Heritage and culture
Small customs, carried lightly
How a greeting, a threshold, a length of cloth and a morning breath are handed from one generation to the next, and a rangoli you can draw yourself.
Three sayings the country keeps returning to
A greeting, a rule of hospitality and a verse about the family of the world.
नमस्ते
Namaste
From the Sanskrit namas, a bow, and te, to you: “I bow to you.” Said with the palms pressed together in front of the chest and a slight bow of the head, to greet someone or to take leave.
अतिथिदेवो भव
Atithi devo bhava
Let the guest be as a god to you. The line is from the Taittiriya Upanishad (Shikshavalli, 1.11.2), where a teacher sends a graduating student into household life with a short list of people to honour, the guest among them.
वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्
Vasudhaiva kutumbakam
The world is one family. The phrase is from the Maha Upanishad (chapter 6, verses 71 to 73). India used it, as “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, for the theme of its presidency of the G20 in 2023.
अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् ।
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥
As the verse is usually quoted: “This one is ours, that one a stranger” is how small minds count. For those of generous conduct, the whole world is a family.
Floor art: one idea, many names
In many homes the day begins at the threshold. The ground is swept, and a pattern is drawn on it, to welcome guests, the goddess and the small creatures who share the courtyard. The idea is common across the country; the names, the materials and the styles are local.
Kolam
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
Traditionally drawn at dawn in rice flour on ground that has been swept and sprinkled with water. Some are dots joined by loops, some are a single unbroken line. Ants and birds eat the flour, and by evening feet and wind have erased it; the next morning it is drawn again.
Muggu
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
The Telugu word for the same idea. Drawn in white powder outside the door, and larger and more colourful in the Sankranti season in January.
Rangoli
Maharashtra, and now the word used across much of the country
Floor designs in coloured powder, flowers or grain, made for festivals and at the threshold. Britannica traces the word to Maharashtra; it is now the umbrella word for all of these.
Alpana
West Bengal
Drawn freehand with a paste of rice flour and water, using the fingers. Motifs include the lotus, the fish and the footprints of the goddess Lakshmi, drawn to welcome her into the house.
Aripana
Bihar
The floor art of Mithila and its neighbours, made with rice paste in courtyards and rooms for worship, weddings and festivals.
Mandana
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh
White lime or chalk designs on floors and walls, often laid on a red-ochre ground, for festivals and family occasions.
Pookalam
Kerala
A carpet of flower petals laid in concentric rings for Onam, a little larger each day of the festival.
Aipan
Kumaon, Uttarakhand
White rice-paste designs on a red-ochre ground, drawn on floors and walls for festivals, births and weddings; the central figure follows a prescribed pattern.
Make a rangoli
Draw with a mouse, finger or pen and watch each stroke repeat around the centre. A traditional design is often built the same way, from a single wedge that is turned and mirrored.
A pattern is drawn for you. Draw over it, or press New pattern.
Symmetry: how many times each stroke is repeated around the centre
Colours
Every dot you draw is repeated around the centre and mirrored, the way a rangoli is built from one wedge. Nothing is uploaded: the drawing stays on your device.
Cloth that carries a place name
Eight ways of making cloth, each named for where it is best known.
Banarasi
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Silk brocade woven with gold and silver thread, called zari, in patterns shaped by Mughal-era designs. Traditionally worn at weddings and ceremonies.
Kanjeevaram
Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
Heavy silk with wide borders in a contrasting colour, and temple and mythological motifs.
Ikat
Pochampally in Telangana, Sambalpur in Odisha, Patan in Gujarat
The threads are tied and dyed before weaving, so the pattern is made in the yarn and blurs a little at its edges as it appears on the loom.
Bandhani
Gujarat and Rajasthan
Tie-dye: the cloth is pinched into hundreds of tiny knots before it is dyed, and the undyed dots draw the pattern.
Chikankari
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Fine white embroidery, traditionally worked on light cotton or muslin.
Kalamkari
Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Cloth drawn with a pen, a kalam, or block-printed in natural dyes, often with scenes from the epics and floral patterns.
Kasavu
Kerala
Off-white cotton with a gold border, worn at Onam and at weddings.
Muga silk
Assam
A naturally golden, glossy silk produced in Assam.
National Handloom Day is 7 August. It recalls the Swadeshi Movement, launched on 7 August 1905, which encouraged Indian industries and the handloom weavers among them. It was first observed on 7 August 2015. The cloths above are described as they are traditionally known; a weaver’s own account of a particular piece is the better guide.
A morning practice, and a day for it
Yoga is a practice of posture, breath and attention with roots in ancient Indian texts. In daily life it can be ten minutes of stretching before the day begins or a discipline kept for a lifetime.
- 1 December 2016UNESCO inscribed Yoga on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at the eleventh session of its intergovernmental committee in Addis Ababa.UNESCO
- 21 JuneThe United Nations General Assembly proclaimed it the International Day of Yoga on 11 December 2014, by resolution 69/131, on a proposal from India. It was first observed on 21 June 2015.United Nations
Small customs, described in general terms
Shoes at the door
In many homes, and in temples, gurdwaras and mosques, shoes are left outside. The floor is where people sit, eat and sometimes sleep, and the threshold marks the step from street to home.
Touching feet
In many communities a younger person touches the feet of an elder, or touches the hand to the elder’s feet and then to their own forehead, as a greeting and a request for a blessing.
The evening lamp
At dusk many Hindu households light a small lamp before the family shrine or at the door. The lamp is a diya, a wick in oil or ghee in a small clay or brass dish.
The thali
A meal served on a round platter with small bowls, katoris, holding dal, vegetables, curd and something sweet, with rice or bread at the centre: many dishes in small portions.
The toran
A string of mango leaves and marigolds across the door marks a festival or a happy occasion in many homes.
Water first
In many homes a guest is offered a glass of water first, then tea and something to eat, before the conversation begins.
Customs, not rules. They differ by region, faith, family and generation, and a household that does none of these is no less Indian. They are described here in general terms; none is claimed to be universal.
Sources
- Namaste — the word, its parts and its use
- Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11.2, with commentary (shlokam.org) — the text behind atithi devo bhava
- Atithi Devo Bhava — the phrase and its source
- Press Information Bureau: G-20 and India’s Presidency — the theme, drawn from the Maha Upanishad
- G20 India 2023: logo and theme — “One Earth, One Family, One Future”
- Rangoli (Britannica) — regional names and the origin of the word
- Kolam — rice flour, the morning ritual and the feeding of ants and birds
- Significance of Kolam in Tamil culture (Sahapedia) — daily practice and its meaning
- Alpana — the rice-paste floor art of Bengal
- Aipan art — red ochre and white rice paste in Kumaon
- Guide to India’s handwoven textiles (The Better India) — the crafts and their places
- National Handloom Day (MyGov) — 7 August, the Swadeshi Movement of 1905 and the first observance in 2015
- UNESCO: Yoga — inscribed in 2016
- United Nations: International Day of Yoga — resolution 69/131 of 11 December 2014
Keep exploring
A year of festivals
The six seasons of the Indian year and what is celebrated in each, across faiths and regions.
Food and sweets
Sweets and their places, the festivals they belong to, and the six tastes of a traditional meal.
Languages
The twenty-two scheduled languages in their own scripts, and how many more the Census found.