Indian Culture and Traditions!

Hello readers,

Today I'm going to write about different vintage traditions, I'm going to go a little out of my comfort zone and write about vintage traditions from different countries, these type of blogs will be carried out through a series, each blog has a different country! So hold onto your hats readers as I take you on a tour over seas to experience exciting and different vintage traditions! 

First stop is...

India! There's so much I could tell you and write about India, there beautiful traditional fashion, their amazing body hennas, and their fabulous music! 

In India, their type of dress can vary depending on their religion, region, and climate. But this doesn't mean that the clothes they wear are any less amazing or interesting as any others. For women, it's common to wear a Sari (pronounced Sar-ee) this is a strip of un stitched cloth usually ranging from the measurements from four to nine yards. The Sari is worn over the body in many different styles. The word Sari is derived from the word Sanskrit, meaning 'strip of cloth.' The most common style of a Sari is it being wrapped around the waist and the remaining cloth draped over the shoulder. These Sari's are usually a patterned and colourful design. Indian women also wear a special type of make up, one of these are called a 'Bindi.' A Bindi, meaning "small drop, dot." Is traditionally a bright red dot on the forehead, between the eye brows. But now can also be a jewel or sign in the same location. The traditional significance of this is its known to be the sixth seat for wisdom. It is said to retain energy and focus concentration. 

For men, it's traditional to wear a Sherwani, Lungi, Kurta, and Dhoti or Pajama. A Sherwani is a long coat/jacket, the length is usually just below the knee. The Sherwani has a Nehru collar, a collar that stands up. A Sherwani is traditionally worn at a wedding or special occasion. The colour of the Sherwani is normally ivory or cream. A Lungi, also known as a sarong, is a traditional garment of India.

 Now I could go on and on about clothing of India, but that's not all India has to offer us for their culture, lets have a look at their music!

There are many many different styles of music in India, for example: Thumri, Dandra, Ghazal, Qawwali, Chaiti, Kajri, and Sufi. These are the main traditional Indian styles. But with every style of great music comes an award and a festival, there are the Punjabi Music Awards, Sangeet Natack Academi Awards, and the Filmfare Awards. India adores music festivals, and so they sometimes have a whole season dedicated to a certain festival, like the Chennai Music Season. The festivals India holds are very lively and public, and sometimes are even out on the streets! 

So is that all India has to offer? A bunch of clothes and music? Haha no my friend, one of my most favourites of Indian culture is something called a Henna...

Let's start from the very beginning, a Henna is a type of tree, yes that's right readers its not one of those pretty little tattoos... Yet. Henna, also known as Lawsonia Inermis, is a flowering tree. The English name Henna comes from the Arabic word 'Hinna' pronounced Hin-ae, but can be loosely pronounced Hinna. (This will be the part you'll all recognise) The name Henna also refers to a certain type of dye that comes from the Henna tree. The art of temporary tattoos name, Henna, is based on the dye of the Henna tree. Henna dye can be used to tattoo/dye skin, hair, fingernails and fabrics, including wool, leather and cotton. The name Henna can also be used in the different colours of hair or skin dyes, for example, black henna, or neutral henna, neither of which are derived from the Henna plant itself. 

So now what? We've done clothes, little tattoo plant things and music? Surely we're missing something? Ah! I remember...

Food! 

Just like the clothes, Indian food can vary according to the religion and the place of which the people are. I'm going to focus on both of these topics whilst writing. Indian cuisine varies significantly from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, meats, vegetables, and fruits. Indian foods are also heavily influenced by cultural and religious choices, for example, Muslims in India do not eat pork, and many Hindu communities consider beef as a taboo. Since it is believed that cow slaughter can be condemned, many Indian states has banned beef consumption. Despite religious beliefs in India limiting their cuisine, there is also a varied cuisine according to place, for example, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands sea food plays a big part of their cuisine. Since they traditionally had very little contact with the outside world, raw fish, fruits and veg became their staple foods. Immigration in India, however, has given the island a more wider range of foods. 

Well readers that the tour of India, I hope you enjoyed it! And I'll see you next Friday for the next tour, I'll give you some hints to what the next country is... Fiesta. 

See you next time.

Bye for now,

Snowdrop xx

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