Indian art and culture forms have since long inspired thousands of other art forms. India is considered a land of kings, monarchs, with rich culture and deep traditions. Indias culture dates back to 1300 A.D when the greatest of art forms developed and flourished over the next 3 centuries until the 1600s A.D where in artifacts and structures such as the Taj Mahal, Lal Qila were built in and around the capital of India. Right since the start, many religions and sects such as Parsi, Hinduism, Islam contributed their share towards the development of a beautiful system of art where in there was complete harmony and peace among the artists.
Speaking of the religious system in India, there were mainly Islamic rulers during the 13th Century in India, who had their masses as followers of Islam in majority, except for some of the subjects who followed their respective religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism etc. Talking about the Islamic rulers, since they captured the capital of India, i.e. Delhi, it was known as the Sultanate of Delhi, which meant that the Islamic rulers had captured the area of Delhi. It is largely suggested in History that the 13th century was a period of Indian Cultural Renaissance where in Hindu-Muslim relations fostered and paved way for many artistic forms to take concrete form such as poetry, literature, music, clothing and many others. It is also said that the language of Urdu was born as a result of the fusion between Sanskrit and Persian languages spoken by the scholars during the times of
Babur, Humayun and Akbar. Urdu language continues to inspire poetries from the East till date and poetry in ghazals and sufi songs remains a novelty even in todays times. The Mughal dynasty was not the only empire ruling India during the 13th, 14th, and the 15th century. The Vijaynagar empire was also famous far and wide, and known especially for it wonderful architecture and frescoes on the walls of the palace and temples which often included those of Hindu deities. Till date, we see that those famous frescoes on the walls are replicated in some form or the other and sold in western countries where theyre hugely popular among the people of Indian origin living there, who are citizens of the western countries. During the 14th century, Vasco Da Gama found an Indo-European trade link, which proved to be a big success for Indian art to spread worldwide, and tell the whole world what a powerhouse of customs, traditions, skilled artisans and technicians. But by that time, Indian handicraft industry started suffering, since colonial rule bought about the new policies where in just raw materials from India were sent to Europe for processing in factories, and which were later returned as highly priced polished articles back to India. Thus, people purchased handicrafts from those imported goods and small scale art production houses died out.
During the 15th Century, Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar became the ruler of Delhi. His palace was famous for the Nav-ratans. Till date, we see that people speak about Birbal and Tansen, and kids from all over the world read their stories. As we move on to something yet more modern at mind but yet so old at heart, we can say that during the 1500s, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born.
So Indian dance forms and customs have something which is classical in nature, and has its roots in and around the 13th century, yet are still famous in western cultures. On a final note about the Hindu arts and customs, I think that due to the rising popularity of the Buddhist culture and art forms, which originated in and around China, for a small period of time, Hinduism lost focus, and many started following Buddhism. It is believed that after the phase of Gautam Buddha, the art started picking up.
Talking about the Jain aspect of it, Jains are said to be the most harmless human beings, since they avoid even walking on the grass for the fear of facing the wrath of their God for hurting the life in the grass. Many high class and excellent Jain sculptures have been found at various places where in there are rock cut caves and stupas too. Such places in India include MP, Bundelkhand, and cave temples in Orissa. These provide a source of entertainment, tourism and a method of appreciating art by the westerners who visit India. Now leaving aside the artistic and cultural influence which Hindus, Jains and Buddhists have on the west, let us consider the influence of the whole Indian art from a broader point of view. Art is a multi-faceted term, and is found on every facet and every nook and corner in India. The Indian art and culture thus tends to influence people by the following
Bollywood movies We project all our holy customs, traditions and art forms of dance, acting and drama on screen through our movies and plays. Hence, this catches the attention of the west.
Tourism Various tourism since the time of the rulers has shown that India is beautiful both aesthetically as well as artistic and culturally. This helps Indians spread all kinds of their Jain, Hindu and Buddhist culture to the west.
Through seminars and conferences The conferences and seminars of art and art pieces held by Indian art maestros in foreign land have an impact on them.
With the addition of Islam, and the recent activities by Islamic fundamentalists in the name of religion have to a large extent spoiled the name of their religion. People now fear Islamic people wherever they see them, for the very fact that they assume all Islam followers to be extremists. Though regular seminars and conferences the world over say that the meaning of Islam is Peace, the western countries have a changed attitude towards all the Gulf countries and basically, the Islamic populated region, and theyre often treated with hostility and suspicion. The religion Islam in itself has many art forms to offer, such as palmistry (which falls under the category of mystical art), classical music, classical dances, poetry etc. With over 100s of languages being spoken in the country of India, and so the addition of Islam, the language system has become more diverse and cultures have become difficult to comprehend, accept and understand. Thus, there are increased forms too. If there is a way of promoting the artistic works and cultural interests of Islamic group, it must be ensured that all of them are literate enough, so that there is no crime or rating in this field of art work.
Speaking of the religious system in India, there were mainly Islamic rulers during the 13th Century in India, who had their masses as followers of Islam in majority, except for some of the subjects who followed their respective religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism etc. Talking about the Islamic rulers, since they captured the capital of India, i.e. Delhi, it was known as the Sultanate of Delhi, which meant that the Islamic rulers had captured the area of Delhi. It is largely suggested in History that the 13th century was a period of Indian Cultural Renaissance where in Hindu-Muslim relations fostered and paved way for many artistic forms to take concrete form such as poetry, literature, music, clothing and many others. It is also said that the language of Urdu was born as a result of the fusion between Sanskrit and Persian languages spoken by the scholars during the times of
Babur, Humayun and Akbar. Urdu language continues to inspire poetries from the East till date and poetry in ghazals and sufi songs remains a novelty even in todays times. The Mughal dynasty was not the only empire ruling India during the 13th, 14th, and the 15th century. The Vijaynagar empire was also famous far and wide, and known especially for it wonderful architecture and frescoes on the walls of the palace and temples which often included those of Hindu deities. Till date, we see that those famous frescoes on the walls are replicated in some form or the other and sold in western countries where theyre hugely popular among the people of Indian origin living there, who are citizens of the western countries. During the 14th century, Vasco Da Gama found an Indo-European trade link, which proved to be a big success for Indian art to spread worldwide, and tell the whole world what a powerhouse of customs, traditions, skilled artisans and technicians. But by that time, Indian handicraft industry started suffering, since colonial rule bought about the new policies where in just raw materials from India were sent to Europe for processing in factories, and which were later returned as highly priced polished articles back to India. Thus, people purchased handicrafts from those imported goods and small scale art production houses died out.
During the 15th Century, Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar became the ruler of Delhi. His palace was famous for the Nav-ratans. Till date, we see that people speak about Birbal and Tansen, and kids from all over the world read their stories. As we move on to something yet more modern at mind but yet so old at heart, we can say that during the 1500s, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born.
So Indian dance forms and customs have something which is classical in nature, and has its roots in and around the 13th century, yet are still famous in western cultures. On a final note about the Hindu arts and customs, I think that due to the rising popularity of the Buddhist culture and art forms, which originated in and around China, for a small period of time, Hinduism lost focus, and many started following Buddhism. It is believed that after the phase of Gautam Buddha, the art started picking up.
Talking about the Jain aspect of it, Jains are said to be the most harmless human beings, since they avoid even walking on the grass for the fear of facing the wrath of their God for hurting the life in the grass. Many high class and excellent Jain sculptures have been found at various places where in there are rock cut caves and stupas too. Such places in India include MP, Bundelkhand, and cave temples in Orissa. These provide a source of entertainment, tourism and a method of appreciating art by the westerners who visit India. Now leaving aside the artistic and cultural influence which Hindus, Jains and Buddhists have on the west, let us consider the influence of the whole Indian art from a broader point of view. Art is a multi-faceted term, and is found on every facet and every nook and corner in India. The Indian art and culture thus tends to influence people by the following
Bollywood movies We project all our holy customs, traditions and art forms of dance, acting and drama on screen through our movies and plays. Hence, this catches the attention of the west.
Tourism Various tourism since the time of the rulers has shown that India is beautiful both aesthetically as well as artistic and culturally. This helps Indians spread all kinds of their Jain, Hindu and Buddhist culture to the west.
Through seminars and conferences The conferences and seminars of art and art pieces held by Indian art maestros in foreign land have an impact on them.
With the addition of Islam, and the recent activities by Islamic fundamentalists in the name of religion have to a large extent spoiled the name of their religion. People now fear Islamic people wherever they see them, for the very fact that they assume all Islam followers to be extremists. Though regular seminars and conferences the world over say that the meaning of Islam is Peace, the western countries have a changed attitude towards all the Gulf countries and basically, the Islamic populated region, and theyre often treated with hostility and suspicion. The religion Islam in itself has many art forms to offer, such as palmistry (which falls under the category of mystical art), classical music, classical dances, poetry etc. With over 100s of languages being spoken in the country of India, and so the addition of Islam, the language system has become more diverse and cultures have become difficult to comprehend, accept and understand. Thus, there are increased forms too. If there is a way of promoting the artistic works and cultural interests of Islamic group, it must be ensured that all of them are literate enough, so that there is no crime or rating in this field of art work.
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