Indian Culture and India

Indian Culture One of the oldest cultures in the world is the Indian culture as the society started experiencing civilization some 4500 years ago. As at today, India is an extremely diverse nation, boasting a population of over 1.2 billion, a number which makes it the second most populous country after China. Several dynasties, conquerors and religions have contributed to Indian history bringing about a fascinating culture blend as well as a wide variety of ethnicities present within the country.

The British take-over and subsequent governance of India which came to an end in 1947 when the Indian Independence Act was signed into law equally added to the already rich culture. This Act separated Pakistan and India into separate countries with the Hindus settling in India while the Muslims settled in Pakistan (eCald, 2016). Language India is South Asia's largest country. Indians speak over 17 major languages and about 200 dialects: Marathi, Bengali, Urdu, Tamil and Telugu are just a few of the languages spoken in the country.

India's official language is English while its national language is Hindi as it the language of choice for an estimated 40% of the Indian people. Pakistan is situated due west of the Indian country. Its national language is Urdu though English is its official language also. It also has five major languages. A large percentage of Pakistani residents are Muslims (eCald, 2016). Religion According to Zimmermann (2015), India is the origin of Hinduism and Buddhism, which are the third and fourth biggest religions respectively. Over 84% of the Indian people are Hindus.

Hinduism has several variations and four major divisions: Shakteya, Shaiva, Smarta and Vaishnava. Pakistan is majorly an Islamic country. An estimated 13% of Indians follow Islam and this means India contains one of the largest Islamic populations of the world. The Sikhs and Christians only form a small part of the population with Buddhist and Jains even smaller in number. Traditional Family Values Typically, extended families are the order of the day and this trend is still very much in force among the Indians living in the West.

Nonetheless, this trend is slowly but surely changing as there has been an increase in the number of nuclear families living in resettled regions as well as the urban regions in India. Even though everyone is involved in taking care of the children, the function of the grandparents in the child development process is much appreciated and regular as they are seen as the connection to heritage, culture and religion. Children are often very close to each other and it is customary for brothers to live together.

Indians value privacy and self-dependence and people will commonly seek assistance and remedies from within the family before going outside. Normally, the women are in charge of the home, financial and social matters. In a number of families, an elder or even the husband could take up this role. The men are typically the wage earners and they are the face of their families in the society making the women sort of isolated. Humility is a much-applauded virtue.

The kids are taught to respect their elders and the belief is that discipline is self-generated when the child is introduced to the right rules and ethics (eCald, 2016). Diet and Nutrition (Food) Indian cuisine was largely influenced by the Moghul Empire as well as several other countries. It is popular for its wide variety of dishes, its ready use of herbs and seasonings as well as its diversity of cooking methods. (Zimmermann, 2015). Basmati rice, wheat and pulses with chana, aka Bengal gram, are some major fundamental of Indian cuisine.

Their food contains several spices and curries such as ginger, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander and dried hot peppers among others. Another common seasoning used is called Chutney and it is a thick spread and sauce produced from a variety of fruits and veggies like tamarind and tomatoes. Cilantro, mint and several other herbs are equally popularly used in Indian cuisine. Several Hindus are vegans however chicken and lamb are very popular in the meals of the non-vegans. About 20 to 40 % of the entire Indian population are vegetarians (Zimmermann, 2015).

A large percentage of Indian foods are consumed with the bare hands or with bread in some cases. There are a several types of breads which are taken with meals. Some of them include Naan, an oven-baked type which is leavened and bhatoora, which is a fluffy and fried flatbread popular in Northern India and normally accompanied with chickpea curry (Zimmermann, 2015). Clothing According to Zimmermann (2015), the popular trademark of Indian fashion is the colourful sari normally made from silk and worn by several Indian women.

The normal male fashion item is called the dhoti, which is a seamless clothing attire which is tied round the loins and legs. Kurtas are also common and they are knee-length and loose shirts. During special events, men would don a sherwani, which refers to a long jacket which is normally buttoned all the way from the collar to the knees. The Nehru coat, another popular fashion item is quite shorter than the sherwani.

Health Care Beliefs and Practices "Ayurveda" which translates to the "knowledge of life" is the traditional medicinal system in India. This system combines religion and orthodox medicine and it works by observing the patient and his/her natural environment. This traditional system is hospitalised in nature and focuses much on prevention. Its diagnosis is usually focused on determining the basic causes of the ailment which in some cases might not be within the body.

Keeping oneself balanced with respect to the three main forces present within the body, known as dosha, is seen as sound health while the opposite is seen as an affliction. Whenever this unbalanced or strained dosha is discovered, it's balance is then restored using several forms of therapy. Pitta, Vata and Kapha are the three dosha and they represent features gotten from the elements which are water, space, fire, earth and air as well as a number of bodily activities.

In the curing process, it is very important not to engender new symptoms and this is achieved by curbing the present ones (eCald, 2016). An estimated 1,400 plants are applied in Ayurveda. The herbs among them are easily broken down within the body and cause negligible side effects. Gentle sweating to aid digestion and fasting to remove harmful toxins are often used together with herbal therapies, management of diet and a special form of massage regime referred to as Panchakarma.

Sometimes, clients could be advised to go through meditation depending on their problems. Homeopathy is another popular therapy used in India (eCald, 2016). Traditional solutions commonly prescribed by traditional healers are roots, herbal drinks as well as other special herbs which are carried around the neck or in amulets, proper application of the joining of the heavenly features, special diets and the application of partly and completely precious gems.

Furthermore, ailments are often believed to be caused by bad karma among the Hindus, the evil eye by the Hindus and Muslims or merely bad luck. Most times, religious rites are carried out in order to cleanse the patients from the evil forces and restore hope to them as well as their families. In the cities however, orthodox medicine is often preferred though it is commonly used together with natural therapy (Ayurveda and homeopathy) (eCald, 2016).

Certain important factors which Health Practitioners must know whenever they are taking care of Indian clients are: 1. Indians happen to believe the medical persona taking care of them is the boss and thus, they have a tendency of being very polite and peaceful, asking little or no questions as they see that as rude so it is quite unnecessary to describe the treatment they are undergoing. 2. If the Western treatment administered doesn't follow the traditional Indian treatment, the patient or his/her family will mostly go with the traditional treatment.

Therefore, it is quite important to obtain knowledge of the kind of traditional treatments being used and integrate them into the Western therapy wherever possible. A large number of them might abandon their treatment if they do not see any changes therefore non-immediate effects, harmful effects as well as the adverse effects of jettisoning their medications early should be properly explained. 3. A large.