Significance of folk-practices A. L. Basham described India, as in truth, a land of contrasts and diversities, a great mosaic in which different elements exist side by side and yet possess a unity which pervades all its varied manifestations. 'Culture has been referred to as man's 'social heritage' and as 'the man-made part of the environment, consisting of any form of behavior which is acquired through learning, and which is a pattern in conformity with certain approved norms (William R....