Culture Connection

South_asia
Map South Asia

Guides-south_asia
Your Guides My name is Asha and this is my friend Hanu. We’re here to take you through our home, South Asia.

There’s always something fun to do in South Asia because in our culture we have a special dance, song or way of dressing for almost every occasion. Hanu and I will show you a few of our favorite traditions, and show you a dance or two.

Sounds

These types of music are so popular in South Asia that they’ve started to spread all over the world.

Filmi music

This is a special type of music that’s created for Bollywood movies (South Asian movies made in India and sent all over the world). Filmi blends ancient traditional instruments with modern ones, and borrows melodies from classical and folk music.

Bhangra music and dance

These energetic rhythms were created in the Punjab region of northern India and eastern Pakistan. If there’s a large South Asian community in your hometown, there are probably bhangra (pronounced bhung-gra) dance troops with performances you can go watch.

Sri Lankan Drumming

Traditional drums are used for different kinds of dances and celebrations. The big drum that’s played at New Years is called the rabana (pronounced rah-bah-nah) and it’s played by two or more people at a time, usually women.

Bollywood

South Asia has its very own Hollywood—it’s called Bollywood, and it’s based out of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India. Bollywood films feature song and dance and are shot in Hindi, the most widely-spoken South Asian language.