India’s culture has a lots of shades. There are also a lots of beliefs which followed by the people and it has a great influence on the people. Their life style reflects the influence. It affects the day to day affairs and their ceremonies too. They do follow the concepts, which are now established as traditions. Some populer concepts are given below.

Gotra : A term applied to a clan, a group of families, or a lineage - exogamous and patrilineal - whose members trace their descent to a common ancestor, usually a sage of ancient times. A gotra is of immense importance to a Hindu for it shores up his identity. All Hindu ceremonies require a statement of the gotra. A devout Hindu speaks out his gotra and pravara every day in the morning. Gotra also comes of use during the performance of the rites of passage or sanskaras. People of the same gotra (sagotra) are not allowed to marry, to prevent inbreeding. At weddings, the gotra of the bride and the groom are proclaimed aloud to establish that they are not breaking this socially ordained genetic precaution.

Yoga :The purpose of yoga is the joining of mind and body in order to achieve perfect unity. Yoga application or concentration of thoughts, abstract meditation, the act of joining or harnessing. Yoga is defined as that state of mind in which the individual soul (atman) unites with Brahman, the cosmic soul. The purpose of yoga is the joining of mind and body in order to achieve perfect unity, leading to moksha, the final concentration of the spirit and its 'escape' from the cosmos. The system of yoga, as now known, is attributed to Patanjali whose Yogasutra (5th century AD) is still the final authority on the subject even though later commentaries by Veda Vyasa and many others have been written on it. Today, the yoga system of training is intellectual as well as moral. Before beginning training, these 10 virtues are to be cultivated within oneself.

Janmapatri :Means a Nativity chart; horoscope scroll, which records the year, month, date, tithi (see Panchanga), configuration and relative position of the planets, stars and constellations at the time of birth. It also contains the name of the person and acts as a table of fortune throughout life. Most people believe that the destiny of a person is affected by the position of the stars and other heavenly bodies at the moment of birth. Therefore extreme care is taken to note the exact time of birth to make a correct janmapatri. This janmapatri is made by the priest or jyotishi whose trade it is. He makes it by consulting the almanac (see Panchanga) and making mathematical and astronomical calculations. It is first read out during the naming ceremony or namakarana of the child. It tells of favourable and unfavourable periods in a person's life, his profession, character, marriage and progeny. Many factors are considered to determine the fate of a person.

Kal :Time. It also signifies the eternal supreme spirit Brahman. It is closely connected with the concept of salvation (see Moksha) as fate (kismat). It is also a name for Yama, judge of men and god of the netherworld. Kal as time is immensely important as all ceremonies and occasions are performed at a time carefully calculated to be 'auspicious'.It is believed that if, while performing a rite, a man does not mention the lunar day, month, fortnight and the occasion, he will not reap the benefit of the rite. Time is said to have existed even before creation. It is believed to be the source of primordial water and the progenitor of the creator. It has no beginning and no end and is like an ever-rolling wheel.There are various mythical divisions of time, such as yugas, mahayugas, manvantaras, kalpas and mahakalpas.

Panchanga :Means literally 'five limbs' (pancha, 'five' and anga, 'limb'). The almanac of the Hindus, so named because it deals with the five Hindu divisions of time. An 'auspicious' moment is considered very important, for starting a ceremony, a journey, a new venture or the commencement of studies. The panchanga is used to find such 'auspicious' moments when the various permutations and combinations of the five units of time are found congenial. When performing a ceremony (see Sanskara), the time must harmonise with the horoscope (see Janmapatri) of the person it is being performed for. Such calculations are therefore highly individual.The panchanga is also useful in predicting the dates of various fasts and festivals like Janmashtami, Diwali and Holi. This is so because the Hindus follow a luni-solar, not solar calendar (see Hindu Calendar). Therefore festivals do not fall on the same date every year and have to be

Hindu calendar:The calendar plays an integral role in the lives of Hindus. Apart from measuring the traditional periods of time, it is also used to calculate the date of festivals, and auspicious times and days for performing ceremonies. Calendars are calculated on the basis of the sun, the moon, and a combination of both. Initially, the Hindu calendar was based on the movements of the moon. After learning of the solar calendar developed in the west, some of its features were incorporated into the Hindu calendar. Although the solar calendar was used to measure the passage of time, most religious festivals and other occasions were still decided on the basis of lunar movement. In 1952, the Indian Government decided to establish a uniform civil and religious calendar. A committee was set up and from its recommendations emerged a civil calendar in 1957.  

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