Similarity in diversity!!!
India is a
country with diverse traditions and cultures. In fact it would take ages to
know each and every tradition of every nook and corner of India.I would like to
compare two states of our country.
Himachal Pradesh
Located
snugly in the shade of the great Himalayas, this state is a beautiful
combination of naturistique beauty and cultural vibrancy. Himachal Pradesh
constitutes 96% of Hindus only. Even though Hindi is the state language,
Western Pahari Languages are mostly spoken. The dressing style if traditional
has different norms for both Brahmins and Rajputs..
Famous for
the Pashmina shawl of Kullu, Himachal is a hub of art and craft. The colourful
Himachali caps and the bamboo crafts of the Dom tribes are some of the other
articles available.
Himachal
Pradesh is also famous for its charismatic and vibrant music and dance. The
main dance is Naati of Kullu and the music is folk. The complex dances mainly
are from the tribal community.
The fairs and
festival celebrated here are Soolan Mela, the Annual Himachal Hill Festival,
Sais Festival etc..
The
Himachalis like all Indians eat lentils, broth, rice, veggies and bread. The
traditional cuisine is dominated by red meat and white bread. But the food
served traditionally in marriages us called ‘Dham'.
Kerala
This
beautiful coastal state of Kerala is a combination of Indian and Dravidian
culture and heritage that everyone must experience. The fascinating folk dances
cum theatre dramas of Kathakali and Koodiyattam, the tribal folk form of
Kummatikali are just a few.. Kerala also has a box of its own native music
consisting of Sopanam and Melam, which includes both paandi and panchai music.
The temple music with the chenda is totally soul-stirring.
As Kerala is a
land of coconuts, finding crafts made of coconut isn’t a big deal. Moreover, it
also aces in the metal work category.
The clothing
style is pretty same for all the three communities- Christians, Hindus, and
Muslims. While both men and women can wear their traditional white mundu with
kara, traditional Muslim women prefer purdah. The exotic cuisine of Kerala is
worth coming here. The finger licking types of fishes with steamed foods to go
with it just leaves you drooling enough. Besides the taste they’re light and
healthy too.
But what
makes God’s own country stand out is its
extravagant festivals. Life is a festival here and when Onam comes , the
festivals hit their zenith. Different temples also conduct their own fairs n
festivals that just makes life here
exciting and vibrant.
There would
seem to be no similarity in these two states at first, but if looked in deeply,
there are so many ways in which they are quite similar. All the festivals here
are celebrated with fun and frolic with absolutely no discrimination between
communities thereby, embracing the joy of humanity. Though one is located near
mountains and the other near the sea, both of them are lands of pure natural
beauty in its own way. People in both the states follow the national language
as their own, and have an overflowing bag of though different but exciting and
vibrant dance forms. Both the states ace in the hardware world. They also have
a definite array of crafts from nature (coconut, bamboo). Just as every
individual is unique, every state is unique in its own way but follows the main
principle of humanity -‘Unity in Diversity’. My India. My dear India.
By,
Masoomi Nevgi
VIII D
