Karnataka has a rich cultural heritage, which has been continuously moving forward with the contribution of various empires. Karnataka literature, architecture, folklore, music, painting, and other art forms have a lot of impact on the people. You can see various ancient buildings and monuments, Mauryan Empire special architecture can also be found here. The statue of the 10th-century Jain saint Bahubali stone statue can be seen here. The influence of Chalukyas and the Pallava Empire can also be seen. A varied mixture of ethnicity, culture, and race comprises the people of Karnataka. While the maximum number of people residing here are Kannadigas. They live in perfect harmony and mutual contacts with their neighbors and intimidates (namely the Marathas, the Andras, the Tamils, and the Malayalis). The people of Karnataka are great hosts, their lifestyle is simple who abide by their unique customs, enchanting culture and beliefs.
Karnataka is a mixture of various religion where the most popular religion is Hinduism. During the first millennium, the Buddha religion was one of the most famous religions of some parts of Karnataka such as Gulbarga and Banvasi. The Tibetian refugee camp is also in Karnataka. Jainism is also followed by many communities while Christianity and Islam are also followed in Karnataka.
The official language of the state of Karnataka is Kannada. However other languages like Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu, Konkan and Hindi are also spoken. Most educated people use English and Hindi language too.
The culture of Karnataka revolves around its dance, music folk art and drama, and literature. Karnataka is a treasure house of ritualistic dances. Karnataka is a treasure house to various dance forms, the word Kunitha is used for all folk dances or ritual dances. One such dance is the Dollu Kunitha in which singing is accompanied by the beating of drums. Among the classical dances, the Mysore style of Bharatanatyam is the oldest and most popular form of classical dance in India. Other Mainstream Classical dances of Karnataka are Kuchipudi and Kathak. Yakshagana is one of the most difficult dance forms. It has no script and its performance depends solely on artist ability. Another amazing Karnataka traditional dance form is Damman dance of Siddi community.
The dressing of Karnataka people varies from district to district. The main Kannadiga male costume is Panchey or Lungi, Angi and Peta. Panchey or Lungi is tied below the waist while Angi is a traditional shirt and Peta is a turban worn in Mysuru style or Dharwad style. Shyla is a piece of long cloth used to carry on the shoulder. Female costume includes Sari among which IIkal saris are woven using a special technique called Tope Teni. Mysore silk saree is also famous. Salwar Kameez is widely popular in urban areas. Young women traditionally wear Langa Davani. Kasuti is a form of embroidery work which is very popular sought after art on dress and costumes. Jeans are popular among the youth while new age khadi/silk printed with various art are also found.
arnataka is marked by some of the most colorful festivals. Mysore Dussehra is organized as Nada Habba and this is the main festival of Mysore. The second important festival of Karnataka is Ugadi (Kannada New Year), while other festivals celebrated are Makara Sankranti (the Harvest Festival), Ganesh Chaturthi, Nagapanchami, Basava Jayanti, Deepavali, and Ramzan. Kambala is an epic buffalo race which is an annual two-day festival, kambala season generally starts in November and lasts until March.
Indian classical music has a special place for Karnataka as both Karnatak (Carnatic) and Hindustani styles find a place in the state. It is the only state where Hindustani music from the north and Carnatic music from the south can be found together. Karnataka has produced great music artists like Bhimsen Joshi, Mallikarjuna Mansur, Kumar Gandharva, Basavaraj, and Puttaraj Gowai, some of them have been a recipient of Kalidas Samman, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan awards.