Indian culture is ruled by time, but not by the clock—by the ghadi (auspicious time). A significant chunk of revolves around daily rituals ( dinacharya ).
The first rule of understanding India is to abandon stereotypes of a single "Indian way." A Punjabi farmer’s harvest festival of Lohri (bonfires and bhangra) looks nothing like a Tamilian’s Pongal (sweet rice boiling over). Yet, both celebrate the sun.