![\"IMG_0047\"](\"http:\/\/0318da2.netsolhost.com\/pwarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/IMG_0047.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe students were then asked to share what they associated with the idea of Indian culture \u2013 they mentioned diversity, festivals such as Diwali and Durga Pujo, food such as rosogollas and Mughlai cuisine, handloom cloth, rituals, classical dance such as Bharatnatyam, among other things. The discussion went forward with Anjum explaining the myriad influences which shaped each of the elements the students believed to be signifiers of Indian culture- she explained how the rosogolla is indebted to the Portuguese tradition of splitting milk, how Durga\u2019s ornaments came to be known as \u2018daaker shaaj\u2019<\/em> because the tinsel used in it came to Bengal via daak<\/em>, post. How at one point of time women did not wear blouses with their saris because their lives revolved around their homes, and nothing more. That the blouse was only incorporated when women started taking strides into the outside world. We discussed how different rituals are practiced across the different communities in our country.<\/p>\n \n It was a highly interactive discussion which concluded with the students summing up their takeaway from the class\u2014that what we know as Indian culture does not stand as an isolated, rigid entity, but is constantly changing with the confluence of thoughts, ideas and practices we encounter in our lives. That culture evolves over the years, reflecting the changes that have come about in society. That our identities are deeply connected with what we think of as our culture.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n