Culture Post #1
Over the course of the last semester, I faced a huge cultural challenge: What is the Indian culture?
India is a vast country with various ethnic groups that have their own unique culture. The nation is composed of 28 states and almost every state is a home to a unique ethnic group that has their own language, different food, and special customs. I come from the state of Gujarat and, therefore, am classified as Gujarati. I know the Gujarati language and I am accustomed to Gujarati food. On the other hand, my language partner is of Sindhi background and she is used to her own special culture.
So with so many states, so many ethnicities, and so many customs, how do the Indian people find a common ground?
Indian people are aware of the differences amongst them. Instead of tearing them apart, these differences bring the Indian population together. Societies in Indian have some to respect each other’s believes and they join forces in order to create the larger Indian community. The Hindi language and the Hindu religion serve as a combining force for people. Hindi is the national language of India and it serves as a means of communication for over 1 billion people. Hindi is a powerful language and, this is one of the reasons for why I wanted to learn the language. The next combining force is religion. Majority of the Indian population is Hindu. This joins people in a spiritual bond.
This semester I would like to dig deeper into the Indian society and how different groups of people play a unique role in it. I would specifically like to focus on gender, socioeconomic status, relationships and religion.
Comments