Art and Culture
Classical dances-
There are total 8 classical dances in India
1. Bharatanatyam-
Originated in Tamilnadu (a.k.a Sadir)
Its theme is based on Shaivism
it is traditionally a team performance that consists of a female solo dancer
and other artist
2. Kathakali-
Originated in Kerala
Its theme is based on Hindu epic puranas
Traditionally perfomed by men and other artists
3. Kuchipudi-
Originated in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Its theme is based on life of Krishna (Bhagvat purana)
Performed by both men and women
4. Mohiniattam-
Originated in Kerala
Its theme is based on love and devotion to the god
It is a solo performance, performed by women
5. Kathak-
Originated in northern states of india (UP, Rajasthan )
It is greatly influenced by Lord krishna Life
It is performed by both men and women
6. Odissi-
Originated in Odisha
It is based on ideas of Vaishnavism (Jagannath as Vishnu) also Shiva and
Surya.
It was traditionally performed by women
7. Manipuri-
Originated in Manipur (a.k.a Jagoi)
Its theme is based on love of Radha-Krishna and Gopis i.e. Raslila
It is performed by male and female together
8. Sattriya-
Originated in Assam in 15th century by Shankardev
It’s play are based on Krishna and Radha also other vishnu avatar such as
Ram and Sita
Initially performed by men but now women too perform
Folk Dances-
Bihu : The Bihu dance is a folk dance from the Indian State of Assam related to
the festival of Bihu. This Jogous dance is performed by both young men and
women.
Bhangra is a folk dance conducted by Punjab Sikh farmers to celebrate the
coming of the harvest season.
Garba is a dance form that originated in the Gujarat region. Traditionally it is
performed during the nine-day Hindu festival Navaratri. Either the lamp (the
Garba Deep) or an image of the Goddess Durga is placed in the middle of
concentric rings and the people dance around the centre, bending sideways at
every step, their arms making sweeping gestures, each movement ending in a
clap.
Jhoomar is a folk dance performed during the harvest season in Punjab.It is
slower and more rhythmic form of bhangara. Though the content of these songs
is varied they are usually love with emotional songs too.
Gidha is a popular folk dance of women in Punjab. Girls or women form a circle
to start performing gidha. All of the them clap their hands and sing small coupl
ets that are humorous and spoken in Punjabi language.
Ghoomar is a traditional women’s folk dance of Rajasthan. It is performed by
groups of women in swirling robes, and accompanied by men and women
singing together.
Kummi is the folk dance popular in Tamilnadu. This is performed by women.This
dance is usually performed during temple festivals, Pongal, family functions etc.
Changu dance is a popular dance form from Orissa. It derives its name from a
kind of drum called Changu, which invariably accompanies the dance. The
dance is performed only by women. Men only sing songs.
Therukoothu is a widely popular folk dance of Tamil Nadu. Therukoothu
commonly occur during the village festivities and become the centre of all fun.
Only men take part in Therukoothu even female roles are played by the men folk.
Mayilattom is a artistic and religious form of dance performed in the Hindu
temples of Tamil Nadu.
Kavadiattam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial
worship of Murugan the Tamil God of war.
Raas or Dandiya Raas is the traditional dance form of Gujarat, India where it is
performed depicting scenes of Holi and lila of Krishna and Radha. It is perf ormed
during Navaratri evenings.
Chhau dance is popular in Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Unlike other dance
forms vocal music in Chhau hardly exists.The Chhau dances are complex
combinations of Folk and classical dance.
Yaksha gana is a musical dance drama popular in Karnataka hour before the
‘actors’ get on the stage. A performance usually depicts a story from the Indian
epics and puranas. It consists of a narrator who either narrates the story by
singing or sings pre- composed dialogues of characters, backed by musicians
playing on traditional musical instruments as the actors dance to the music.
Bamboo dance is tribal dance of Nagaland. This dance form is exclusively
performed by girls.
Rouff is a folk dance from Jammu and Kashmir.
Lavani is a folk dance from Maharashtra performed on the beats of Dholki. It is
also performed in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu.
Raut Nacha is a popular folk dance performed in Chattisgarh by Yadava and an
essential part of Tribes in Chattisgarh.
Mukhauta is a folk dance from Arunachal Pradesh.
Khol Jhagor is a folk dance from Goa.
Language and Literature-
There is no national language in India but Hindi and English both are the official
languages of India.
There are 22 officially recognized languages in India
There are 6 classical languages in India-
Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia.
Important Literary work-
Books Author
Ashtasdhyayi Panini
Mahabashya Patanjali
Manusmriti Manu
Mudrarakshas Visakhdutta
Arthasastra Chanakya
Charaksamhita Charak
Sushrutasamhita Sushrata
Buddhacharitam Ashwaghosh
Raghuvansam Kalidasa
Abhigyan Shakuntalam Kalidasa
Vikremoversia Kalidas
Ritushanharam Kalidasa
Kumarsambhavam Kalidasa
Aryabhatiya Aryabhatta
Panchsiddhanta Varahmihir
Panchatantra Vishnu Sharma
Shahnama Firdausi
Bhagvadgeeta Vedvyas
Kamasutra Katyayan
SuryaSiddhanta Aryabhatta
Hindi Lireature-
Books Authors
Anamika Suryakant Tripathi Nirala
Ramcharitmanas Tulsidas
Soorsagar Surdas
Kamayani Jai Shankar Prasad
Ajatshatru Jai Shankar Prasad
Chandrakanta Devkinandan Khattri
Godan Munshi Premchandra
Gunaho ka Devta Dharamveer Bharti
Madhushala Harivanshrai Bacchan
Jhansi ki Rani Shubhdra kumara Chauhan
Paintings-
Painting Origin
Madhubani Bihar
Phad Rajasthan
Warli Maharshtra
Gond Madhya Pradesh
Kalamkari Andhra Pradesh
Thanjavur Tamil Nadu
Kalighat Bengal
Cheriyal Scroll Telangana
Patachitra Odissa/West Bengal
Note- Miniature paintings belong to Mughal Era.
Music and Persons-
Sitar- Pandit Ravi Shankar, Uma Shankar Mishra
Tabla- Zakir Hussain, Kishan Maharaj
Flute- Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Panna Lal Ghosh
Sarod- Amjad Ali Khan, Biswajeet Roy
Shehnai- Bismillah Khan, Krishnan Balesh
Violin- T.N. Krishnan, L Subramaniam
Santoor- Shiv Kumar Sharma, Bhajan Sopari
Veena- S Balachandran , Asad Ali Khan
Guitar-Brij Bhusan Kabra
Dance And Persons-
Bharatnatyam- Yamini Krishnamurthy, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Lila Saimson and Sonal
Mansingh
Kathak- Birju Maharaj, Lacchu Maharaj, Malwika Sarkar
Kathakali- Mrinalini Sarabhai, Krishnan Kutti
Odissi- Sonal Mansingh, Kiran Sehgal
Kuchipudi- Raja Reddy, Vyajayanti, Kashi
Manipuri- Jhaveri sisters, Savita Mehta
Mohiniattam- Smitha Rajan, Sunanda Nair
Sattriya- Ghanakanta Bora Borbayan
Folk music and states-
Bihugeet- This folk music is performed in Assam during the famous Bihu festival. The music is
usually accompanied by a dance performance; it is performed thrice a year.
Pandavani- Pandavani is a folk song which narrates the heroics of characters from the
Mahabharata. This folk music is popular in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh.
Bhatiali- Bhatiali was sung by the fishermen of ancient Bengal.
Bhavageete- Bhavageete is one of the most important folk music of Karnataka. Bhavageete
literally means music of expression and hence, the singer’s expressions constitute the most
important aspect of this form of music. The subject matter of this musical form deals with nature,
love, philosophy, etc.
Naatupura Paadalgal- Naatupura Paadalgal is an ancient musical form of Tamil Nadu.
Kajari - belongs to Uttar Pradesh, These songs are used to describe a woman’s longing for her
lover.
Bauls-During the 18th and 19th century, a set of musicians from Bengal came to be known as
the Bauls. The music employed by them was often religious in nat ure and some were influenced
by the tantric sect of the Kartabhajas. Bauls travelled throughout the country in search of the
eternal truth.
Chakari - Chakri is one of the most important folk music of the state J&K. As it narrates famous
love stories, it is often sung at weddings.
Birha- Belongs to Uttar Pradesh. Themes used in these folk songs often revolve around the
separation of lovers.
Khubakeshei-belongs to Manipur, Sung by a group of people, ‘Khubakeshei’ is a type of
devotional folk music.
Gha To Kito- belongs to Sikkim, Often accompanied by dance performances, ‘Gha To Kito’
describes the natural beauty of the state.
