Culture of Maharashtra
Maharashtra is the third largest state of India. It is known as the land
of saints, educationists and revolutionists,
teachers, doctors, actors, actresses, film makers, notable among them
being Mahadev Govind Ranade, Swatantraveer Savarkar, Savitribai Phule, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dadasaheb Phalke, Dada Kondke and many others. It has a long
history of Marathi saints of Varakari religious movement, such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath and Tukaram which formsthe one of bases of
the culture of Maharashtra or Marathi culture. Maharashtra is also
known for its purogami culture which translates as reformist or forward culture[2] which was started by earlier
saints and led by Mahatma Phule, Shahu Maharaj, Babasaheb Ambedkar in
modern times. Maharashtra has huge influence all over the world of 17th-century
King Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj of Maratha Empire and
his concept of Hindavi Swarajya which translates to self-rule
of people.
The state of Maharashtra spans multiple
cultures which includes cultures related to Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, etc. Lord Ganesha and Lord Vitthal are the
traditional deities worshipped by Hindus of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra is divided into various regions,
such as Marathwada, Vidarbha, Khandesh, and Konkan. Each has its own cultural identity in
the form of different dialects of Marathi Language, folk
songs, food, and ethnicity.
Religions, castes and sects
Marathi Hindus revere many
religious figures. Among the figures who originated in the region are Banka
Mahar, Bhagu, Damajipanth, Kanhopatra, Karmamelam, Nirmala, Sadna,
Sakhubai, Satyakam Jabali and Soyarabai
Folk songs
The people of the state wear
different colorful types of costumes, and there is variation in dance and music
according to people's specific localities. Dance forms like powada,Banjara Holi Dance lavani, and koli are popular in Maharashtra
Cusine
Sweet
foodstuffs like puran poli and shrikand are considered to have originated from Maharashtra.The Konkan and Varadi
cuisines are popular with tourists. The specialty dishes of Maharashtran cuisines are often strong in pepper and
spice; well-known dishes include vada pav, misal pav and Mumbai chaat and puneri
missal, selucha chana
The purpose of choosing this topic was to know more about Maharashtra.Being the citizan of Maharashtra I felt that I must have considerable knowledge and understanding about Maharastran culture.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Maharashtra
DATE: 14 MARCH 2019
