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhau of Bihar and Orissa and the ghoomar of Rajasthan. 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 the state of Orissa and the sattriya of Assam.The earliest works of Indian literature were transmitted orally and only later written down. These included works of Sanskrit literature – such as the early Vedas, the epics Mahābhārata and Ramayana.

Traditional Indian dress varies across the regions in its colours and styles and depends on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of dress include draped garments such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men; in addition, stitched clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pyjama and European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.
Many Indian festivals are religious in origin, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. Some popular festivals are Diwali, Thai Pongal, Holi, Onam, Vijayadashami, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas. Religious practices are an integral part of everyday life and are a very public affair.

Like the different colors make the rainbow so beautiful, the difference verities in Indian culture shows always its beauty and keep its dignity with all other ancient cultures in this modern world.