Indian History- Art & Culture : Prehistoric Rock Paintings

Prehistoric Rock Paintings

The earliest discovery of prehistoric rock art was made in India, twelve years before the discovery of Alta Mira in Spain. Archibald Carlleyle discovered rock paintings at Sohagihat in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh in 1867 and 1868. There are rock paintings apparently of various ages. Though all evidently of great age, done in red colour called as ‘geru’.

Some of these rude paintings appeared to illustrate in a very stiff and archaic manner scenes in the life of the ancient stone chippers. Others represent animals or hunts of animals by men with bows and arrows, spears and hatchets.

Indian History- Art and Culture: Meaning and Essence of Culture

Meaning and Essence of Culture

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition goes a step further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group.

The word “culture” derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. “It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth,” De Rossi said

The term “Western culture” has come to define the culture of European countries as well as those that have been heavily influenced by European immigration, such as the United States, according to Khan University. Western culture has its roots in the Classical Period of the Greco-Roman era and the rise of Christianity in the 14th century.

Arts and Culture: Modern Age Architecture

Modern Age Architecture

Cheltenham

The centres of the major cities established by the East India Company are still astonishingly, perhaps bizarrely British. Calcutta, “city of palaces” with its surviving wealth of stuccoed Classical buildings can be compared with St Petersburg rather than Cheltenham. Bombay, which Robert Byron once described as “that architectural Sodom” can now be seen as the finest Gothic Revival city in the world. And New Delhi, added to the ancient city of Delhi to which the seat of government was moved from Calcutta in 1911, is surely the most successful planned city of the twentieth century and Viceroy’s House one of the finest buildings anywhere.

It may be startling to see so many buildings which seem to have been transported bodily from Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol or London – except that, on closer inspection, adaptations to the climate are evident. Some are designed by major British architects – George Gilbert Scott, Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker among them – but most are by less familiar names: some who sent out drawings from Britain but others – like F.W. Stevens, William Emerson, Arthur Shoosmith – who settled in India for years or decades, while, towards the end, there was native Indian architectural talent.

Indian Art and Culture: Indian Paintings

Indian Paintings

Sadanga of Indian painting

Around 1st century BC six Limbs of Indian Painting, were evolved, laying down the main principles of the art. Shadang or the six limbs of Indian Art find their 1st mention in Vatsyayana’s Kama Sutra around 3rd century AD. Vishnudharmottara purana (700 A.D.) – Contains Chitrasutra which describes the six organs of painting. The six different limbs were actually six different points or

Indian Art and Culture: Meaning and Essence of Culture

Meaning and Essence of Culture

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition goes a step further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group.

The word “culture” derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. “It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth,” De Rossi said

Indian Art and Culture: Modern Age Architecture

Modern Age Architecture

         

The centres of the major cities established by the East India Company are still astonishingly, perhaps bizarrely British. Calcutta, “city of palaces” with its surviving wealth of stuccoed Classical buildings can be compared with St Petersburg rather than Cheltenham. Bombay, which Robert Byron once described as “that architectural Sodom” can now be seen as the finest Gothic Revival city in the world. And New Delhi, added to the ancient city of Delhi to which the seat of government was moved from Calcutta in 1911, is surely the most successful planned city of the twentieth century and Viceroy’s House one of the finest buildings anywhere.

Art and Culture :Folk Dances of India

Folk Dances of India

Folk Dances

India is a land of varied cultures and traditions. Diversities in all spheres make the Indian culture quite unique. Indian folk and tribal dances are product of different socio-economic set up and traditions evolved over ages. In India, we have festivals and celebrations virtually every day, and dances are performed to express joy and festivity. This has added to the richness of Indian culture. Since every festival is accompanied by celebration, folk dances have become an integral part of our social milieu. There are numerous folk and tribal dances, and almost all of them have continuously evolved and improvised.

Folk dances are performed for every possible occasion - to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child, a wedding and festivals, which are a plenty. The folk dances are extremely simple with minimum of steps or movement. Indian folk dances are full of energy and vitality. Some dances are performed separately by men and women while in some performances men and women dance together. On most occasions, the dancers sing themselves, accompanied by artists with instruments. Each form of folk dance has a specific costume and rhythm. Most of the costumes, worn for folk dances, are colorful with extensive jewels and designs. Let’s have a look at folk dances of India.

Indian Arts and Culture: Indian Music

Indian Music

Raga

Raga , also spelled rag or ragam , in the classical music of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It is a melodic framework for improvisation and composition.

A raga is based on a scale with a given set of notes, a typical order in which they appear in melodies, and characteristic musical motifs. The basic components of a raga can be written down in the form of a scale. By using only these notes, by emphasizing certain degrees of the scale, and by going from note to note in ways characteristic to the raga, the performer sets out to create a mood or atmosphere. There are several hundred ragas in present use, and thousands are possible in theory.

Arts and Culture: Languages and their Distribution

:Languages and their Distribution:

            India, a country rich with different cultures, religions and beliefs, is home to not just one or two languages but to an uncountable number of different lingual families. Languages belonging to the two major language families – Indo Aryan and Dravidian – are spoken by more than 90% of the people of India.

India is considered to be home to 461 languages, out of which 14 have been reported to be extinct. But still there is not a single Indian language that is spoken across its length and breadth. Hindi is spoken by a majority of North Indians, but it is not a popular means of communication in the southern part of India. Similarly, South Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam are not understood by the people of North India.

For the convenience of people, the Constitution of India has recognised 22 languages as the official languages of India. These are known as Scheduled Languages and constitute the major languages of the country. The list of some of the Indian languages includes: