Touching of feet: Touching the feet of elders is a tradition that is very common in South Asia. In India this gesture indicates that the one touching the feet is seeking for blessings from the person whose feet are touched. While the origin of the tradition is not well established touching the feet of your parents, grandparents or a religious figure is a sign of reverence, devotion and love. For a detailed look into this tradition please click here.
Ayurveda: Ayurveda is the system of medicine that evolved in India and continues to be practiced has in the present day. Ayurveda is a combination of two words, Ayur meaning Life, and Veda meaning wisdom. According to Narayanaswamy references to a “systematic and comprehensive treatment of medicine is to be found only in the Atharva Veda. The Atharva Veda is considered to have originated later than the Rig Veda, and contains a description of diseases and the cure of them.
To read V. Narayanaswamy’s full paper on the History of Ayurveda please click here.
To view a video of Ayurveda please click here.
Traditional Sports: A live tradition of India are traditional sports. Ancients texts suggest to a number of games played and practiced by people. Manas Olhas describes at length about bharashram ( weight – lifting), bharamanshram ( walking ), and Mall – Stambha, a peculiar form of wrestling, wherein both contestants sit on the shoulders of their ‘seconds’, who stand in waist – deep water throughout the game.
Of the traditional games, sports like Gilli-Danda, Malla Yudha, Kho-Kho and Kabaddi are still very popular, especially in rural area.
To watch a video of children playing Gilli-Danda please click here.
To watch a video of Kabaddi match between Iran and India please click here.
Information Source URL links:
http://sports.indiapress.org/ancient_indian_games.php
http://www.indiatimes.com/sports/top-5-traditional-indian-sports-14390-5.html#list_start
http://www.medindia.net/ayurveda/
http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do?tabId=13&programId=1073755417&categoryId=-1073908161&contentId=12490275
