Daily life and cultural practices
An overview of documented cultural practices — not an exhaustive list of the diversity of an immense country.
The Taj Mahal
A white marble mausoleum built in Agra between 1632 and 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal has been a World Heritage site since 1983. India has more than 40 World Heritage sites in all, from the Ajanta caves to the temples of Khajuraho.
The world's largest film industry by volume
With several thousand feature films a year in some twenty languages, India has been the world's largest film producer by number of titles since the 1980s. Hindi cinema from Mumbai ("Bollywood") is the best known abroad, but Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam cinema also carry great weight.
Diwali and Holi
Diwali, the "festival of lights" in October or November, and Holi, the spring "festival of colours", are celebrated well beyond their Hindu origins, alongside the festivals of other traditions (Eid, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti).
A highly diverse regional cuisine
Indian cuisine varies greatly by region: spices (turmeric, cumin, cardamom, chilli), rice in the south and wheat (chapati, naan) in the north, widespread vegetarianism among some Hindus and Jains, and a Mughal heritage in the north.
Cricket, by far the most popular sport
Introduced by the British, cricket is a major social and economic phenomenon: the national team is a three-time world champion (1983, 2011, 2025) and the Indian Premier League (IPL), launched in 2008, is one of the most lucrative competitions in the world.
Yoga and Indian philosophical traditions
Yoga, codified in antiquity (Patañjali's Yoga Sutras), has spread worldwide; at India's initiative, the UN declared June 21 International Day of Yoga in 2014. The country is also the birthplace of four major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism).