-Ishani Pandya

Slides are available on

mrunal.org
 Introduction

 We can divide the subject in three parts for our convenience.

1.Visual arts

2.Performing arts

3.Miscellenous arts
1.Visual arts

architecture

sculpture

pottery

painting
 Visual arts

1.Indian Architecture
2.Indian Sculpture
Indian Architecture and sculpture

Buddhist
Indus valley architecture &
civilization sculpture
(mauryan period)

Temple Indo-Islamic
Modern
architecture(Gupt architecture
architecture
a age sculpture & and medieval
and sculpture
south Indian art) sculpture
 Imperial
style
Delhi
sultanate
Medieval Provincial
architecture style
Mughal
period
 Modern Indian architecture

 Two styles
1. Indo-gothic
2. Neo-roman
1.Visual arts

architecture

sculpture

pottery

painting
Paintings of India
 Painting as an art
 In Kamasutra,painting is tslisted as one of the fine arts out of 64
fine arts.
 Vatsayana has mentioned 6 principals(limbs) of painting.
 Shadanga(6 limbs/principals)
1) Rupbheda-Appearance
2) Praman-Scale
3) Lavan yojanam-Color Arrangement
4) Sadrashyam-Symmetry
5) Bhaav-Emotions
6) Varnika bhanga-Use of Brushes.
 Indian
painting

Mural Miniature
paintings paintings
 Mural paintings

 They are large works executed on the walls of

the large structure
2 types-Dry fresco and wet fresco
 Ajanta caves,Lepakdhi temple,Ellora caves etc
 Mostly done during Gupta age
 Mural paintings of Gupta age

 Ajanta paintings
 Expression of emotions through hand postures
 Birds and animals are also shown with emotions
 Fresco paintings
 Tempera style used-using pigments
 Theme-Buddhism-jataka tales,life of Buddha
 More spiritual paintings-half closed eyes.(in South Indian paintings-fully
open eyes-paintings of dancers and hence fully open eyes(more expressive) .
 Bagh paintings
 Same as Ajanta paintings
 Ellora paintings
 Theme-Hinduism,Buddhism and Jainism
 Scenes of Ramayana and Mahabharata
 Shiva as Natraj,battle scenes, elephant in the lotus pond
 Techniques same as Ajanta paintings but difference in
size.
Mural paintings of Vijayanagar empire

 Lepakshi paintings
 Flourished during Vijayanagara kingdom
 Theme-not religious but secular
 Complete absence of primary colours(hence
appear to be dull)
 Bad quality
 Decline in paintings
 Some of the wall paintings of this declining period in
the reign of Prince of Travancore in Kerala
 in the palaces of Jaipur in Rajasthan and in the
Rangmahal of the Chamba palace in Himachal Pradesh
are worth mentioning. 
 Indian
painting

Mural Miniature
paintings paintings
 Miniature painting

 Very detailed and small paintings

 Executed on very small scale
 Inbooks,manuscripts or on other material like
paper,cloth and even glass
 TECHNIQUE
 Paintings were executed in the traditional tempera technique.
 After mixing colors in water along with a binding medium they were
applied on the drawing.
 First, the sketch was freely drawn in red or black over which a white
priming was given.
 The surface was thoroughly burnished till the outline showed clearly
through it. Then a second outline was drawn with a fine brush.
 First the background was colored and then the sky, buildings and trees, etc.
Figures were painted last of all after which a final outline was drawn.
 When copies were made from perforated sketches by rubbing- charcoal
powder, the dotted outline took the place of the first drawing.
 Colors used in paintings were obtained from minerals and ochers. Indigo
was the vegetable color. Lac-dye and red carmine were obtained from
insects.
Technical rule for miniature painting

 Miniature painting’s size should not greater than 25 inch square

 The subject must not be painted greater than one sixth of its
original size
 Paintings are not merely about size but also the level of detail that
differentiates it from small paintings
 Miniature is derived from latin word minium meaning red led
paint used in illuminated manuscript during renaissance
 It has nothing to do with size
Features of Indian miniature painting
 Most human characters are shown with side profile
 Big eyes
 Pointed nose
 Women-slim waste,long hair
 Skin colour-brown
 Hair and eye-black
 Skin colour of Krishna-blue
 Dress-traditional indian dress
 Men have turbans on their head
 Initially natural colours were used
 Famous painters-vaachak,Nihaal chand
 Various types of miniature painting

 Pal school of painting-Bengal, Bihar

 Apabhransha school-Gujarat, Mewar
 Mughal painting
 Regional schools
 Pal school of miniature

 Lonely human figures found

 Mainly manuscript paintings
 Initially done on palm leaf, later on paper
 Theme-Buddhist and Hinduism
 Nature representation-banana and coconut tree
 Apabransha school

 Mewar and Gujarat region

 Theme-Jain and Vaishnav
 Charesteristic-
 Bulgin eyes
 Pointed nose
 Double chin
 Use of bright and gold colours
 Figures are stiff
 Animals and birds are represented as toys
 Medieval
paintings

Mughal Regional
paintings school
 Mughal paintings

 Indian,Persian and European influence

Features
 mostly or generally miniature paintings
 Use of brilliant colours
 Accuracy in line drawing
 Ornamentation
 Variety of themes
 Use of forsightening technique
Babur
 No time for painting
 Patronized a Persian painter-Bihzad

Humayun
 He brought 2 Persian painters-
1. Abdus sammad
2. Mir sayyed Ali
 So Persian influence is there
 Akbar
 Established the separate department for painting
 Concept of karkhana
 In the karkhanas,indian painters were invited---Indian influence
 Features
 Famous painters-Dashwant,Baswan,Kesu
 Mostly miniature painting
 3D figures
 Indian,Persian and European influence
 Caligraphy,forsightening technique
 Theme-fairs and festivals
 Combined efforts of painters started
 Jahangir

 Mughal period reached at its climax

 Jahangir was naturalist-preferred paintings on the theme of
birds,animals and other elements of nature like flowers
 Portrait painting started
 Decorated margins
 He had his workshop too
 Famous painter-Ustad Mansoor
 Famous paintings-zebra,Turkey,maulaana do pyaaza
 shahjahan

 Too much use of gold,silver and bright colours

 Reduced liveliness
 Artificial look
 This unnatural look suggests European influence
 Pencil drawing/sketching started
 Aurangzeb

 Discouraged paintings
 Dispersal of artists from Mughal court
 Hence the concept of regional school started
THE DECCANI SCHOOLS (CIRCA 1560-1800 A.D.)

 no pre-Mughal painting from the Deccan are so far known to exist

 it can safely be presumed that sophisticated schools of painting flourished
there, making a significant contribution to the development of the Mughal
style in North India.
 Early centres of painting in the Deccan, during the 16th and 17th centuries
were Ahmednagar, Bijapur and Golconda.
 In the Deccan, painting continued to develop independently of the Mughal
style in the beginning. However, later in the 17th and 18th centuries it was
increasingly influenced by the Mughal style.
 Regional school

Rajastahni school Pahari school

• Malwa school • Basohli school
• Mewar school • Guler school
• Marwar school • Kangra school
• Bundi school • kullu–mandi school
• Kota school • Chamba school
• Jaipur/amber school • Thangka school
• Bikaner school • Jammu school
• Kishangadh school • Odisha school
 Rajasthani school of painting
 Themes based on hindu tradition and mythology
 Battle scenes,hunting scenes and riding scenes
 Developed in 3 phases
(1)1st phase-16th century
 Mural paintings-simple and on solid & dark background
(2)2nd phase-early 17th century
 Sophisicated paintings
(3)3rd phase-17th-18th century
 Portrait painting in rajasthani style
 Mughal influence,miniature painting mainly
 Representation of Radha-Krishna,nayak-nayika and hunting
scenes
 Malwa school

 Some of the important paintings executed in the Malwa style are

a series of the Rasikapriya dated 1634 A.D.
 a series of the Amaru Sataka painted in 1652 A.D.
 Mewar school

 Also known as ragmala paintings

 Paintings were based on Ragas
 Paintings,music and poetry comes togather in these
paintings
 unique
 Marwar school
 Theme-Radha-Krishna
 Also known as Kishangarh School
 Liberal use of gold
 The face of male and female is similar.
 Krishna is painted in blue
 Narrow eye-brows
 Lotus fatal shaped eyes
 Minimum Mughal influence
 The miniatures are executed in a primitive and vigorous folk style and are
completely uninfluenced by the Mughal style.        .
 A large number of miniatures comprising portraits, court scenes, series of the
Ragamala and the Baramasa, etc. were executed from the 17th to 19th centuries
at several centres of painting like Pali, Jodhpur and Nagour etc. in Marwar.
 Bundi school
 Around Aravalli range
 Sky is painted in different colours-mostly-red colour ribbon is visible in the sky
 Local vegetation is painted in detail
 Themes-scenes of pleasure-loving princess etc
 Mostly miniature
 Human face-round
 Sharp nose,narrow eye brows
 The Mughal influence is visible in the refined drawing of the faces and an
element of naturalism in the treatment of the trees.
 The text is written in black against yellow background on the top.
 AMBER – JAIPUR school

 The State of Amber had the closest relations with the Mughal
Emperors.
 It is generally believed that a school of painting originated at
Amber, the old capital of the Amber State, in early 17th century.
 Later on in the 18th century, the centre of artistic activity shifted
to Jaipur, the new capital.
 There is a fairly large number of portraits of the Jaipur rulers and
miniatures on other subjects which can definitely be assigned to
the Jaipur School.
 Kotah school

 A style of painting very much akin to the Bundi style

also prevailed in Kotah a place near Bundi, during the
late 18th and 19th centuries.
 Themes of tiger and bear hunt were very popular at
Kotah.
 In Kotah paintings, most of the space is occupied by the
hilly jungle which has been rendered with a unique
charm.
 Bikaner school
 Bikaner was one of the States which had close relations with the
Mughals.
 Some of the Mughal artists during the later half of the 17th
century were given patronage by the Bikaner court
 They were responsible for the introduction of a new style of
painting having much similarity with the Mughal and the Deccani
styles.
 One important artist Ali Raza "the Ustad (master) of Delhi", was
employed by Raja Karan Singh of Bikaner in about 1650 A.D.
 Some other noteworthy artists who worked at the Bikaner court
were Ruknuddin and his son Shahadin.
 Kishangarh school
 During the second quarter of the 18th century, there developed the most charming school
of Rajasthani painting in Kishengarh under the patronage of Raja Savant Singh (1748-1757
A.D.)
 He wrote devotional poetry in praise of Krishna, under the assumed name of Nagari Das.
 Unfortunately only a small number of Kishengarh miniatures are available.
 Most of them are believed to have been done by the master painter Nihal Chand who, in
his works, has been able to create visual images of his master's lyrical compositions.
 The artist has executed types of human figures, delicately drawn, with slender bodies and
uptilted eyes.
 The painting is marked by delicate drawing, fine modelling of the human figures and cows
and the broad vista of landscape showing a stream, rows of overlapping trees, and
architecture.
 The artist has displayed a masterly skill in the grouping of many figures in the miniature.
The painting has a golden inner border. It is ascribed to the middle of the 18th century and
may be the work of Nihal Chand the famous artist of Kishengarh.
 Rajasthani
Mughal style
style
• Based on indigenous fresco • Miniature-Persian influence
and mural paintings-later
miniature-Mughal influence
• Theme-royal pomp, court
• Theme-religious and scenes, animals and birds(less
devotional emphasis on human)
• Based on Persian poetry and
Mughal history
• Depicts Sanskrit textual details • Use of trees, camels and falcon
• Hindu symbols used-
swastika,swan,lotus
 Pahari school of painting

 Started in 7-18th century

 Mostly miniature
 Discovered by Met calf in kangra valley(1836)
 Pahari school has 2 influence-Mughal and rajasthani
 Theme-boyhood pranks of Krishna,delicate grace of
Indian womanhood,radha-Krishna love scenes
 BASOHLI school
 The earliest centre of painting in the Pahari region was Basohli where under
the patronage of Raja Kripal Pal, an artist named Devidasa executed
miniatures in the form of the Rasamanjari illustrations
 The Basohli style of painting is characterised by vigorous and bold line and
strong glowing colours
 An illustration from a series of Gita Govinda painted by artist Manaku shows
further development of the Basohli style depicts Krishna in the company of
gopis in a grove on the bank of a river.
 There is a change in the facial type which becomes a little heavier and also in
the tree forms which assume a somewhat naturalistic character, which may be
due to the influence of the Mughal painting
 Otherwise, the general features of the Basohli style like the use of strong and
contrasting colours, monochrome background, large eyes, bold drawing, use
of beetles wings for showing diamonds in ornaments, narrow sky and the red
border are observable in this miniature also.
 Guler school
 The last phase of the Basohli style was closely followed by the
Jammu group. of paintings mainly consisting of portraits of Raja
Balwant Singh of Jasrota (a small place near Jammu)
 by Nainsukh, an artist who originally belonged to Guler but had
settled at Jasrota.
 He worked both at Jasrota and at Guler.
 These paintings are in a new naturalistic and delicate style
marking a change from the earlier traditions of the Basohli art.
 The colours used are soft and cool. The style appears to have
been inspired by the naturalistic style of the Mughal painting of
the Muhammad Shah period.
 Kullu-mandi school

 flourished a folk style of painting in the Kulu-Mandi area, mainly inspired by the local
tradition.
 The style is marked by bold drawing and the use of dark and dull colours. Though influence
of the Kangra style is observed in certain cases yet the style maintains its distinct folkish
character.
 A large number of portraits of the Kulu and Mandi rulers and miniatures on other themes are
available in this style.
 example of the Kulu painting is of two girls flying kites.
 The miniature is in the folk style of the late 18th century and is marked by bold drawing and
dark and dull colour scheme.
 The background colour is dull blue. The girls are wearing the typical costumes and
ornaments which prevailed in the Kulu region in that period.
 Two flying parrots indicate sky in a symbolic manner. The miniature belongs to the collection
of the National Museum.
 Orissa school
 The earliest surviving examples of miniature painting in Orissa appear to
belong to the 17th century A.D.
 Some good examples of the paintings of this period are a court scene and four
illustrated leaves of a manuscript of the Gita Govinda
 In Orissa, palm-leaf continued to be used even upto the 19th century. The
outline drawing was rendered with a stylus on the palm-leaf and then charcoal
or ink was rubbed on the drawing.
 A few colours were sparingly used to fill in the designs. The technique of
painting on paper was, however, different and was like the one used in other
schools of painting.
 The early manuscripts display a neatness in drawing. Later on in the 18th
century the line becomes bold and a little crude but the style in general is very
decorative and ornamental.
 Kangra school

 Raja samsarchand promoted

 Love scenes of Radha-Krishna
 The school translated poetry into paintings
 Famous painters-manku,kishanlal and pattu
 Thangka school

 Ladakh region
 Miniature paintings
 Chinese influence
 Popular symbol-dragon
 Theme-Buddhist
 Use of silk in the painting
 South Indian Painting

(1) Tanjore school

 By Chola rulers
 Theme-hindu Gods and Goddesses
 Pictures of child Krishna-smiling faces of figures
 Mainly glass paintings—miniature
 Pure concentration on decoration
 Liberal use of gold
 (2)Mysore school

 17th-19th century
 Theme-Hinduism
 Particular type of paste-known as GESSO
 Paste made of zinc oxide and Arabic gum
 Unique feature-it has two or more figures. The main
subject is shown larger than others(inequality)
 Use of muted colors
 Mostly miniature paintings
 Folk paintings

Developed regionally
Folk tales, native heroes painted
Local vegetation,
Reflects the customs and culture directly
 Madhubani paintings
 Mithila region,Bihar
 Theme-Hindu Gods,mythology,wedding scenes,festival scenes,erotic
scenes,Royal court scenes
 Exclusively done by women painters
 Before 1967-mural paintings mainly
 After 1967-shifted to miniature paintings
 No space left empty
 Unique feature-outline directly drawn with brush without any preliminary
sketching
 2D figures
 Symbols are used in stead of things
 Used of coloured rice-Aripan
 Kohbar-mural paintings in bedroom-erotic theme
 Painters-Sita devi
 Pattachitra

 Traditional painting of Orissa, India.

 Based on Hindu Mythology and inspired by Jagannath and
Vaishnava cult.
 Natural colours are used in fully old traditional way by
Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter
 Is painted on canvas (Patta). Carefully done craftsmanship, rich
colors, unique designs & creative motifs, & simple themes, which
are chiefly mythological in origin on canvas.
 Paintings on the cave walls of Khandagiri and Udayagiri, Konark
temple, and many other temples in Orissa.
 kalamkari

 Done by using kalam (pen).

 Has two subtypes:
 Mausalipatnam style paintings focus on the Islamic
aesthetics and the ripe fruits is used to color the
paintings.
 Srikalahasti
style draes paintings on the hindu
mythology and the color is drawn from raw fruits.
 Warli paintings

 Tribal paintings
 Maharashtra region
 Mural paintings
 Cow dung is used for background plaster
 White coloured rice paste is used to draw figures
 Manjusha paintings

 Bhagalpur region,Bihar
 Also called as Angika art
 Mainly snake paintings
 Done on the boxes of jute and paper
 Patna qulam paintings

 Theme-common man,daily life scenes

 Miniature
 Male artists dominates
 Indo-british style
 Painters-sevakram
 Baazar paintings

 Bengal region
 European influence-figures of roman and greek
statues are copied
 Figuresof Indian gods with many arms etc are
condemned because they didn’t follow human
representation
 Everyday baazar scenes,female dancers dancing
before british officers
 Modern painting

 Western influence
 Started by Raja Ravi Varma
 Not started for glorification
 Paintings-lady in moon light,Ravan kidnapping
sita
 Bengal school

 Use of simple colours

 Reactionary approach
 Primitive features are revived
 Painters-Abhanindranath Tagore-Arabian night
series
 Rabindranath Tagore
 Rabindranath Tagore

Use of black ink lines-dominate

Sense of rhythm
Spiritituality in his images
Paintings are directly linked to his writings
 M.F.Hussain

 Perfect balance between line and color

 Photographer,painter and film-maker
 Picasso of India
 Theme-persofication of romance
 Theme-abstract art
 Favourite motif-horse
 Cubist style
2.Performing Arts

Indian Music

Dance forms

Indian theatre & drama

Indian puppetry

Indian circus
 Indian Music

 Origin-samveda and its Upveda-Gandharvaveda

 Narad is the first person who heard the message from
God
 Naad is supposed to be the basis of all creations
 Bharatmuni’s natyashastra contains several chapters on
music
 Bharat muni defined music as nritya,gayan and vadan
Pillars of Indian Musical system

1)Swara
2)Raga
3)Taal
 (1)swara

 Pitch or tone
 Notes
 Primitive sound AUM gave birth to swaras
7 swara-Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
 Sa-sadcha, Re-Rishabh, Ga-Gandhara, Ma-madhyam,
Pa-Pancham, Dha-Dhaiwat, Ni-Nishad
 (2)Raga
 It forms the basis of melody
 Combination of swaras
 In every raga,there are at least 5 swaras
 Hence,there are 3 kinds of Ragas
1) Odava Raga-5 swara/notes
2) Shadava Raga-6 swara
3) Sampurna Raga-all 7 swara
 In Hindustani music, there are 6 principal ragas
 Ragas are time specific, season specific and mood
specific.
Hindola raga-
 Time-dawn,season-spring,mood-sweetness of young couple
Dipak raga-
 Time-night,season-summer,mood-compassion
Megh raga-
 Time-mid-day,season-monsoon,mood-courage
Sri raga
 Time-evening,season-winter,mood-gladness
Malkaus
 Time-mid night,season-winter,mood-youthful love
Bhairavi
 Time-morning,season-autumn,mood-peace and devotional
 (3)Taal

 Basis of rhythm
 Arrangement of bits in a circular manner
 Total 32 kinds of taal
 range of bits-3 bit to 108 bits
3 taal-16 bits
 Indian music

Folk Music Others(fusion of

classical Modern classical and folk)

• Hindustani • Rock • Stree geet • Sugam

style • Jazz • Panihari Sangeet
• Carnatic style • Pop • Wanawan • Rabindra
• Blues • Mand Sangeet
• Trans • Lavani • Haveli
Sangeet
• Gana Sangeet
 Classical Music
Hindustani style Carnatic style
• Continuity back to Vedic times • Of more recent origin
• Outside influence • Completely indegeneous
• Freedom to artists • No freedom
• Hence, concept of gharana • No such Gharana
• Emotional music • Intellectual and spiritual music
• Northern and western India • Peninsular India
• Less Ragas-6 • More Ragas(72)-melakarta
• Ragas adhers to time,mood and season etc. • Ragas doesn’t adhere to time or anything else
• More emphasis on Instruments • More emphasis on vocal music
• Gradual building up of tempo from • Constant and fairly fast tempo
very slow to very fast throughout
• Raga based • Composition based

• nstruments-table,sarangi,sitar,santoor • Instruments-veena,mridangam,mendolin

• Common instruments-violin,flute
Sub styles under Hindustani classical

1) Dhrupada
2) Khayal
3) Dhammar
4) Thumri
5) Tarana
6) tappa
 (1)Dhrupad
 Mother of all sub-styles
 Vedic origin
 Developed in temples
 Pronouncing mantras in proper tone
 Performance of dhrupad-aalap and Bandish
 Systematic arrangements of musical parts
 Theme-Religion,philosophy,devotion,celebration of seasons
 Promoted by Raja Mansingh Tomar of Gwalior
 Akbar also made it popular through Haridas,Tansen and Baiju
Bawra
 4 gharanas under Dhrupad style

1)Dagar Gharana
 Also known as Jaipur gharana
 Related to Dagri Bani
 Gundecha brothers,Haridas,Behram Khan
2)Darbhanga Gharana
 Bihar
 Related to gauhar bani
 Founder-kartaram
 Malik family
3)Betiah Gharana
bihar
Related to Khandar bani
Hyder khan

4)Talwandi gharana
Punjab
Related to Nauhari bani
 (2)Khayal
 Khayal means an idea,thought or imagination
 More free and flowery
 Theme-divine love, separation of lovers,pranks of lord Krishna
 Lyrics-ornamental
 More words are used
 Use of taan-tempo
 Performance of khayal on the base of tempo
1)Bada khayal
2)Chhota khayal
 4 ghranas under khayal style
(1)Gwalior gharana
 Oldest
 Vishnu palushkar-famous song-raghupati raghav raja ram
(2)Kirana gharana
 Kurukshetra,Haryana
 Pt.Bheemsen Joshi,Gangubai
(3)Patiala gharana
 Rhythm is important
 Focus on emotions
 Founder-ustad bade gulam ali khan
 Begum Akhtar,Naina devi
(4)Agra gharana
 Also known as rangeela gharana
 Importance of raga
 Vijay kichlu,C.R.vyas
 (3)Dhammar style

Dhammar taal
14 beats-irregular beat
More freedom
Theme-erotic,Krishna,festsivals etc
 (4)Thumri style

 Mixed ragas
 Use of light and romantic words
 Theme-romantic
 Songs sung in BRAJ BHASHA
2 types
(1)Purbi thumri
(2)Punjabi thumri
 (5)Tarana style

 Rhythm is important
 No meaning words
 Fast tempo
 Emphasis on producing rhythm
 Requiresspecialization and skill for rythemic
manipulation
 (6)Tappa style

 Punjab
 Initially sung by camel drivers of north-west
 Very quick phrases are used
 Short taan,without much elaboration
 The style is getting extinct
 Artist-Miyah sodi
Other styles(fusion of classical and folk)

1) Sugam sangeet
2) Rabindra Sangeet
3) Haveli sangeet
4) Gana sangeet
 (1)Sugam sangeet
 Devotional songs
(1)Bhajan-sung in praise of god-meera,nanak,kabir
(2)Kirtan-Bengal region,music+dance,influence of Gitagobinda
(3)Shabad-Punjab,sung by sikh gurus
(4)Quawalli-sufi element,started by Aamir khushro
(5)Abhanga-maharashtra-namdev,tukaram harashtr
(6)Bhatiyali-boat songs from Bengal,devotional theme
(7)Tewaram-tamilnadu,sung by shaivites
(8)Ghazal-devotional touch-Persian influence on indian music
Independent couplets,theme-mystical,secular or philosophical
Artists-Mirza galib,bahadurshah zafar
 (2)Rabindra sangeet

Sungby rabinranath tagore

Worship,nature,love,celebration
 Haveli sangeet

 Temple music
 Popular in rajasthan and Gujarat
 Pushtimargi sampraday
Gana sangeet

 • Eg: Apni Azadi Ko Hum Hargis Mita Sakte Nahin, ajadee hoyni tor, Kadam
kadam
badhaye jaa, Vande Mataram etc.
 • Generally sung in chorus carrying some social message.
 • The songs are usually about Freedom, community strength, patriotism.
 Due to the British occupation in India, a lot of protest songs about anti-
imperialism/pro-socialism
 Musical instruments
(1)Sushir vadhya
 Wind instruments
 Also known as aerophones
 Flute,pungi,mouth organ,nadswaram
(2)Avanad vadhya
 We have to strike it to get the sound
 Ie-tabla.,dhol,pakhwaj
(3)Taar vadhya
 String instruments
 Guitar,violin,ravanhattha,santoor
(4)Ghana vadhya
 Solid instruments
 Rhythm keepers
 Ghunghru,jal tarang.dandiya,matki
Indian Dance
 Dance is a form of art, where the body is used as a medium of
communication
 The dance heritage of India is at least 5000 years old.
 Dance is of divine origin
 Ritual form of worship in temples
 The wall paintings of Ajanta and Ellora, the sculptures of
Khajuraho stand ample evidence for popularity of Indian dances
from ancient times
 Nataraja, the dancing Lord Shiva, is the supreme manifestation of
Indian dance
 Natyashastra

 Principalsof Indian classical dance derived from

natyashastra of bharatmuni
 Bharatmuni traces its origin from lord brahma-5th veda-
natyaveda from existing 4 vedas
 Pathya(words) taken from Rigveda
 Abhinaya(gestures)taken from Yajurveda
 Music taken from Samveda
 Rasa(emotions) taken from Atharvaveda
 Basic aspects of dance

 (1)Tandav-movements and rythm

 (2)Lasya-bhaav,grace,ras and abhinaya
 In every dance,presence of mudras and rasa is must
 9 rasa-
happiness,sorrow,compassion,wonder,anger,fear,courage,disgust
and peace
 108 fundamental mudras
 Dance is considered to be complete art
 Indian Classical dance

8 classical dances
 Two elements
 (1)governed by rules of natyashastra
 (2)Guru-shishya parampara
1. (3)Recognized by Sangeet-natak akademi
 8 classical dances of India

1) Bharatnatyam
2) Kuchipudi
3) Kathakali
4) Mohiniattam
5) Odishi
6) Manipuri
7) Kathak
8) sattariyaa
 Bharatnatyam
 Oldest among all slassical dances
 Bhava (expression), Raga (music), Tala (rhythm) and Natya
(classical theater).
 It originates in South India.
 It consists of multiple items:
 Nritta- pure dance movements Abhinaya- dramatic art of
storytelling
 Nritya- combination of nritta & abhinaya
 Evolved from devdasi tradition
 Previously known as sadir,bashiattam and tanjaur natyam
 Intially solo dance performane dominated by females
 Performed on Carnatic music.
 Costume are made of silk saris with gold embroidery and has a lot of pleats
 Necklace, Bangles and head ornaments are used as jewelry
 Bells mounted on woven pads are worn on the feet
 Fire dance
 Tandav and lasya both aspects are involved
 Knees are bent
 Dancers right hand mundra-katkamukh generally
 Visualise her body like triangle
 Theme-religious and devotional
 Ekcharya lasyanga style-one dancers plays many different roles
 Generally perfoemance completed with chanting of shlokas
 Music-carnAtic,language-Sanskrit,tamil
 artists-chiniya,ponaiyya pilley,vadivelu,shivanandam
 Present-rukmani Arundey-kalakshetra academy,yamini krishnamurti,sonal mansingh
 kuchipudi
 It originates from Andhra Pradesh.
 Village name-kuchipudi
 Intially done by male artists in group-called bhagvatharu
 It shares many common elements with Bharatanatyam.
 Theme-initially based on bhagwatpuran later a secular theme
with dominance of shringar
 In Tarangam (a unique kuchipudi dance)- dancer dances on plate
with diyas in the hands and vessel of water on the head.
 Carnatic music is used.
 Costumes are similar to Bharatanatyam.
 Costume also include ‘Katcham’ (long fold) at the back of the
costume
 Female characters wear ornaments and jewelry.
 Dancer combines herself into singer
 Use of speech
 Unique feature-Taal chitra natya-dancers draw painting on the
floor with dancing toes
 Manduk shabdam-story of a frog
 Laasya and tandav both present
 Artists-Raja and radhar Reddy,esther sharman,Indrani Rehman
 Kathakali

 It originates from Kerala state.

 Katha+kali
 Dance drama
 Theme-mythological
 Conflict between God and evil in grand manner-bhadrakali n asur wars
 Facial expression-eye and eye-brows
 Attractive make-up of characters and elaborate costumes are used.
 Performance is a combination of five elements: >Natyam (expression),
 >Nritham
 (dance), >Nrithyam (enactment), >Geetha m (vocal) and >Vadyam (instruments)
 Carnatic music is used with Manipravalam as language of songs.
 Elaborate make-up is used
 Green face color- noble characters (Pacha) >Green with red streaks-
characters with evil streaks >Red face color-excessively evil characters
>Women have yellow face color
 • Costumes are elaborate and differ according to character
 Origin in temples
 Generally it performed in open air
 It starts at night and ends with the arrival of dawn
 Brass lamp on the stage
 At the starting,continuous thundering of drums
 Arists-kala mandalam gopi,kala mandalam murli
 Mohiniattam
 Its name is derived from:
 Mohini- temptress and Attam- dance
 It’s a graceful dance performed only by women.
 Theme-love,devotion
 Laasya aspect dominates
 It has influences from Bharatanatyam and Kathakali
 Music includes Vocal (called chollu), Veena, flute, Maddalam & Idakka.
 It is characterized by realistic makeup and simple dressing.
 Costume includes white or cream sari with gold border and is profusely
pleated
 Mainly gold ornaments are used as jewelry
 Artists-madhvi amma,chinnamu amma
 Odishi
 It originates from Orissa.
 Patronized by king kharvel
 Theme-radha Krishna love,dashavtar,jagannath philosophy
 Consists of three schools(1) Mahari, (2 )Nartaki and (3) Gotipua
 Mahari-devadasi tradition
 Nartaki-royal courts
 Gotipua-young boys acting as female
 Main feautres of performance are:
 >Tribhangi- independent movement of head, chest and pelvis
 >Chauka- basic square stance
 Odissi music is used.
 Similar to bharatnatyam in terms of mudras and expression
 Costume feautres Sari- beautiful cloth wrapped around body in traditional
style in bright shades of orange, purple, red or green.
 Jewelry includes:
 Tikka (forehead ornament)
 Allaka (headpiece where tikka hangs)
 Ear covers in intricate shapes with jumkis (bell shaped earrings) hanging from
them --Chains
 Two sets of bangles (thin bracelets) worn on upper arm and wrist
 Generally group dance-create geometrical patterns-most beautiful pattern-
spiral
odishi performance concludes with a sculpture like pose-mobile sculpture
 Artists-sonal mansingh
 Manipuri
 It originates from Manipur state.
 Few features in its performance are:
 >Movements are subtle and aim at devotion and grace
 Both elements nritta and natya are balanced here
 Laasya aspect dominates
 Focus-knee and hand movements,not on expression
 >Rounded movements without jerks and sharp lines
 >Dancers feet never strike the ground hard
 Music is provided by a singer, ‘Pung’(drum), cymbals and flute.
 Costume includes:
 > Female- dress called patloi and lehenga called kumin.
Transparent odni is worn on the head and covers the face.
 >Male- usually saffron dress depicting Lord Krishna
 Dancers do not wear ankle bells in this dance form
 The dance attempts to connect body through curves with a pose in
the shape of 8-Nagbhanga mudra
 Theme-life of Vishnu,radha krishna
 Contribution of Rabindranath tagore-he promoted Manipuri dance
in shantiniketan
 sattriya
 It originated in Assam state.
 Traditionally performed by male monks-bhokoths in monestries as part of
daily rituals
 Promoted by bhakti saint-Shankar dev
 Performances are based on mythological stories and is performed by both men
and women.
 It is recognized as one of the classical dance forms of India in 2000.
 Devotional songs called borgeets are used.
 1st position called-ora
 Both tandav and laasya aspect involved
 Instruments used are khols (drums), taals (cymbals) and flute.
 Costume are made of pat (type of silk).
 Ornaments are based on traditional Assamese design
 kathak
 Name is derived from Katha (story) and Katthaka (who tells
stories).
 It originates from North India.
 Used to a temple dance,later royal patronage-court entertainment
 Spontenity
 Freedom
 Room for innovation and improvisation
 There are three main gharanas or schools: >
 Lucknow
 Jaipur
 Benares
 Based on bhaav,raga and taal
 Usually dancers sing themselves
 Emphasis on footwork
 Fundamentally-solo performance
 Main attraction –jugalbandhi between dancer and tabla artist
 Theme-radha-Krishna
 Dance progresses from slow to fast pieces. Has Footwork & spins and
includes abhinaya-expression Performed on Hindusthani music provided by
Tabla, Sitar, Santoor
 Costume includes-Ghungroos or bells on the ankles
 Female- lehenga choli or chudidaar kameez
 Male- bare chest and dhoti or kurta churidar
 Artists-Birju maharaj,lacchu maharaj,sitara devi
 Some kathaks are called gat bhaav
 Folk dance-chhau

 Recognized by UNESCO
 Mask dance
 Chhau means chhaya or shadow
 Theme-mythological-based on Ramayana or Mahabharata-conflict between God and Evil
 Martial movements are present here
 Hindustani music
 Performed during Chaitra nonth
 3 sub styles
1) Sarai kella chhau-popular in Jharkhand
2) Purulia chhau-in w.Bengal
3) Mayurbhanj chhau-mask is not used
 Purulia chhau
 Originated from the Purulia distrct .
 Mostly performed in the open space or ground field during the
night.
 •It is a mask dance performed only by the male dancers.
 The masks are made up from the clay and paper.
 It is mythological, as it is mainly based on various episodes of the
epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
 As the singer complete the invocation song, a host of drummers
and musicians start beating the Dhol and the Dhamsa
 Martial dances

 Chhau
 Gatka from Punjab-nihanga community
 Thangta-fro Manipur-display of swords important
 Kalaripattu-from kerala
 Indian puppetry

 A form of theatre or performance involving manipulation

of puppets.
 The process of animating inanimate performing objects.
Used both as entertainment - in performance - and
ceremonially in rituals and celebrations such as carnivals.
 Originating in India 4000 years ago, where the main
character in Sanskrit plays was known as “Sutradhara”,
“the holder of strings”.
 Types of puppetry
 String puppetry
 Jointed body and limbs that allow movement.
 Made of wood, or wire, or cloth stuffed with cotton, rags or saw dust and are
usually small.
 Manipulated by operating the control as well as by loosening or pulling the
relevant string
 Regional variations:
 Andhra Pradesh (Koyya Bommalata), Assam (Putala Nach),
 Karnataka (Sutrada Gombeyata), Maharashtra (Kalasutri Bahulya),
 Rajasthan (Kathputli),
 Orissa (Gopalila),
 Tamil Nadu (Bommalatam) and West Bengal (Tarer or Sutor Putul)
 Shadow puppetry

 Flat figures cut out of leather, treated to make it translucent.

 Pressed against the screen with a strong source of light behind it.
 The manipulation between the light and the screen make silhouettes or
colourful shadows, as the case may be, for the viewers who sit in front of the
screen.
 Prevalent in Orissa. Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and
Tamil Nadu.
 Tholu Bommalata, Andhra Pradesh
 Large in size and have jointed waist, shoulders, elbows and knees.
 The classical music of the region
 Coloured on both sides. Hence, throw coloured shadows on the screen.
 Ravanachhaya, Orissa
 Small in size and are in one piece with no joints.
 Made of deer skin and are conceived in bold dramatic
poses.
 Not coloured, hence throw opaque shadows on the
screen
 Apart from human and animal characters, many props
such as trees, mountains, chariots, etc also used.
 Glove puppetry

 The head is made of either papier mache, cloth or wood, with two
hands emerging from just below the neck.
 The rest of the figure consists of a long flowing skirt.
 The movements are controlled by the human hand the first finger
inserted in the head and the middle finger and the thumb are the
two arms of the puppet.
 Popular in Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala.
 Dilogues play an important role
 Rod puppetry

 Extension of glove-puppets, but often much

larger and supported and manipulated by rods
from below.
 Found mostly in West Bengal and Orissa
Putul Nautch, West Bengal

 costumed like the actors of Jatra, a traditional theatre

 Carved from wood and follow the various artistic styles of a particular region.
 Used to be of human size, but existing puppets vary from 3 to 4 feet in height
 Music of Jatra theatre (drum, harmonium and cymbals)
 Puppeteers themselves sing and deliver the stylized prose dialogues along with
a group of musicians
 Manipulated by a bamboo-made hub tied firmly to the waist of the puppeteer
on which the rod holding the puppet is placed.
 Puppeteers move and dance imparting movements to puppets.