Maharashtrian Culture

From : maharashtra tourism
Costumes of Maharashtra
As Maharashtra is a vast state, the people of this colourful state wears different types of costumes, take different cuisines, has different forms of dances and music according to the physical features of their locality. Generally, men wear dhoti and pheta in olden days, while women wear choli and saree.

Cuisines in Maharashtra
Maharashtrians consider anna, or food equals to Brahma, the creator of the universe. Maharashtrians believe in offering their food first to the God as a thanksgiving. Especially on festive occasions, specific mithais (sweets) are offered such as ukadiche modak (Ganesh Chaturthi) and satyanarayan puja sheera.

Dances of Maharashtra
Gifted with its rich culture and traditions, Maharashtra has different types of dance forms. Povada is the dance form that showcases the lifetime achievements of the Maratha ruler Shivaji Maharaj.

Music of Maharashtra
Every festive occasion is accompanied by song, music and dance in Maharashtra. Talking about the music of Maharashtra won't complete without the mention of Natya Sangeet, numerous folk songs and its great saint poets.

From Wikipedia.org :-

About 82% of Maharashtrians are Hindu, and there are significant MuslimChristian and Buddhist minorities. There are many temples in Maharashtra some of them being thousands of years old. These temples are constructed in a fusion of architectural styles borrowed from North and South India. The temples also blend themes from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cultures. The temple of Vitthal at Pandharpur is the most important temple for the Varkari sect. Other important religious places are the Ashtavinayaka temples of Lord Ganesha, Bhimashankar which is one of the Jyotirling (12 important shiva temples). Ajanta and Ellora caves near Aurangabad areUNESCO World Heritage Sites and famous tourist attractions. Mughal architecture can be seen is the tomb of the wife of Aurangzeb called Bibi Ka Maqbara located at Aurangabad. In 1708, the year following the death of Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh the tenth spiritual leader of the Sikhs came over to Nanded, his permanent abode. He proclaimed himself the last living Guru and established the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs. This elevates the reverence of Granth to that of a living Guru. A monument has been constructed at place where he died. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's endowment saw the construction of a beautiful Gurudwara at Nanded around 1835 AD. The Gurudwara features an imposing golden dome with intricate carvings and a breathtakingly beautiful artwork. It is known as Shri Huzur Abchalnagar Sachkhand Gurudwara
Maharashtra has a large number of hill, land and sea forts. Forts have played an important role in the history of Maharashtra since the time of the Peshwas. Some of the important forts in Maharashtra are Raigad, Vijaydurg, Pratapgad, Sinhagad. Majority of the forts in Maharashtra are found along the costal region of Konkan.
Marathi Hindus revere Bhakti saints of all castes, such as Dnyaneshwar (Brahmin), Tukaram (Moray Shudra), Namdev (Chhimba Shudra), and Chokhamela (Mahar).
There were several other Harijan saints of Maharastra. They are Sant Banka Mahar, Sant Bhagu, Sant Damajipanth, Sant Kanhopatra, Sant Karmamelam, Sant Nirmala, Sant Sadna, Sant Sakhubai, Sant Satyakam Jabali, Sant Soyarabai. Other important devotees are Namdev Mahar, devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba, lived in Kharagpur and Bhagubai, the wife of Namdev Mahar, devotee of Sai.
In modern times Nisargadatta Maharaj, a Shudra and bidi-seller, became a Hindu saint of major influence in India.
Popular forms of God are Lord ShivaLord Krishna and Lord Ganesh.
Lord Shiva's devotion is celebrated by taking part in Maha Shivaratri (Night of Shiva) festival. In modern times, the Elephanta island in Mumbai, Lord's Shiva island in local mythology, originated the Elephant Festival. Lord Krishna's devotion are celebrated in the state-wide Gokul Ashtami (or Krishna JanmashtamiKrishna's birthday) whereby many devotees fast on the entire day until midnight. Lord Ganesh's devotion is celebrated by Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganesh's birthday) in August.

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