Rangoli is an art form that originates from the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered lime stone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, flower petals, and coloured rocks. It is an everyday practice in many Hindu households, however making it is mostly reserved for festivals and other important celebrations as it is time-consuming. Rangolis are usually made during Diwali or Tihar, Onam, Pongal, and other Hindu festivals in the Indian subcontinent, and are most often made during Diwali. Designs are passed from one generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive.
Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple is an ancient Hindu temple in the town of Trimbak, in the Trimbakeshwar tehsil in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, India, 28 km from the city of Nashik and 40 km from Nashik road. It is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is one of the twelve jyotirlingas where the Hindu genealogy registers at Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra are kept. The origin of the sacred Godavari River is near Trimbak.
Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasura. It is particularly celebrated in the Eastern Indian states of West Bengal,Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and by Hindus in Bangladesh. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar. Durga Puja is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of the most significance. The puja is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations. The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift-giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions called a melā. Durga Puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO in December 2021.
Bhil or Bheel refer to various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. They speak various languages of Indo-Aryan origin, owing to language shift, collectively referred to as the Bhil languages. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages.
Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi or Vinayagar Chaturthi, is a Hindu festival birthday of Hindu deity Lord Ganesh. The festival is marked with the installation of Lord Ganesha's murtis privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals. Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and vrata (fasting). Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modak as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the Murti is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 murtis are immersed annually.
Gudi Padwa is a spring festival marking the start of the lunisolar new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus. It is celebrated in and around Maharashtra, Goa & Damaon at the start of Chaitra, the first month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar. The festival is characterised by colourful floor decorations called rangoli, a special gudi dvaja; which is a saari or dhoti or other piece of cloth garlanded with flowers, mango & neem leaves; a sugar crystal garland called gathi, topped with upturned silver or copper vessels. Celebration also includes street gathering, dancing & festive foods.
Sharad Purnima is a religious festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin, marking the end of the monsoon season. The full moon night is celebrated in different ways in various cultural regions across Indian subcontinent.
Khandoba, also known as Martanda Bhairava,, Malhari,Mylaralinga,Bandarada Odeya and Malhar, is a Hindu deity worshiped as a manifestation of Shiva mainly in the Deccan plateau of India, especially in the state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. He is the most popular Kuladevata in Maharashtra. He is also the patron deity of some warrior, farming castes, shepherd community and Brahmin (priestly) castes as well as several of the hunter/gatherer tribes that are native to the hills and forests of this region. The sect of Khandoba has linkages with Hindu and Jain traditions, and also assimilates all communities irrespective of caste, including Muslims. The form of Khandoba developed during the 9th and 10th centuries from a folk deity into a composite god possessing the attributes of Shiva, Bhairava, Surya and Kartikeya (Skanda). He is depicted either in the form of a linga, or as an image of a warrior riding on a bull or a horse. The foremost centre of Khandoba worship is the Khandoba temple of Jejuri in Maharashtra. The legends of Khandoba, found in the text Malhari Mahatmya and also narrated in folk songs, revolve around his victory over demons Mani-malla and his marriages.
Vasant Panchami, also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which take place forty days later. The Vasant Utsava (festival) on Panchami is celebrated forty days before spring, because any season's transition period is 40 days, and after that, the season comes into full bloom.
The dhak is a huge membranophone instrument from Bengal and Assam. The shapes differ from the almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound.
Dharmaraj is a Hindu deity of death and justice, worshipped by villagers in the traditional Rarh region in the present day Indian state of West Bengal as one of their special village gods. He is represented by a shapeless stone daubed with vermillion and is normally placed under a tree or placed in the open, but sometimes enshrined in a temple. The worship takes place in the months of Baisakh, Jaistha and Asarh on the day of full moon and sometimes on the last day of Bhadro. Dharmaraj is worshipped mainly by the Bauri, Bagdi, Hari, Dom etc. castes.
Hinduism is the largest religious tradition in the Indian state of West Bengal with approximately 70.54% of the population identifying themselves as Hindus. The Hindus in West Bengal mostly belong to the Shakta, minority to Vaishnavite and a small community belong to Shaivite and other denominations. The vast majority of Hindus in West Bengal are Bengali Hindus numbering around 55 million and comprising 60.2% of the state population of 91.35 million (2011) but a notable section of non-Bengali Hindus also exist, particularly among Marwaris, Biharis, Odias, Gurkhas, Sindhis, Gujaratis and various tribal communities such as Koch, Santals, Munda, Mech people and particularly Adivadis numbering around 9.4 million comprising rest 10.3% of the state population.
Gajan or Shiva gajon is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is associated with such deities as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj. Gajan spans around a week, starting at the last week of Choitro continuing till the end of the Bengali year. It ends with Charak Puja on the last day of Chaitra, the last month in the Bengali Hindu calendar. The next day is Poila Baishakh,the first day of Bengali New Year. Participants of this festival is known as Sannyasi or Bhakta. Persons of any gender can be a participant. The complete history of the festival is not known. The central theme of this festival is deriving satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice. This Gajan festival is one of the ancient festivals of West Bengal. The festival is seen in parts of Malda, Murshidabad, a few parts in Nadia and large parts of Burdwan. The gajan of Shrikhand village in Burdwan is famous as the gajan of Bhootanathar but actually it is the gajan of Baba Dugdha Kumar Shiva. This gajan was launched by Shri Chiranjeev and Sulochan Anad among the Vaishnava Parshad gajans.
Mallarpur is a census town in Mayureswar I CD Block in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
The practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is in recent times mostly associated with Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions. Animal sacrifices were part of the ancient Vedic Era in India, and are mentioned in scriptures such as the Puranas. The Hindu scripture Brahma Vaivarta Purana forbids the Asvamedha Horse sacrifice in this Kali Yuga. However, the perception that animal sacrifice was only practiced in ancient Non-Vedic Era is opposed by instances like Ashvamedha and other rituals that are rooted in Vedas. Both the Itihasas and the Puranas like the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Kalika Purana as well as the Saiva and Sakta Agamas prescribe animal sacrifices.
Here is a list of glossary of culture of India in alphabetical order:
Datta Jayanti, also known as Dattatreya Jayanti, is a Hindu festival, commemorating the birth of the Hindu deity Dattatreya (Datta), a combined form of the Hindu male divine trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Banawadi is a census village of Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated near to the Satara Phaltan state highway, about 21 km north of Satara, about 108 km from Pune and 220 km from Mumbai.
Ghanteshwartemple is situated at Ubidpur Khanakul Hooghly West Bengal India on the bank of riverRatnakar. Lord Shiva is main worshipped deity here. The temple complex also hosts many other deities like Durga, Kaal Bhairav, Surya, Kaali, Shashti, Sitala, Dharmaraj, Radha Krishna, Annapurna, Shani etc. It also hosts a shrine for Sufi Pir (Peer) Baba. It is also home to many Bengal folk festival like Neel Puja, Gajan, Shivratri, Bhimekadashi, Ratha Yatra etc.
