One people or many. In India, it is difficult to decide, for like the land, the inhabitants reflect an amazing diversity both in physical and lifestyle attributes. In part this is due to the varied racial groups that find their presence in the subcontinent, in part due to geographical and social factors.

Four major racial groups have met and merged in this fertile land to give its populace this great diversity. Racial dovetailing has influenced lifestyle patterns as much as it did looks. From the high mountain passes, on its western borders, come the pale-skinned Europoid.

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As diverse as India's sartorial tradition are its language. India has 15 major languages and 844 dialects. The linguistic expert Grierson observed in 1928 that 255 dialects could trace their origin to four major language families. Going further, he stated that the dialects of northwest India and the Gangetic plains have some base in the Indo-European family of languages. He added that most of the south, of which Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam are the four major ones, have a Dravidian base.

Local conditions influence the choice of housing features too. The bitter cold in the mountainous regions has resulted in local opting for stone or mud-and-timber structures with sloping roofs. The livestock are kept in the ground floor and the living quarters on the floor above, open out to a centre courtyard, which acts as a sort of living room. The Gaddis, pastoral nomads who seek higher pasturelands during the summer, burrow deep into the folds of the mountains, construction being reduced to the minimum in order to ensure better insulation during the long winter months.

For the Indian people, the annual calendar is packed with numerous fairs and festivals. Whether a local event or a major happening on a national scale, colour, pageantry, religious fervour, exotic costumes, feasting and frolic, demonstrate an effervescence that is captivating.