Culture of India

The culture of India is one of the oldest cultures in the world. In modern India, there is remarkable cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche.

In spite of the diversity, it’s bound by a common a thread as one civilization perhaps because of its common history and transfer of age old knowledge in the geographies. Indian culture and religions had great impacts on South East Asia and this is evident in the legacy it left. Indian influences are still very strong in Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Laotian, Khmer, Burmese cultures and many more.

Cultural policy

The cultural policy of the Government of India has three major objectives:
Preserving the cultural heritage of India,
Inculcating Indian art consciousness amongst Indians and
Promoting high standards in creative and performing arts.

History

One of the most interesting aspects of Indian art and architecture prior to colonization was the strong impact of religious and folk idioms and folk art on courtly art. Although folk art received little encouragement during the period of colonization, independence brought forth a renewed interest in folk paintings.

Drama and theatre

Indian drama and theatre is perhaps as old as its music and dance. Kalidas’ plays like Shakuntala and Meghadoot are some of the oldest plays from literary traditions. The tradition of folk theatre is alive in nearly all the linguistic regions of the country. In addition, there is a rich tradition of puppet theatre in rural India. Bollywood is the place to be for drama (often, the melodrama of Bollywood seems to mirror 17th century masnavi).