India culture is an enduring part of India life. It has sacred origins and the inner experience of the soul finds its highest expression in music and dance.

Indian dance is a blend of rhythmic and dramatic elements. The rhythmic movements of the body does not express emotion, this is introduced through movements of the eyes, hands and the face.

The dances are based on legend and take their themes from India's rich mythology. Kathak is the north Indian style of classical dance and is characterized by rhythmic footwork and spectacular spins. It is danced under the weight of more than 100 ankle bells.

The dance is the dramatic representation of themes from Persian and Urdu poetry and Hindu mythology. Kathak arose from the fusion of Hindu and Muslim cultures that took place during the Mughal period (1526-1761) and expresses the aesthetic principles of Islamic culture.

The earliest music in India culture was set to the Vedas, which represent the oldest literature in the world. The distinctive melody has been passed down through the centuries in an unbroken oral tradition.

The two major systems of classical music today are the Hindustani and the Carnatic. Though today they appear to be quite distinct styles, they in fact have their origins in a common theory and source. Broadly speaking, Hindustani has developed over thousands of years in the north and was dramatically influenced by each succeeding invasion, most particularly by the Mughals. Hindustani music has a virtuoso quality that stems from its refinement as a chamber art in the Mughai courts. Improvisation predominates,and written notation, when used, is skeletal which has meant that the music of past generations has been irrevocably lost.

Carnatic music in India culture is indigenous to the south which has been historically been cushioned from a foreign invasion, leaving its culture largely intact. Carnatic music is of a predominantly devotional character and is one of the oldest systems of music. It is based on a system of ragas (melodic scales) and talas (rhythmic cycles). The lyrics, whether of a mythological or social, are set against a devotional or philosophical background.

The earliest form of art is the prolific cave paintings of central India dating back 40,000 years. Art in India culture can be classified into specific periods each reflecting certain religious, political and cultural developments:

• Hinduism and Buddhism of the ancient period (300 BC- 1700 AD)
• Islamic ascendancy (712-1757 AD)
• The colonial period (1757-1947)
• Independence and the postcolonial period (Post-1947)
• Modern and Postmodern art in India

Alongside classical art, the folk and tribal art traditions have been continually evolving. This art is an expression of people who are tuned to the rhythms of nature and its laws of cyclic change. It is a living, changing art form in which gods and legends are transformed into familiar images and Fairs, festivals and local deities play a vital role.

Indian art is a strong reflection of the life of the Indian people, its culture and traditional values. No other medium represents the Indian lifestyle so vividly. It ranges from the elegant form of nataraja to the vibrant Rajasthani miniatures and it also includes the diversified images of Buddha and the iconography of the gods and goddesses.

India culture has been affected by the fact that most of the Indian art has been essentially made of perishable material and has not survived. Art in religion, however, which was depicted in stone, has survived intact from the earliest times. The Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic art can be seen in the beautiful carvings on the walls of the temples, palaces and monuments.