Overlapping Cultures, Languages, And Beliefs Between India And Russia

 

It is a well-known and well-established truth that India and Russia have always been each other’s confidants. This has been carefully tested over years and years since the Soviet Union’s inception. It has remained so even after the union’s breakup.

This friendship between the nations has resulted in various commonalities among the residents over the years. Even though Russia and India are worlds apart, with completely different routines, norms, systems, etc. There may be no similarities between the countries or their inhabitants. However, if you take a methodical approach, you may easily find parallels in over one aspect.

1. Superstitions and customs

Russian communities, like Indian ones, may be exceedingly superstitious and traditional. Some of the many shared views across the countries, and no one knows who affected whom.

Omens such as a black cat crossing a route, a mirror cracking, stepping over people laying on the ground. They are evil, but omens such as a hand itching for money gains. These are popular ideas not just in Russia, but also in India.

2. Linguistics

Another little-known fact about Russia is that the country’s native language has many parallels with Sanskrit, the alphabet on which various Indian languages such as Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, and others are based. Several Indo-European languages have similarities with Sanskrit, but Russian appears to be the most similar.

Here are some instances of terms that are typically pronounced similarly in both languages and imply the same thing.

3. Snacks and Food in India and Russia

The word “chai” means tea in both Hindi and Russian, and the beverage is immensely popular in both. Despite strong local consumption, India is the world’s second-largest tea exporter. Russia buys 150 million kilograms each year!

In both communities, they feed chai with identical devotion. Russians like tea with sweets after every feast, but in India.

They make Russian food with less salt and spices; several meals, such as Borsch, are like Indian soups and may be eaten with or without meat; other frequent foods include cutlets, puffs, and rice, which can be vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

4. Society and Values

In Russia, both Indian and Russian households prioritize and cherish family values and culture. Adults in Russia and India are fairly unusual to live with their parents long into their thirties. Skeptics may claim that in both nations, financial limitations drive people to bring their brides home to their parents’ homes, but this is very simple.

Indians and Russians who live apart visit not only their family on important holidays for the sake of tradition. Whatever the virtues, this would have to do with the reality that our cultures are a lot less individualistic.

5. Art and Culture in India and Russia

Both countries have a tremendous love for art, music, theatre, film, and every other kind of cultural expression. Russian theatre and circuses have received widespread international appreciation. Both nations have a long tradition of maestros and virtuosos in domains like literature, music, poetry, art, and so on.

Names such as Wassily Kandinsky, known as the “Father of Abstract Art,” Dmitry Shostakovich in music, Leo Tolstoy, who influenced Indian nonviolent idealism, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, whose narrative has been brought to life on Indian film screens repeatedly, are among the many popular names in India.