This document provides information about various cultural aspects of India. It discusses the national flag of India consisting of saffron, white and green colors representing sacrifice, truth and prosperity. It also mentions the national bird peacock, national animal tiger, and national flower lotus. It describes the state emblem depicting four lions and the motto "Satyameva Jayate". It provides details about the Indian currency rupee. It summarizes key aspects of important Hindu scriptures like Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana. It outlines ceremonies and rituals associated with Hindu weddings in India.

1. CULTURE IN A BOX

2. Ms. CHITRA NAKRA
THE principal
Ms. VANDANA CHAWLA
THE INCHARGE OF THE JUNIOR WING
Ms. GEETA BHANDARI
THE COORDINATER
Ms. JYOSTNA NARANG
THE SCIENCE TEACHER

4.  The colour of the top panel is saffron (Kesari) and that of the bottom
panel is green. The middle panel is white, bearing at its centre the design
of Ashoka Chakra in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes.
It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent
Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the official flag of the
Dominion of India.
The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In
India, the term "tricolour" (Hindi: , Tirangā) almost always refers to
the Indian national flag.
The saffron color represents courage and sacrifice; white – truth, peace
and purity; green – prosperity; and the Ashok Chakra represents the Laws
of Dharma (righteousness).

5. The peacock was designated as the national bird of India in 1963.
The peacock, known as Mayura in Sanskrit, has enjoyed a fabled
place in India since and is frequently depicted in temple
art, mythology, poetry, folk music and traditions. A Sanskrit derivation
of mayura is from the root mi for kill and suggested as meaning killer
of snakes.
Many Hindu deities are associated with the bird
Peacock feathers are used in many rituals and ornamentation.
Peacock motifs are widespread in Indian temple architecture, old
coinage, textiles and continue to be used in many modern items of art
and utility
The English word "peacock" has come to be used to describe a man
who is very proud or gives a lot of attention to his clothing.
In some cultures the peacock is also a symbol of pride or vanity, due
to the way the bird struts and shows off its plumage.

6. The Tiger (Panthera Tigris, Linnaeus) is the national animal of India. Tiger is
also called the lord of Jungles.
The national animal of India, is a rich-colored well-striped animal with a
short coat. As the national animal of India, tiger symbolizes India's wildlife
wealth. The combination of grace, strength, agility and enormous power has
earned the tiger great respect and high esteem.
The Indian race, the Royal Bengal Tiger is found throughout the country
(except the north-western region) and also in the neighboring countries like
Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Tigers are now getting extinct. The Government of India, under its "Project
Tiger" programme, started a massive effort to preserve the tiger population in
1973. Today, the tiger advances as a symbol of India's conservation of itself
and its wildlife heritage. Since the launch of "Project Tiger", the tiger
population has shown a gradual increase. So far, 23 tiger reserves have been
established in the country under this project.

7. Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is the National Flower of India.
It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology
of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time
immemorial.
The Lotus or water lily is an aquatic plant of Nymphaea with broad floating
leaves and bright fragrant flowers that grow only in shallow waters.
The leaves and flowers float and have long stems that contain air spaces. The
big attractive flowers have many petals overlapping in a symmetrical pattern.
Lotuses, prized for their serene beauty, are delightful to behold as their
blossoms open on the surface of a pond.

8.  The State Emblem of India is in adaptation from the Sarnath
Lion, capital of Ashoka the Emperor as preserved in the Sarnath
Museum.
The government adopted the emblem on 26th
January, 1950, the day when India became republic.
In the state emblem adopted by the government of India, only
three Lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view. The
wheel appears in relief in the center of the abacus with a bull on
the right and a horse on the left.
 The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka
Upanishad, meaning ‘Truth Alone Triumphs’, are inscribed below
the abacus in Devanagari script.
The emblem forms a part of the official letterhead of the
Government of India, and appears on all Indian currency as well.
It also sometimes functions as the national emblem of India in
many places and appears prominently on the diplomatic and
national Passport of the Republic of India.

10. The currency is "paper" banknotes and metal coins. currency in
India is Rupee and paisa with 100 paisa = 1 Rupee
Word Rupee has been derived from the Sanskrit word rupyakam
means coin of silver. The word Rupiya was coined by Sher Shah Suri
during his brief rule of India between (1540-1545). It was a the silver
coin weighing 178 grains(11.534 grams). The coin has been used
since then, even during the times of British India, defined as 11.66
grams at 91.7% silver by weight.
Rupee was based on silver standard.
In India currency is issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50,
100, 500 and 1000 rupees. A Large denominations of rupees are
often counted in lakh (100,000 = 1 Lakh, 100 Lakh = 1 Crore/karor,
100 Crore/karor = 1 Arab , 100 Arab = 1 Kharab/khrab, 100
Kharab/khrab = 1 Neel, 100 Neel = 1 Padam, 100 Padam = 1 Rajam,
100 Rajam = 1 Uroos).

11. The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit: ), The Song of the
Bhagavan, often referred to as simply the Gita, is a 700-verse scripture that is
part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
This scripture contains a conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and
his guide Lord Krishna on a variety of theological and philosophical issues.
Faced with a war, a despondent Arjuna turns to his charioteer Krishna for
counsel on the battlefield. Krishna, through the course of the Gita, imparts to
Arjuna wisdom, the path to devotion, and the doctrine of selfless action.
Commentators see the setting of the Gita in a battlefield as an allegory for
the ethical and moral struggles of the human life.
The Bhagavad Gita's call for selfless action inspired many leaders of the
Indian independence movement including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,
who referred to the Gita as his "spiritual dictionary".

12. The Ramayana (Sanskrit: , Rāmāyaṇam) is one of the great epics of
India. the other being the Mahabharata
It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the
Hindu literature (smṛti, considered to be itihāasa.
 It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the
ideal father, ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king.
The name Ramayana is a tatpurusha compound of Rāma and ayana ("going,
advancing"), translating to "Rama's Journey".
The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (kāṇḍas) and 500
cantos (sargas),and tells the story of Rama (an avatar of the Hindu Supreme-
God Vishnu), whose wife Sita is abducted by the king of Ravan. Thematically,
the Ramayana explores human values and the concept of dharma.

13. The Hindus attach a lot of importance to marriages, and the
ceremonies are very colourful and extend for several days.
Also, outside the participants' home is decorated with balloons
and other decorations.
The pre-wedding ceremonies include engagement(involving
vagdana or oral agreement and lagna-patra written
declaration), and arrival of the groom's party at the bride's
residence, often in the form of a formal procession.
The post-wedding ceremonies involve welcoming the bride to
her new home.

14. A Hindu wedding ceremony at its core is essentially a
Vedic yajna (a fire-sacrifice), in which the Aryan deities are
invoked in the Indo-Aryan style.
It has a deep origin in the ancient ceremony of cementing the
bonds of friendship/alliance
The primary witness of a Hindu marriage is the fire-deity (or
the Sacred Fire) Agni.
By law and tradition no Hindu marriage is deemed complete
unless in the presence of the Sacred Fire seven encirclements
have been made around it by the bride and the groom
together. (In many South Indian Hindu marriages these are not
required.)

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