Maharashtra's Culture

Maharashtra boasts of a rich cultural heritage in India. Maharashtra is a blend of different races, traditions and classes. In Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with as much enthusiasm as Diwali and Holi. The people of Maharashtra celebrate a large number of fairs and festivals through exploring its various dance forms. The most famous dance form of Maharashtra is Lavani.



Maharashtra is one of the geographically most diverse states in India. You will find Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhist, Zoroastrians, Christians and Sikhs, co-existing peacefully in the state.

Maharashtra, with it's large population of inhabitants is the second most populous state in India. The large number of people that reside in the state belong to numerous religions and communities.

The important tourist centers in the state include Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta, Kanheri and Karla caves, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran, Panchgani, Jawhar, Malshej Ghat, Amboli, Chikaldhara and Panhala hill resorts and various religious places.

Karva Chauth

Festivals of India are the great essence of the Indian cultural heritage. Most religious festivals have elaborate prayers, traditions, customs and rituals attached to them. The colorful festivals are an integral part of every Indians. Karva Chauth is the most important festival for Indian woman.




The festival is celebrated nine days before Diwali around October-November. Married women, old and young, begin their fast on the day of Karva Chauth well before sunrise around 4 a.m. and fast for the whole day and pray for the long lives oftheir husbands.

On this ocassion women wear bright and beautiful clothes, don’t scrimmage on their jewellery, pamper themselves by buying bangles and apply henna on their palms and feet. The puja ends with the women showering rice and vermilion on Parvati and seeking her blessings for the well being of the husband and for marital bliss.

Traditional Indian Clothing

Traditional Indian clothing has come into notice once again in India which is also a part of Indian cultural heritage. In this section lets talk about the traditional clothing that is prominent in Indian culture-





Dhoti kurta is the traditional Indian clothing of men. Dhoti is known by different names at different places such as Laacha in Punjabi, dhuti in Bangla.The term Kurta is used to refer to a long loose shirt, the length of which falls below or may be just above the knees. Now it can be weared by both men and women.

Salwar kameez is the traditional Indian clothing for women. The fashion of Shalwar Kameez is a wonderful attire that simply graces women beauty yet simplicity. Saree another traditional dress that is worn by Indian women.

Sherwani is a long coat resembling achkan in styling. It adds a real charm and grace to the men attire, especially the taller ones. Turban is tied a long piece of unstitched cloth, which is wrapped around the head.

The creative fashion designers of today are in a lookout for ethnic designs that take us close to our cultural roots and remind us of the glorious past.

Cultural Heritage of India

India's culture is one of the oldest and unique. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche.

There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.




A combination of these factors has resulted into an exclusive culture- Indian culture. Indian culture is a composite mixture of varying styles and influences. In the matter of cuisine, for instance, the North and the South are totally different.

Festivals in India are characterized by color, gaiety, enthusiasm, prayers and rituals. In the realm of music, there are varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The classical tradition of music in India includes the Carnatic and the Hindustani music.

Languages in India

The cultural heritage of India has its roots in the different components of culture i.e. musical heritage, dances, sculpturing and other fine arts, festivities, languages spoken, traditional beliefs and customs, food and many more like these.





Indian languages have evolved from different stocks and are closely associated with the different ethnic groups of India. Broadly the Indian languages can be put into six groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Sino-Tibetan, Negroid, Austric and Others. The number of languages listed for India is 418.

At present India has 18 officially recognised languages which are mentioned in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution. Hindi in the Devanagari script is the official language of the Union of India while the regional languages are the official languages of the state. English is the second official language and is also the authoritative, legislative and judicial language.

Indo-Aryan language is the most important family of Indian languages and comprises of all the principal languages of northern and western India such as Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Sindhi, Rajasthani, Assamese, Oriya, Pahari, Bihari, Kashmiri, Urdu and Sanskrit.

Dravidian is the second most important group and comprises mainly of languages spoken in the Southern India. The Sino-Tibetan or Mongoloid speech family has a considerably vast expanse in India and stretches all over the sub-Himalayan tracts, covering North Bihar, North Bengal, Assam up to the north-eastern frontiers of the country.

The Austric languages of India belong to the Austro-Asiatic sub-family. The most important language of the Austric group is Santhali, which is spoken by over 5 million Santhals and is the largest spoken among the Adivasi languages. Mundari, spoken by about a million Mundas, is another important language of this group. lastly if we talk about other languages, there are several Dravidian adivasi languages like Gondi, Oraon or Kurukh, Mal-Pahariya, Khond and Parji which are very distinct and cannot be classified in other groups.

Indian Cuisine-Another Cultural Heritage in india

The spices are the very essence of Indian cuisine and these colorful ingredients are what bind the rich Indian culinary tradition together. Like Indian culture, Indian cuisine has also been influenced by the outside invasions on India.




The cuisine in the northern and western parts of India is influenced by Central Asia while on the east and north-east of India in West Bengal and Assam respectively, the cuisine show the shades of East Asian cuisine.

The heritage tour of India is the perfect way to savour the taste of India. Indian heritage does not only include art, architecture, dance and handicraft but also the cuisine that reflects the eating habits in different regions of India. That is what makes India a different palce to live in..




If you paln a tour to India it is not complete without savouring the flavours of India. So, whichever part of the country you travel, you will find a cuisine or delicacy exclusive to the region. If you are in the northern parts of the country, Mughlai cuisine is worth checking out.

On the southern side of India, one gets a variety of gourmet dishes that differ from state to state. Hyderbad in Andhra Pradesh is popular for its biryanis while Kerala is known its dosas, uttpams idlis and vadas. Sambhar is another popular delicacy in South India particularly in Kerala.

India has a variety of street food too. The street food in India is not exclusive to one particular place or region. One can find rows of street vendors virtually anywhere in India serving sumptuous delicacies.

Most Indian hotels serve different cuisine from different corners of India. Some of them even have speciality restaurants that serve the cuisine of a particular region. Come and tickle your taste buds with Indian cuisine on your journey to India with Heritage in India.

Customs and Rituals in India

The diverse, wide culture of India makes it the most unique country in the world. India is a melting pot of different faiths and religions. Customs and rituals are an integral part of the Indian way of life.



These customs and traditions are surrounded by the boundary of religion, cast and creed. Customs and rituals of India are what attract many tourists to this myriad land.

One gets a glimpse of the customs and rituals in India as soon as one is welcomed in traditional Indian style. Even the Tourism Ministry, Government of India has launched the 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign to make people aware of India's rich cultural heritage and the philosophy of treating a tourist like God.

Indians are steeped into various customs and traditions. Right from the birth to death, there is hardly any occasion that does not have an elaborate ceremony.

Soon after the birth of a child, an elaborate ceremony to name the child takes place, which is marked by chanting of slokas and singing of hymns. Weddings are grand affairs in India, as they follow various customs and rituals.

So much so, many foreigners come to India to marry in Indian style. Rajasthan is the place that is most popular for royal weddings in India.

Even cremation is done according to rituals after one passes away. Taking a heritage tour to India is one of the best ways to know more about the fascinating aspects of Indian customs and rituals.

Festivals are other important occasions when one can see different customs and rituals followed by people. Plan a fascinating journey to the myriad land of different faiths and unique cultures with Heritage in India.