So much has been written about the wide and deep cultural roots, and colorful traditions of India that it intrigues foreign travelers a lot as to what exactly are the factors that differs different zones from each other on cultural grounds.

Volunteering India provides projects in all the four regions of India — North, East, South, West — giving a unique platform to the volunteers to experience the cultural taste of each zone. Following are the volunteer project locations in India and the factors you will see different from each other;

Palampur (North)

Programs:                    Childcare, Mentally Disabled Children, Teaching, Dental Elective & Medical (Internship Program), Mini break program

Language:                   Hindi, Kangri (local language)

Population:                 70000

Climate:                        Highland/Alpine/Mountain climate

Cuisine:                         Fusion of Tibetan and Punjabi

Dressing:                      Woolens mainly due to cool weather most of the year.

Main Festival:             Palampur Holi Fair and Sair

Common Ethnicity:       Hindu

Kalimpong (East)

Programs:                    Teaching, Childcare, Teaching Monks

Language:                   Hindi, Nepali, Sherpa, Tibetan, Bhutia, Kiranchi

Population:                 43000

Climate:                        Sub-tropical humid (wet) with dry winters

Cuisine:                         Nepalese

Dressing:                      Lepcha style dressing, generally ankle length dumdem for women, and dumpra for men.

Main Festival:             Losar Festival (New Year festival) that runs for 15 days

Common Ethnicity:       Nepalese

*Bengaluru (South)

Programs:                        Orphanage, Teaching, Mini Break Program

Language:                       Kannada, English (people in south finds it hard to speak or understand Hindi)

Population:                     8.5 million (one of the popular metro cities of India)

Climate:                            Tropical Semi-arid (steppe) climate

Cuisine:                      Mainly rice and coconut based dishes, not spicy and light on calories. Filter coffee is a common beverage

Dressing:                          Women traditionally wear Saris (generally silk made), while men traditionally wear Mundus (white Sarong) with shirt on top.

Main Festival:                 Karaga

Common Ethnicity:       Hindu

**Delhi (North- West)

Programs:                        Street Children, Orphanage, Women Empowerment, Mini Break Program, Language and Orientation Week

Language:                       Punjabi, Hindi

Population:                     11 million (2nd most populous after Mumbai)

Climate:                            Sub-tropical semi-arid climate

Cuisine:                             Mughlai, Punjabi, street food

Dressing:                          Western, traditionally Salwar-Kurti (ladies) and Shirt-Trouser (Men)

Main Festival:                 Vasant Panchami (Spring Festival), Lohri (Crop harvesting festival)

Common Ethnicity:       Hindu

So, when you volunteer to a different region in India you find a lot of differences in the mindset, approach, and daily lifestyle of the locals residing in that region from other parts of the country.  While Palampur and Kalimpong reflect more of a rural, calm, and laid back lifestyle, Delhi and Bengaluru (being metro cities) showcase urban lifestyle with fast paced approach.

To get into any of the volunteer programs in India you can get in touch with Volunteering India’s representative by dropping a mail at [email protected] and find more details at www.volunteeringindia.com

*The projects in South are located in different cities of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states. Cultures of all south states, however, are more or less similar.

**Delhi lies in Northern part of the country, however, is close to the western region and thus has a great cultural influence of the West part of the country.