Culture
  
The Taj Mahal in Agra was built by Shah Jahan in memory of the wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value".

The culture of India is marked by a high degree of syncretism and cultural pluralism. He managed to preserve established traditions while absorbing new customs, traditions, and ideas from invaders and immigrants and the release of its cultural influence in other parts of Asia.

Indian architecture is a field that represents the diversity of Indian culture. A large part of it, including monuments like the Taj Mahal and other examples of Mughal architecture in south India and architecture, includes a mixture of old and diverse local traditions in many regions of the country and abroad. The vernacular architecture displays notable regional variations.

Indian music covers a wide range of traditions and regional styles. Classical music largely encompasses the two genres - Hindustani northern India, southern India Carnatic traditions and their various branches in the form of regional folk music. Regionalised forms of popular music, films and popular music, the syncretic tradition of Baul is well known to him.

Indian dance too has diverse folk and classical forms. Among the famous folk dances are the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihua of Assam, the West Bengal chhau, Jharkhand and Orissa and Rajasthan ghoomar. Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological elements, have received the status of classical dance in India by the National Academy of music, dance and theater. They are: bharata natyam in Tamil Nadu, Kathak of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and mohiniyattam Kathakali, Kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, Manipur Manipuri, Odissi of Orissa and the sattriya of Assam. Theater of India often incorporates music, dance, improvisation and dialogue or in writing. Often based on Hindu mythology, but also the borrowing of medieval romances, and news of social and political events, including the Indian cinema bhava of Gujarat, West Bengal and Jatra nautanki Ramlilas of North India, Tamasha in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh burrakatha, terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka yakshagana.


The Indian film industry is the largest in the world. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, makes commercial Hindi films and is the most prolific film industry in the world. Traditions are also available in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu language cinemas.



 

Indian literature was transmitted orally in early days and written later. These include works of the literature in Sanskrit - as the early Vedas, the Ramayanan and the Mahabharat epic, the drama Abhijnanasakuntalam (Recognition of Sakuntala), and poetry as Mahakavya and the Tamil language Sangam literature. Among the Indian writers the modern era active in Indian languages or English, Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in 1913.   

Indian cuisine is characterized by a wide variety of regional styles and sophisticated use of herbs and spices. The staple food in the region are rice (especially in the south and east) and wheat (mostly in the north). Spices at the origin of the Indian subcontinent that are currently used to understand the world of black pepper, however, Hot Chili Peppers, popular across India, were introduced by the Portuguese.

The traditional Indian dress varies by region in its colors and styles and depends on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of clothing 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 Pajama and European-style trousers and shirts for men, are also popular.

Many Indian festivals are religious, although several are celebrated irrespective of caste and religion. Some festivals Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ugadi, Pongal, Holi, ONAM, Vijayadasami, Durga Puja, Eid ul-Fitr, Bakr-Id, Christmas, Buddha Jayanti and Vaisakhi. India has three national holidays. Other sets of holidays, varying between nine and twelve, are officially observed in individual states. Religious practices are an integral part of everyday life and are a very public affair.