Gurgaon – Culture
Gurgaon - Culture
Notable performing art venues in the city include Epicentre in Sector 44 and Nautanki Mehal at the Kingdom of Dreams near IFFCO Chowk. Kingdom of Dreams is India’s first live entertainment, theatre, and leisure destination. It is located in Sector 29, Gurgaon, Haryana in NCR Delhi, near Leisure Valley Park. It was inaugurated on 29 January 2010 by the Chief Minister of Haryana and opened to the public on 18 September 2010 by Union Minister of Tourism, Kumari Selja. The opening showcased a special preview of the Bollywood musical, Zangoora, starring Hussain Kuwajerwala, Gauhar Khan, and Kashmira Irani. Spread over 6 acres (24,000 m2) and built at a cost of over Rs. 2 billion, Kingdom of Dreams is run by the Great Indian Nautanki Company (GINC), a joint venture between Apra Group and Wizcraft. The destination consists of two theatres, Nautanki Mahal and the Showshaa Theatre, and a cultural and cuisine area known as Culture Gully.
The main language spoken in Gurgaon is Hindi, though a segment of the population understands and speaks English. The dialect used in Hindi is similar to that of Delhi and is considered neutral, though the regional influences from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab adds an accent to the language. English is spoken with an Indian accent, with a primarily North Indian influence. Since Gurgaon has many international call centers, the employees are usually given formal training in neutral pronunciation in order to be understandable to native English speakers. Haryanvi and Punjabi are other popular languages spoken in the city. The other regional languages include Mewati and Haryanvi. Another language is Ahirwati, which is an Indo-Aryan language, classified as a Rajasthani language, and is spoken in the Mahendragarh, Rewari, and Gurgaon districts Haryana.
Gurgaon has adherents of Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and the Bahá’í, amongst others. There are several places of worship for major religions, including mandirs, gurdwaras, mosques and churches.
Sheetla Mata Mandir is a temple dedicated to the wife of Guru Dronacharya. The temple hosts fairs and people come to seek blessings of Sheetla Mata. Sai Ka Aangan temple is dedicated to Shri Shirdi Sai Baba run by Sai Prakash Spiritual and Charitable Trust. The temple is Spread over an area of 4000 square yards and is located in Sushant Lok 1 area of the city.
The city has two major sports stadiums: Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 38, which has facilities for cricket, football, basketball and athletics as well as a sports hostel, and Nehru Stadium which is designed for football and athletics. Amity United FC is a tenant of Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Gurgaon district has nine golf courses, and is described as the “heart of India’s golfing country”. Joginder Rao, a domestic cricket player was from Gurgaon.