It is frequently remarked that India straddles several centuries. Where you will run into "techies" practising the life of a 21st century 'geek', you are equally likely to run into a practitioner of the ancient Ayurveda. Fact is, it's easier to "do your own thing" in this country because for centuries that's exactly how most people have lived their lives, content to let a strong bond of unity thread through their myriad existences.

Four major racial groups have met and merged in this fertile land to give its populace the ever-present diversity. From the high mountain passes on the western borders of India came the pale-skinned Europeans. They displaced the native inhabitants, who were called the Dasyu and pushed them further south beyond the Vindhya mountains. The north-western region and the Gangetic Plain became the habitat of the nomadic Aryan tribes, while the north-east highlands and parts of the Himalayan region were populated by the descendants of the Mongoloid race. A predominantly Negroid strain is still evident among people in the southern states but the pure Negrito is confined to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The diversity finds expression not only in the varied attire of the people but their lifestyles, their cuisines and their social and cultural traditions. For instance, while most of Indian society is patriarchal and patrilineal, there are communities like the Nairs in Kerala and some north-eastern communities who have a blend of matriarchal or matrilineal social traditions.

This is most evident in the dress of the women. While the saree has been adopted by women across the country, its manner of wearing can be very different. Common to all are the pleats folded in the centre. But beyond that are the regional variations. In Bengal, for instance, women traditionally tie their household keys to one end of the saree and swing it over their left shoulder. In Gujarat, however, women prefer to bring it up and over the front of their right shoulder and then tucked into the waist. In Maharashtra, the saree which is normally six yards long gets longer and is sometimes worn as pantaloons to facilitate easy movement. Coorgi women, on the other hand, wrap the fabric tightly around themselves and let one corner slip out front. Malayali and Assamese women wear the saree somewhat similarly. Called mekhIa-chadorin Assamese and mundu in Malayalam, the garment is in two parts and worn separately.

Yet there are large parts of the country where women don't wear sarees at all. In northern India women like to wear salwar kameez or churidaar kameez, while in Gujarat and Rajasthan they prefer the voluminous ghaghra-choli, heavily embroidered skirts with tight small blouses and a chunri, a colourful, diaphanous length of fabric to cover their heads. Men, for their part, can choose between the ordinary kurta-pyjama or the more formal sherwani-achkan in the north; or the intricately pleated Dhuti in Bengal and its Rajput variant in Rajasthan or the mundu-vesht in the south

The variety of dressing has also lent itself to an equal variety in fabric, weaving patterns, embroidery, mirror work, jewellery etc. From the colorful embroidery in Gujarat and Rajasthan to the exquisite zardozi work in Uttar Pradesh, you can savour the delicate ikat weaves from Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, the silks in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the fine cottons from West Bengal's tangails.

For the modern Indian man or woman, while there is the traditional variety to choose from, there is also a great affinity with western fashions. As a matter of fact, the challenges and opportunities of blending India's ancient fabrics and patterns with modern western attire has given rise to a flourishing tribe of fashion designers.

If clothes provide a stunning array to tickle the visual palate, try twisting your tongue around the fact that India speaks in 18 major languages and 844 dialects. Equally diverse is India's cuisine repertoire. Rice, whether steamed or more elaborately prepared, is eaten throughout the country. Rotis (flat, handmade wholewheat bread) and puris (deep-fried, flat dough cakes) are additional cereal foods popular in the North. In the south, they combine dal (lentils) and rice, pound it to a paste to roll out dosas and appams which serve as the staple diet. Combinations of all of these and more comprise the modern Indian meal, where regional variations are the rule rather than the exception. Dals (lentils) too form an integral part of Indian cuisine, no matter which part of the country you eat in, from a simple boiled and spiced dal to the most elaborate Kashmir wazwan (a meal consisting of a large number of dishes served according to a strict ritual). Spices and condiments are a generous part of every dish. The use of these lend that extra special touch, the regional variation, or your grandmother's secret, mouth-watering concoction — and make a world of difference.

Bengalis, for instance, love fish and cook it in a hundred different ways. Keralites are equal lovers of fish but they prefer the sea- fish to the Bengali's love for the fresh-water fish. Gujaratis, on the other hand, like it sweet, and have a habit of adding generous dollops of sugar to their food. North Indian cuisine, with an emphasis on meats and chicken, have a robust appeal. In the south, the vegetarian preparations carry the delicate flavours of coconut, while their meat and fish dishes are more pungent and spicy.

While Goa's vinegar-flavoured vindaloo (a pungent meat curry) is a mouth-watering favourite for many, the butter chicken and burra kababs accompanied with naans are favorites in the north. Bengalis love the pungent flavour of mustard-drenched macherjhol (fish cooked in mustard sauce), while the Parsi speciality is the dbansak (meat cooked with five different varieties of dals and a piquant blend of spices). The Mughlai preparations, on the other hand, are made of delectable sauces from unique blends of yoghurt, cream and crushed nuts. Nargisi koftas (stuffed mince meat balls), pasanda (mutton steak) and kalmi kababs are traditional favourites among Muslims in north India, while their counterparts in Kashmir relish the rogan josh or goshtaba (ground meat balls cooked in milk and yoghurt).

Besides this, is a flourishing industry in street-side fast food, which gives the imported hamburger a run for its money any day of the week. Sizzling samosas, pard-puri, pao-bhaji, chaat from fried potatoes or chopped fruit and bhel-puri are perennial favourites. The most famous sweet tooth belongs to the Bengalis, but by and large, Indian sweetmeats command a faithful following.

Perhaps where the Indian really comes into his own is during the festivals that are scattered throughout the year, which sometimes makes you wonder, where does he find the time to do anything else? For the Indian, festivals perform several functions.

Along with the religious aspects, they are occasions for family-bonding, and family values are deeply embedded in the Indian psyche. There are some very down-to-earth, pragmatic sides to religious festivals like painting homes, annual spring-cleaning etc, all covered under the garb of festivities. But most Indian festivals originated as coinciding with the changing seasons, or associated with sowing or harvesting. Basant or the spring festival bids farewell to winter and welcomes the spring. This is celebrated as Pongal in south India and Saraswati Puja in Bengal. By April is Baisakhi, the end of harvest, which is celebrated in robust style with the bhangra dances in Punjab. Holi is the festival of colour marking the beginning of summer, while at the other end of the year, Diwali marks the onset of winter. Pongal is one of the most important festivals in Tamil Nadu. This exuberant harvest festival is celebrated by boiling sugar, milk and lentils over a pot of rice. In Kerala, the main festival Onam, is celebrated with the famous snake-boat races.

Through the searing heat of summer, there is little energy for festivals. But the first rain clouds bringing in the monsoons are celebrated in every part of north India with the festival of swings, Panchmi. Other parts of India welcome the monsoons with their own distinct festivals. But it is the end of the monsoons that sees the greatest concentration of festivals. Dussehra, Durga Puja and Diwali are the last festivals before winter sets in. Filled with revelry, lights and colour, there is a strong secular as well as a religious aspect to these festivals. The beauty about these festivals is their inherent diversity. For instance, what is celebrated as Dussehra in North India is celebrated as Durga Puja in Bengal and the eastern states, and Navratra in other parts of the country. For Muslims, Ramzan is a long period of dawn-to-dusk fasting which ends with Id-ul-Fitr, while Muharram commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. Just as parts of the country celebrate Hindu festivals with gusto, others look forward to Christmas or Easter or Guru Nanak's birthday with equal enthusiasm.

In the modern world, Indians have embraced globalization with a gusto that is rarely seen elsewhere. In their way of life, the Indians are becoming more cosmopolitan, and cuisines are no longer confined to their regions. You are just as likely to get a Chinese meal in a Bengali household or an Italian meal in a Punjabi one. The proliferation of Indian "fast food" like chaats and dosas have given international brands a run for their money. But there is place for both to exist and that's what makes this country so exciting.

In their attire, Indians are just as comfortable in international clothing as in their traditional dress. With fashion becoming an industry of its own, India's couture tastes range from the strictly western to the bejewelled traditional and every shade in between.

In terms of habitat, Indians continue the tradition of unity in diversity. India has had a long history of town planning that goes back to the Indus Valley Civilization. By the Gupta empire in 4th century AD, brick had replaced wood. By the 20th century, although concrete and other modern materials were used to build houses, the region's special climatic features find expression. For example, the cool sea and river winds of the coastal regions are welcomed into the homes, with dwelling structures that are more open and allow free flow of air. The same, however, is not true of houses in Ladakh and Leh, where the bitter cold of the mountains have resulted in the locals opting for stone or mud-and-timber houses with sloping roofs, the intention being to optimize insulation during the long winter months.

In the desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the main aim is to protect humans from blistering heat and sand-laden winds. Thus was born the haveli which is distinguished by elaborate carvings on walls, or frescoes, as in the famous Shekhavati havelis, while Gujarati havelis strive for distinction with their lacquer-work and wood-carvings.

The urban life has its own distinctions which exhibit a willingness to absorb international trends more easily. Delhi, being the seat of government, caters to a largely floating population and has been best described as a 'salad bowl' where the individual flavours are preserved with the 'dressing' the capital has to offer. Kolkata retains a lot of the Raj influence not only in its architecture and the club culture but also in the outlook of the people who reflect a grand blend of the orient and the occident. Mumbai is the commercial, film and fashion capital of the country and it shows — the pace of life is frenzied, the skyscrapers reflect the ambitions of the people and real estate here is one of the most expensive in the world. South India is graduating from its traditional moorings to be the home of India's technological revolution. The cyber-valley of Bangalore and Hyderabad and the retail revolution that Chennai has been pioneering is a glimpse of the new India.

Through fairs and festivals, clothes and jewellery, religion and pageantry, the Indian calendar is packed with action.

Images

01. The vigorous folk dance from Punjab, the Bhangra, northern India 02. Saree as worn by Indian women 03. Men from Haryana, northern India, performing Dhapal dance, wearing an intricately pleated Dhoti-Kurta 04. A decked up Maharashtrian woman, in south-west India performing Lavni dance 05. Himachali women in northern India dressed in full length pleated skirts with shirts 06. Women from Ladakh, northern most part of India wearing sarees of warm cloth 07. A decked up Kashmiri woman, northern India 08. Gujarati women, western India, clothed in colourful, voluminous ghagra-choli 09. Folk dancers from Rajasthan, western lndia, performing Kalbaelia dance, sporting heavily embroidered skirts with tight small blouses and a chunri (veil) 10. Mutton Biryani, a delicacy of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 11. Deep-fried flat puris (dough cakes), popular in northern India 12. Dosas and Uttapams rolled out of pounded dals (lentils) and rice 13. Dosas and Uttapams rolled out of pounded dals (lentils) and rice 14. Rotis (flat, handmade, whole-wheat bread) being baked 15. Fishermen selling fish in a local market 16. Mughlai preparation made of delectable sauces 17. South Indian style of serving food on Pattal (leaf plate) 18. Aloo Chat, a perennial favourite 19. Kumbh Mela procession in Hardwar, Uttaranchal 20. Pilgrims taking a dip in the holy waters of river Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Hardwar, Uttaranchal 21. Diwali, a festival of lights 22. Durga Puja celebrated with revelry in Bengal, eastern India 23. Celebrating Onam with famous snake-boat races in Kerala, southern India 24. Festival of Holi marks the onset of Summers 25. Taking the holy dip in the Ganga in Varanasi, north India 26. Id-ul-Fitr namaz in Jama Masjid in Delhi marks the end of month-long dawn-to-dusk fasting during the holy month of Ramzan 27. Sikhs celebrate their Guru`s birthday with equal enthusiasm 28. Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, Uttar Pradesh 29. Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) in Jaipur, the Pink City of Rajasthan 30. Fort area in Mumbai, the commercial capital of India 31. Marine Drive adding glamour to the film city, Mumbai 32. A glimpse of the Chennai railway station, Tamil Nadu 33. Charminar standing tall in the cyber valley of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

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