→Hundreds of years ago, Indian

artists created visual images of

dancing Shivas in a beautiful
series of bronzes.
→In our time, physicists have
used the most advanced
technology to portray the
patterns of the cosmic dance.
The metaphor of the cosmic
dance thus unifies ancient
mythology, religious art and
According to quantum field theory,
the dance of creation and
destruction is the basis of the very
existence of matter.
Modern physics has thus revealed
that every subatomic particle not
only performs an energy dance, but
also is an energy dance; a pulsating
process of creation and destruction.
For the modern physicists then,
Shiva’s dance is the dance of
subatomic matter, the basis of all
existence and of all natural
phenomena
The statue captures Shiva
performing the Tandava, a dance
believed to be the source of the
cycle of creation, preservation
and destruction.The dance exists
in five forms which shows the
cosmic cycle from creation to
destruction:
'Srishti' - creation, evolution
'Sthiti' - preservation, support
'Samhara' - destruction,
evolution
'Tirobhava' - illusion
'Anugraha' - release,
emancipation, grace
In times of crisis,
the arts are
weapons for the
soul
Works of → why we seek out art that confronts us
art with images and stories of suffering, at
the same time as we try to avoid such
compel witnessing or feelings of suffering in our

our actual lives.

attention → work on us via catharsis – they provoke

– but pity and fear, which then wash away at
the end , leaving us relieved.
can they
Is art
→ when you are in the presence of an
unequivocally great work of art, it seems to

a
open a door to a realm of ideas and
emotions not accessible through any other
route.

windo → It’s a quality that goes far beyond

prettiness or great skill, which on their own

w into can numb and irritate, and it transcends

the visceral excitement of paint, or the

anoth
sorcery of summoning life onto canvas.
If → when does the machine become an author of an
artwork? And how can we form an understanding

machines of the art that it makes?

want to
make art, → artist and you share something far more important
than cultural references: you share a similar kind
will of body and, with it, a similar kind of embodied
perspective -- All conscious machines will have
humans embodied experiences of their own, but in bodies
that will be entirely alien to us.
understa
nd it?
What is Art? → Art is a wide range of human activities (or the products
thereof) that involve creative imagination and an aim to
express technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power,
or conceptual ideas.
→ There is no generally agreed definition of what
constitutes art, and ideas have changed over time. The
three classical branches of visual art are painting,
sculpture, and architecture.Theatre, dance, and other
performing arts, as well as literature, music, film and
other media such as interactive media, are included in a
broader definition of the arts.
Prehistoric Rock
Art
Harappan
Art
Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli Maurayan
Art
LION CAPITAL, SARNATH

Times of
Ashoka
Post Gandhara
Mauryan
Art
Rock Cut
Arhitecture

Ajanta
cave
Buddha Mural
Paintings
Kailasa ,
Ellora
Krishna playing flute, Krishna temple,
Pundareekapuram
Sun temple,
Konark
Vishwanatha temple,
Khajuraho
Vishwanatha temple,
Khajuraho
Mughal/ Indo-Islamic
Architecture
Mati kahe
kumhar se tu kya
raundhe mohe,
Ek din aisa ayega
main
Cla
y

raundhoongi
tohe - Kabir
Stone art

‘Mahabalipuram Stone
Sculpture
Metal Chola
Bronze
paper
 Mashru and Himru

Kanjivara
m
Ikat
silk
Art and
Culture
An introduction

By amit Varidhi
kilhor
Art and culture →Chapter 1

Nitin Singhania
Sources → ,BROADLY· the sources. for anCient India’s history can be'
classified under two main categories. The first is literary
and the second archaeological.

→ Under the literary sources can be included Vedic,

Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and other literature besides foreign
accounts. Under the broad head of archaeology we may
consider epigraphic, numismatic and architectural
remains besides archaeological explorations and
excavations – inscriptions, edicts, coins,
Timeline

→imagine that the

earth is 46 years old.
→ Her continents were quite bare of life till she was almost 42 and flowering plants did
not appear until she was 45 - just a year ago
→ The dinosaurs passed away eight months ago
→ In the middle of last week, in Africa, some manlike apes developed into apelike man
→ Just over four hours have elapsed since a new species Homo sapiens came into
existence and in the last hour it invented agriculture and settled down
→ Just about 30 minutes back the Pre-Harappan and Early Harappan cultures started
developing. Just about 14 minutes back Buddha delivered his first sermon at
Saranath
→ Akbar made a pilgrimage to Sufi Saint Salim Chisti just about two minutes back. India
became a proud independent nation hardly two seconds back.
It is now well established that the
earliest human fossils found in
Africa dates back to about 4.2 m.y.
These specimens show that the
earliest human beings were shorter
in height and had a smaller brain.

The humans evolved over a period

of these 42lakhs years and the
present form reached about 50,000
 → approximately 10,000 years ago, climatic conditions
Neolithic age more or less similar to those of today were established
The beginning of in western and southern Asia. This provided the setting
settled life for a number of important advances in human control of
the environment and led to a series of events which
resulted ultimately in the appearance of the first urban
societies in both regions, some six thousand years ago.
Perhaps the most fundamental advance that has affected
the course of human life was the domestication of a
large number of animals and plants.
→ evidence suggests that in west Asia, wheat and barley
were domesticated by c. 7000 B.C. Rice seems to have
been domesticated in India by about 7000 B.C., as the
evidence from Koldihwa in the Belan valley shows
In the Indian context, the Neolithic agriculture
based regions can roughly be divided into four
groups: (i) the Indus system and its western
borderland; (ii) Ganga valley (iii) western India
and the northern Deccan and (iv) the southern
Deccan. The economy of all these early Neolithic
cultures was based on agriculture and animal
domestication. The earliest evidence for Neolithic
culture based on agricultural economy comes
from the north-western part of the Indo-Pakistan
region - basically in the Quetta valley and in the
Valleys of Loralai and Zob rivers
Mehrgarh has been most extensively examined.
The evidence shows that the habitation here
began in about c. 7000 B.C. but in the early period
no use of ceramic is seen. However, in about a
1000 years time i.e. around c. 6000 B.C. earthen
pots and pans come in use: first handmade and
then wheel-made.
→ certain broad conclusions. The earliest Neolithic settlements
in the Indian subcontinent first developed in the west of the
Indus. Here at Mehrgarh the Neolithic culture began
→ about 8,000 B.C. and soon it became a widespread
phenomenon. People lived in mud houses, wheat and barley
were cultivated, and cattle, sheep and goat were
domesticated. Long-distance trade for precious goods was
also carried 011. Almost about the same time, similar
developments took place in the Belan valley also. By about
3,000 B.C. Neolithic culture was a widespread phenomenon
and covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent.
 → a full-fledged civilization, in central India and Deccan a very different
Chalcolithic
kind of culture developed which, though using metal, never reached
the level of urbanisation.
Almost all these Chalco lithic → This was known as Chalcolithic culture. Some of these cultures were
cultures flourished in the contemporary with the Harappan
black cotton soil zone. This
clearly represents an
ecological adaptation
dictated by available
technology, knowledge and
means

leads to the supposition that

we are dealing here with a
system of dry farming,
THE Harappan civilization
Its known extent in the west is
upto Sutkagendor in
Baluchistan;
Alamgirpur in Meerut District
(Uttar Pradesh) in the east;
Daimabad (Ahmadnagar
District, Maharashtra) in south;
and
Manda (Akhnoor District,
Jammu and Kashmir) in the
north, covering an area of
almost 1600 km. east-west and
1400 km. north-south
Most of the 1400 settlements belonging to
this civilization can be classified as small
villages (which are upto 10 hectares), a
few larger towns and small cities (10 to 50
hectares).
Some of the settlements like Mohenjodaro
(+ 250 hectares), Harappa (+150
hectares), Ganawariwala (+80 hectares)
and Rakhigarhi (+80 hectares), Kalibangan
(+100 hectares), and Dholavira (+100
hectares) can easily be classed as large
Art and culture →Chapter 1

Nitin Singhania
important sites of
the Indus Valley
Civilisation and
their archaeological
findings
Harappa in
present Pakistan
on the bank of
River Ravi

mother goddess
sculpture, wheat
and barley in
wooden mortar
Mohenjo-daro in
present Pakistan on the
River Indus –
the citadel, the great
bath, the great granary,
post cremation burial,
sculpture of bearded
priest, the famous
bronze statue of the
Dancing Girl and
Pashupati Seal.
→Dholavira in
Gujarat – giant
water reservoir,
unique water
harnessing system,
stadium, dams and
embankments
Lothal (Manchester
of Indus Valley
Civilisation)
naval trade, had a
dockyard, rice husk,
fire altars, painted
jar,
practice of burial of
cremated remains.
Rakhigarhi in Haryana
is considered to be
the largest site of
Indus Valley
Civilisation. Granary,
cemetery, drains,
terracotta bricks have
been found here.
It is called the
provincial capital of
Surkotada in Gujarat – first actual remains of
the horse bones

Mehrgarh in Pakistan, considered precursor to

Indus Valley Civilisation. Pottery, copper tools
have been found.

Chanhudaro (Lancashire of India) located in

present day Pakistan – only Indus city without
a citadel. Bead making factory and use of
lipsticks has been found.
Kot Bala (Pakistan) earliest evidence of
furnace.
Architecture in
Harappan
Civilisation
→Mainly three types of
buildings have been
found in the excavation
sites – dwelling houses,
public buildings and
public baths.
The civilization's cities
were noted for their
urban planning, baked
brick houses, elaborate
drainage systems, water
supply systems, clusters
of large non-residential
buildings.

metallurgy (copper,
bronze, lead, and tin)
infrastructural city plan, in that
they had sophisticated systems to
control the flow of water and waste
with public wells and drains that
may have required advanced
planning to implement.

The cities were divided into

rectilinear grids, encircled by
fortifications, with each block
containing a network of houses
and public wells. Harappan cities
featured urban and social
elements such as roads, fire pits,
kilns, and industrial buildings
An important feature of the
Harappan cities is the
prevalence of public baths,
which indicate the
importance of ritualistic
cleansing in their culture.
These baths also had an
array of galleries and rooms
surrounding it. The most
famous example of a public
bath is the ‘Great Bath’ in
The most striking feature
of Harappan Civilisation is
the advanced drainage
system. Small drains ran
from each house and were
connected to larger drains
running alongside the
main roads.
The drains were covered
loosely to allow regular
cleaning and maintenance
 →Thousands of steatite seals have been
SEALS
recovered
→most of the seals are square

→Most of the seals have inscriptions in a

pictographic script which is yet to be
deciphered.
→Animal impressions were also there
(generally five) which were carved
intaglio on the surfaces. The common
animal motifs were unicorn, humped bull,
rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, buffalo, bison,
goat, markour, ibex, crocodile, etc.
The Pashupati Seal (also
Mahayogi seal,Proto-Śiva seal;
the adjective "so-called"
sometimes applied to
"Pashupati"), is a steatite seal of
Mohenjo-daro,
is unusual in having a human
figure as the main and largest
element; in most seals this is an
animal
It had been claimed to be one of
the earliest depictions of the
Hindu god Shiva—"Pashupati"
(Lord of animals) being one of The figure, referred to as Pashupati wears a three-
horned headgear and is surrounded by animals. An
his epithets, or a "proto-Shiva" elephant and a tiger are there on the left side of the
figure while a rhinoceros and a buffalo are seen on the
deity right side. Two antelopes are shown below the seat of
Bronze Figures: The Harappan Civilisation
saw a wide scale practise of bronze
casting. The bronze statues were made
using “lost wax technique” or “Cire
Perdue”.
Dancing Girl is a prehistoric
bronze sculpture made in lost-
wax casting about c. 2300–
1750 BCE in the Indus Valley
Civilisation city of Mohenjo-
daro
wears a number of bangles and a
necklace and is shown in a natural
standing position
wears 24 to 25 bangles on her left
arm and 4 bangles on her right arm
bronze bull of
Kalibangan

The
Dancing
Girl is the
world’s
oldest
Terracotta
Terracotta refers to the
use of fire baked clay for
making sculptures.
Compared to the bronze
figures, the terracotta
sculptures found are less
in number and crude in
shape and form. They
were made using pinching
method and have been
found mostly in the sites
of Gujarat and Kalibangan.
The Mother Goddess figures have
been found in many Indus sites,
which highlights its importance. It is
a crude figure of a standing female
adorned with necklaces hanging
over prominent breasts. She wears a
loincloth and a girdle. She also
wears a fan-shaped headgear.
The facial features are also shown
very crudely and lacks finesse. She
was probably worshipped for
 Priest-King (sculpture)

It is "the most famous stone

sculpture" of the Indus Valley
civilization ("IVC"). The
sculpture is incomplete,
broken off at the bottom, and
possibly unfinished.
dated to around 2000–1900
BCE, in Mohenjo-daro's Late
Period.
name Priest-King is now
The potteries found at the
excavation sites can be
broadly classified into two
kinds – plain pottery and
painted pottery.
The painted pottery is also
known as Red and Black
Pottery as it used red colour
to paint the background and
glossy black paint was used
to draw designs and figures
on the red background
Ornaments → . Both men and women wore ornaments like
necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger rings. Girdles,
earrings and anklets were worn only by women.
Beads made from carnelian, amethyst, quartz,
steatite, etc. were quite popular and were
produced on a large scale, as is evident from the
factories discovered in Chanhudaro and Lothal.
→ For fabric, the Harappans used cotton and wool
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