East India Geography , Culture , Heritage , Demographics

East India Geography , Culture , Heritage , Demographics

East India is a compilation of varied cultures and traditions and has an apex position in India due to its magnificence.

Geography

States in East India

East India is an area consisting of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, 7 Sisters  ,West Bengal and also the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. West Bengal’s capital Kolkata is the largest city of this section. The Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the country’s third largest one. The states of Odisha and West Bengal share some intellectual and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh.

Atmosphere

The region lies in the humid-subtropical zone, and experiences hot summers from March to June, the monsoon from July to October and mild winters from November to February. The central states have a drier climate and vaguely more extreme climates, particularly during the winters and summers, but the whole region receives heavy, persistent rainfall during the monsoon months. Snowfall occurs in the extreme northern regions of West Bengal.

Demographics

Languages

Bengali is the dominant language of West Bengal as well as the whole of East India. Hindi along with Urdu, Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri is the dominant language of Bihar and Jharkhand. Also, Santhali and Magahi are the dominant language of Jharkhand, nevertheless 34% people of Jharkhand are tribals (2001 Census) and speak their own tribal languages and use Hindi as second language. Odia is the dominant language of the state of Odisha. Oriya is the only traditional language in east India and earliest Indo-Aryan language-family and sixth Indian language to be measured as a classical language in the basis of being aged and not borrowed from other languages.

Religions

The greater part of the population of East India is Hindu with Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Sikh minorities. The Muslims constitute a huge minority in Bengal with 25% of the population and 17% in Bihar. Hindus form 94% of the entire population of Odisha. Christians are the largest minority in Odisha.

Culture and Heritage

Festivals

Durga, Jagannath and Shiva are particularly popular Hindu deities in this region. Durga & Kali are deities of Bengal and Mithila whereas Jagannath or Vishnu is patron god among Odia people. Shiva is worshipped in all areas of eastern states.

Cuisines

With an emphasis on fish, vegetables and lentils served with rice as a staple diet, Bengali cuisine is known for its subtle flavours, and its huge increase of confectioneries and desserts. It also has the only traditionally urbanized multi-course tradition from the Indian subcontinent that is analogous in construction to the modern service à la russe technique of French cuisine, with food served course-wise rather than all at once.

Oriya cuisine refers to the cooking of the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Foods from this area are rich and diverse, while relying heavily on limited ingredients. The flavours are usually clever and delicately spiced, quite unlike the fiery curries classically associated with Indian cuisine. Fish and other seafood such as crab and shrimp are admired. Chicken and mutton are also consumed, but rarely.

Arts

Odissi (Odissi) is a classical dance in eastern India. It instigated from the state of Odisha, in eastern India. It is the oldest existing dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. Odissi has a long, endless tradition of 2,000 years. Bengali dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as from the broader Indian dance ritual. Dance forms of Bihar are another appearance of rich traditions and ethnic identity. There are numerous folk dance forms that can keep one enchanted, such as dhobi nach, jhumarnach, manjhi, gondnach, jitiyanach, mor morni, dom-domin, bhuiababa, rah baba, kathghorwa nach, jat jatin, launda nach, bamar nach, jharni, jhijhia, natua nach, bidapad nach, sohrai nach, and gond nach.

Music

Rabindra Sangeet, also known as Tagore Songs, are the songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. They have unique characteristics in the music of Bengal, popular in India and Bangladesh. Tagore wrote about 2,230 songs.West Bengal’s capital Kolkata is also the cultural capital of India.

Literature

Education in the eastern part of India has seen quick transformation. Several latest educational institutes have been established to gratify the needs of students. East India is now the home to some of the great Indian universities and Institutions of National Importance.

Read Also :

• South India

• West India

• North India

• Incredible India

East India has truly excelled in every theme and has a deep sense of culture, tradition, art and cuisine. It is a pack of all the magnificent things in a single place. An immensely beautiful yet an ethnic element of India.