India; Unity in Diversity
Posted by rocksea on 05 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: india, japan
The cultural richness of India is reflected in her numerous classical & folk dances. So many have asked me why dance is so important in the Indian culture? Why there are always dances and music in the Indian movies??
In India, dance expresses devotion, prayer, happiness, sorrow, stories.. the list goes on. Shown on the top left of the picture above is Natraj or the dancing Siva. Siva is one of the most prominent gods in Hindu religion and he is also pictured as the the dancer of creation, lord of joy and sorrow.
Bharatanatyam, originated in Tamil Nadu is one of the major classical dance forms in India. Kathakali is a theatre art form from Kerala.
Kathakali theatre shares many similarities with Japanese Kabuki. Both styles were created in the 17th Century, and both revolve around mythological stories and folk tales. The disciplined movement and dance that is so indicative of both forms, is enhanced by elaborate make-up, exceptional costumes and traditional music. All actors in both Kabuki and Kathakali are male, even when some characters are female. Attached is an Indian stamp showing both Kathakali & Kabuki. I have that stamp in my collection 
I have put the slides of Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi & Kathak with the names and brief explanation. Each dance form is unique in its origin and style.
These are some of the folk dances of the country. Dandiya is one dance which I love very much. It is simple and pleasing. Dandiya is performed in groups of pairs, with a pair of sticks in their hands. Ideally, two circles formed by men and women move in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions with two sticks called dandiyas held in their hands. Dandiya dances usually take place during Navaratri (nava-ratri = nine nights) festival and is popular in north India, especially Gujarat. My first experience with dandiya was while I was in Goa. After that I haven’t missed a chance to dance along the dandiya tunes.
Bihu dances performed by young boys and girls characterised by brisk stepping, flinging and flipping of hands and swaying of hips represents youthful passion, reproductive urge and enjoying life. Bihu dance comes from Assam.
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43 Comments »
on 30 Oct 2005 at 4:48 pm 1.Marlin said …
gud…i like the way u have workrd on it…i wud surely forward this to Erica as well..she will def like it…
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on 09 Nov 2005 at 12:12 pm 2.A.Priya said …
hi ,
Hi you had taken a wonderful presentation. I am very proud of you & being an Indian
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on 09 Nov 2005 at 2:22 pm 3.Rajini said …
hi
Excellent work . keep it up.
humble being an INDIAN.
“Not only were ocean and rivers complete by themselves, but each drop of water was also complete in itself. Hence, the world did not mean continents and countries alone but that each man by himself was a world.”
ie u represented the whole INDIA.
cheers
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on 09 Nov 2005 at 9:26 pm 4.rocksea said …
thanks, marlin, priya & rajini. let us hope someone goes thru the myriads of faces of India and come to love them.. i am adding a few slides every day.
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on 01 Jan 2006 at 12:10 am 5.jina said …
hehe..cool…
happy newyear buddy…and how do u know erica?
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on 01 Jan 2006 at 8:42 pm 6.rocksea said …
oh! jina, the erica mentioned here isn’t the same as the one u know. i gave a hi there just cuz she is japanese. here the japanese have given me a warm abode with sweet smiles and i wish the same to those japanese in india too..
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on 04 Jan 2006 at 5:33 pm 7.rocksea » Indian influence on Japanese traditions & culture said …
[...] The Lion Capital seal, Japanese Buddhism & Ashoka The Lion Capital seal/emblem at Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh was erected by Mauryan king Ashoka, during 3 Century BC, to mark the spot where Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emanicipation to the four quarters of the universe. After independence, on 26 Jan 1950, the Ashoka lion symbol or the Lion Capital seal was adopted as the State Emblem of India and his wheel of life appears on the Indian National Flag. A Government of India publication described the significance of these symbols in the following words: The National Emblem is symbolic of contemporary India’s affirmation of its commitment to world peace and goodwill. The 4 lions - symbolizing power, courage and confidence - rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by 4 smaller animals - guardians of 4 directions: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto ‘Satyameva Jayate’ from Mundaka Upanishid inscribed below the emblem in the Devanagari script, means ‘Truth Alone Triumphs’. [...]
on 06 Jan 2006 at 7:28 pm 8.twilight said …
roti..naan..yummmyyyyyyyyy
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on 21 May 2006 at 5:53 pm 9.sunisha jain said …
india is great
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on 25 May 2006 at 2:06 am 10.purvi said …
hey good job i am also going to do presentation on india as well also making web page.
proud to be indian ha.
keept it up
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on 25 Jun 2006 at 4:31 am 11.neelia said …
I have Guide Guides in UK doing a presentation about India (culture, religion, Girlguiding). They found your site very useful.
Do you have any information you could send us about Girl Guides (girl scouts?) in India?
They have also to talk about “A Day in the life of an Indian person” - can you send us info?
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on 29 Jun 2006 at 12:10 am 12.sarah said …
Neelia, I hope these two sites help you in what you are looking for: http://www.bsgindia.org , http://www.sangamworldcentre.org . You can cruise through them and find some information on girl scouts and india too. Best wishes!
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on 06 Jul 2006 at 3:33 am 13.Vijay Chinnasamy said …
Hi,
This blog series is nice. Keep it up.
Many wishes from
Vijay Chinnasamy
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on 25 Aug 2006 at 2:23 pm 14.midhun said …
onam
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on 30 Aug 2006 at 3:48 am 15.SANKET 9833647537 said …
VERY USEFUL FOR WHOM WHO WANT TO KNOW IN DETAIL
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on 03 Sep 2006 at 7:06 pm 16.yogehs said …
india is great. india my life line.
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on 18 Sep 2006 at 10:09 pm 17.sarah said …
Chetta, a real good portrayal of our country. Makes any Indian proud of it. Finding so many various culture and traditions in a country is truely amazing and speaks a lot of the people living in it too. No wonder so many other cultures have borrowed religions, art, culture, philosophy etc…from India. The way you have emphasised on the major forms of festivals and art along wiht it’s main monuments is real good and the explanation of ‘Namaste’ too. It should also take away some ‘ideas’ some others have about India=curry! You have very well touched almost all basic aspects that make India what it is.
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on 28 Oct 2006 at 9:56 am 18.ramyaa said …
very interesting! and a great effort
must make ervery indian proud
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on 30 Oct 2006 at 4:41 am 19.Marie-Jeanne said …
The South Indian Breakfast looks great !(actually everyting on this site looks delicious) Can’t wait to try this food when going to India one of these days. Thanks for putting this presentation together !
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on 29 Jan 2007 at 2:24 am 20.Hiral said …
Amazing!! thx for the site..its great. hope to see more
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on 09 Feb 2007 at 12:29 am 21.Radhika said …
GREAT WORK…. To learn anything good about our country…. our MotherIndia gives us a reason to smile…. We are proud to be INDIANS…. NAMASTE INDIA…. “I BOW TO THEE MY MOTHERINDIA”
VANDE MATRAM
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on 29 May 2007 at 10:58 pm 22.Priya.B. said …
WOW!! Even though I live in the UK….India is the one place that I will always value and respect after all my roots are from there!! I must say I’M PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN!!!
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on 10 Jun 2007 at 12:55 am 23.t..... said …
india is da BEST!!!!!!!:):):D:D:D:D
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on 22 Jun 2007 at 12:36 am 24.Ishaan said …
Fabulous….amazing India and its culture…I enjoy leaving in this country. Mera Bharat Mahaan…kaheta hai Ishaan!!!
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on 02 Jul 2007 at 2:42 pm 25.ganesh shastry said …
my india the great she is eternal and immmortal
with the great faith of the poeple and the blood
of martyrs which nourishes the value of our independence in daily but un fortunately we are losing ourness Awake we the people of can do any thing…………PROUD TO BE IN INDIAN
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on 09 Jul 2007 at 4:56 pm 26.Mahendra said …
hey guy u took my heart
bcoz I LOVE INDIA FROM DEPTHS OF MY HEART
AND U TRIED TO GRACE IT`S SOUL
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on 23 Jul 2007 at 1:18 pm 27.fayeza said …
hiiiiiiii hey guys you all are who are doing this work i salute them. it is mindbloing keep it up.i wish you all the best bcz it help me a lot to make my presentation on india.thankyou.
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on 08 Aug 2007 at 6:56 pm 28.Ravi Kiran said …
Hi Friend,
Great to see this Blog. The info u have given is simply superb. Keep it up.
Affly,
Ravi Kiran (One more Indian)
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on 08 Aug 2007 at 6:56 pm 29.Ravi Kiran said …
Hi Friend,
Great to see this Blog. The info u have given is simply superb. Keep it up.
Affly,
Ravi Kiran
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on 09 Aug 2007 at 12:25 pm 30.ramu rasa said …
hey guy u took my heart
bcoz I LOVE INDIA,
‘I am proud to be an Indian every day’ -rasa.
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on 10 Aug 2007 at 12:48 am 31.vivek said …
india is realy great
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on 14 Aug 2007 at 1:20 pm 32.manasa said …
hey! very great.. many people should learn from u! i feel proud to be an INDIAN
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on 14 Sep 2007 at 8:25 pm 33.Anushka khanna said …
you all have made an iteresting website, i love this and i am proud to be an indian
jana mana gana mana adhinayak he. bharat bhagya vidhata.. punjab sindhu gujrat maratha. dravid, utkal banga.. vindhya himachal yamuna ganga. uchal jaldi taranga..tav shubh naame jaage.tav shubh aashish maage. jaygaatha.. jana gana mangaldayak jay ha.bharat bhagyavidhata.. jay he,jay he,jay he jay jay jay jay he.
written by ravindranaath tagore.
our frweedom fighers are mahatma gandhi,rani laksmi bai,lal bal pal, jawalal nehru etc.
jay hind…………..
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on 14 Sep 2007 at 8:36 pm 34.Anushka khanna said …
hi purvi,
how r u
will u tell me that how to make an website pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
if u will tell me that how to make an web then thanksssssssssssss.
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on 24 Dec 2007 at 10:15 pm 35.pallavi said …
it touched my heart.really good one.
jaaaaaaaaaaaaai hind!
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on 12 Jan 2008 at 3:38 pm 36.deeksha said …
you have made a very beautiful presentation and its amazing
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on 06 Feb 2008 at 11:47 am 37.Hanah said …
HELLO, VERY NICE SITE, LOVE THE PHOTOS!
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on 23 Mar 2008 at 1:36 pm 38.Aparna Deepika.N said …
This idea is very good idea,all age group of people enjoyed to see these dances photos.Lot of people forgot our culture,it shows our culture .I love India and like indian culture.please know about of our culture and dont forget it.,keep smile dont waste your time ,think always positive.
Life is a game - play it,
Life is a sea - Swim it,
Life is a challenge- win it.
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on 28 Mar 2008 at 5:45 pm 39.diti said …
surely our culture is the great one…its a delight in just being a part of it.
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on 09 Apr 2008 at 1:08 am 40.dilpreet said …
wow!!!!!!! that was awesome………india is one of the greatest nations in the world……..i feel myself on cloud 9 wen i introduce myself as an INDIAN…………
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on 25 May 2008 at 6:15 pm 41.paul said …
very good informative
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on 29 Jun 2008 at 10:35 pm 42.soniya said …
i love india… end i live in belguim..and iy wil say i feel proud to be an indian!!!!end india is realy great !!!!!!!! thanks !!!!! soniya
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on 09 Jul 2008 at 8:40 pm 43.Lydia said …
It is always a joy to see that the Indian women still know how to drape cloth into beautiful coverings for themselves. The colors are so bright, as if celebrating life. I hope the saree and other Indian costume continues for a long time, as an example to the world, and that the women there never try to adopt the clothing of the west. The cloth, the hairstyles, jewelry, and beauty of the Indian women is an inspiring example of your culture.
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