Let’s All Go To India A presentation about modern Indian culture. J. Winberry & D. Tang Ms. Flanagan Social Studies 622

The Following Presentation Features: Questions and answers about India today. These questions include information about holidays, clothing, food, and other traditions. After you watch this presentation, you will truly want to go to India!

What holidays and traditions are celebrated in India? One major holiday in India is Davali. When you celebrate Davali, you go out at night and buy firecrackers and set them off. Another thing that you do is wrap a coconut in holy cloths if the coconut cracks on its own, that means a god came in your house and granted all your wishes. Other holidays are Durga Puja, Dussehra, Ganesh Chaturthi, Hanuman Jayanti, Holi, Janmashthami, Karat Chauth, Kilo Desserah, Mahanavami, Maha Shivratri, Naag Panchami, Navaratri, Ram Navami, Rash Yatra, Sharad Purnima, Skanda Shashthi, Vaikunth Ekadashi, and Vasant Panchim. Each of these holidays are celebrated in a different way.

What are traditional foods, clothing and dances are followed in India? Today in India, you may see people wearing different types of clothing because they are a different religion. For example, the Aryans dress differently from the Indo-Europeans because they believe in different things. Many women in India today wear skirts that are colorful and have different patterns. Some men in India wear turbans on their heads and wrap their hair inside the turban. The food in India, is spicy and sweet. The meal will not taste right if it does not have fish. Gujarati food is nutritious, and most Indian food is cooked in mustard oil. They also have a lot of energy fuel in the food. Folk dances are performed for seasons, births, weddings, and festivals. The dances are full of energy and the people wear special clothing with jewelry. The dance is about 2000 years old.

What is Bollywood? Bollywood is like Hollywood. It is a place where Indian movies are made. There are Indian movie stars there, lots of scenes, and more. Bollywood films are usually musical. It is similar to Hollywood, but it is foreign and is the largest film market. The Lumiere Brothers introduced movies with no sound to India. This inspired Dadasaheb Phalke to make a soundless movie called Raja Harishchandra. In 1931, Alam Ara was the first film with sound to be made in India. Soon, people started making more films and this created Bollywood, a mix of Hollywood and Bombay.

What Different Types of People Live in India Today? Not only Indians live in India today. Some of the people that live in India today immigrated there. Some people also came to India because their lives were at risk and they had to flee own country. Other people that live in India today are those whose ancestors originated there. India is home to VERY diverse people with many different skin colors, religions, rituals and traditions.

Has Indian Culture Become Part of American Culture? As stated in previous slides, India is home to lots of different cultures. Sometimes that culture makes its way to America. One example of this is the movie SlumDog Millionaire. SlumDog Millionaire was filmed in Bollywood in It won many awards in America including the Academy Award for best picture and will be remembered by Americans for a long time.

What Are Some Attractions That You Can See in India? One attraction you can see is the India Gates. It is an arch like monument that was built to commemorate the 70,000 India soldiers killed in World War I. Another attraction is the Taj Mahal. A third attraction is Hawa Mahal. It was built so that royal women can watch over the city.

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Fin Thank you for watching our presentation!