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