Indian Culture

Matsya Purana is conventionally counted among the oldest of the 18 Mahapuranas. Its exact date is disputed because Puranic texts were compiled, revised and expanded over long periods; scholarly estimates place early layers around the early centuries CE.

Guru Nanak (1469–1539) is regarded as the founder and first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, founded the Khalsa in 1699 and later established the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru.

Gita Govinda was composed by the 12th-century poet Jayadeva in Sanskrit. The work is organised into 12 chapters and focuses on the devotional relationship of Radha and Krishna.

Raja Harishchandra, directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, is regarded as India’s first full-length feature film. It was released in 1913.

Unbreakable is the autobiography of Indian boxer Mary Kom. Mary Kom won an Olympic bronze medal in boxing at London 2012.

Swami Vivekananda expounded these four paths of yoga; his work Raja Yoga was published in 1896.

Sarojini Naidu authored The Golden Threshold and The Broken Wing.

Jnanpith Award is India's highest literary honour. It was instituted in 1961 and first presented in 1965.

Vallam Kali is Kerala's traditional snake-boat race, especially associated with the Onam season.

Buddha or Karl Marx is an essay by Dr B. R. Ambedkar comparing Buddhist and Marxist approaches to social change.

Margaret Elizabeth Noble was Sister Nivedita's birth name; she became a disciple of Swami Vivekananda in 1898.

Dronacharya Award was instituted in 1985 to honour outstanding sports coaches.

National School of Drama is located in New Delhi and was established in 1959.

Vijay Hazare was an Indian cricketer and former India captain.

Jallikattu is a traditional bull-taming sport of Tamil Nadu, especially associated with Pongal.

Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian recipient of the ISSF Blue Cross and won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008.

Viswanathan Anand became the first sportsperson to receive the Padma Vibhushan in 2007.

Amir Khusrau is popularly associated with the title “Parrot of India”. He lived during the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th–14th centuries.

Losoong or Namsoong is an important festival of Sikkim, marking the end of the agricultural year and the Sikkimese New Year.

The Gandhara style of art is a fusion of Greco-Roman and Indian styles Gandhara art flourished especially under Kushan patronage and shows strong Hellenistic influence.