The Art of our Ancestors
Art is the way of representing reality in an attractive and charming way. Think of a candle. The work of a candle is to burn and produce light. But why is it that artistic candles are expensive. Why they are in greater demand than normal candles. The simple answer to it is they look good to us. No matter how small or big the work may be but if the work is done, in artistic way or rather say by a sophisticated representation, it surely makes a greater impact on the audience.
According to current scenario, a product is attractive as long as it is new or unique. The instant when a new product comes, the uniqueness is gone. We cannot remember even the names of few products that were introduced to us before one or two years. But why is it that paintings and sculptures that are thousands of years old, are still in demand? A simple answer, Art.
The Indian subcontinent is one of the land mass which is known for the origin of art. The origin of Indian art can be traced to pre-historic Hominid settlements in the 3rd millennium BC. Historic art, sculpture in stone and metal, has survived the Indian climate better than other media, and provides most of the best remains. Many of the most important ancient finds that are not in carved stone come from surrounding, drier regions rather than India itself. India has given birth to various forms of arts in the fields of music, painting, dance, sculpting and many more.
This article gives information about the below mentioned art forms for which India is famous:-
1. Music
2. Dance
3. Sculptures
4. Jewelry making
5. Miniature painting
6. Martial Arts
1. Music:-
Indian classical music is one of the most precious and appreciated forms of arts known to the world
The seven sur i.e., sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa are believed to be originated from India.
Indians also made various instruments like the sarangi, flute, dholak, tabla, Jaltarang, etc most of which had a constructing base of wood.
The music is categorized on the basis of Ragas. There are ragas for morning, evening, noon. There are ragas that suit various moods.
Example: Raag Nat Bhairavi is an evening and morning raag which depicts serious mood
The influence of these ragas is notable
An ancient Indian singer named Tansen was able to glow lamps by singing Deepak raga
Similarly a pair of girls Tana-Riri were able to bring rain by singing the megh-malhar raga
Musical instruments also have religious importance. In Indian religion, Gods and Goddesses have musical instruments of their own.
One of the most famous musical instrument of Indian culture is the Shankh. It is found from the ocean
It is believed that the sound of Shankh removes negativity and spreads positivity
2. Dance:-
India has gifted the world with variety of dance forms. The dances in India are distributed according to many aspects. For example, Ras and Garba in Navratri. There are many classical and semi classical forms of dances that have been invented in india.
The ancient most form of dance or the cosmic dance is also found to be of Indian origin. It is believed that lord Shiv performs the cosmic dance at the time of creation and destruction of the world.
Other famous dance forms include bharatnattiyam, kathak, etc
There are also tribal dance forms that can be found divided according to the geographic locations.
Dance is believed to be one form of worship. It is used to worship God.
The Natya Shastra is the foundational treatise for classical dances of India, and this text is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni. Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.
3. Sculptures:-
The first known sculpture belongs to the Indus Valley civilization, found in sites at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. These include the famous small bronze female dancer. However such figures in bronze and stone are rare and greatly are also accompanied by pottery figurines and stone seals, often of animals or deities.
Sculptures of various shapes and sizes were created. The sculptors used elements like copper, gold, clay, etc as the main element to make the sculptures.
These sculptures depicted various meanings. For example the Trimurti depicts the triad or trinity of the Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.
Many theories have been proved from the discovered sculptures. The Large Hadron Collider Project took its inspiration from the sculpture of Lord Natraj
The pillar that was build by Emperor Ashok is also one of the valuable discoveries in the field of archeology.
The interesting thing about this structures is that despite of being so much old, they are still intact. Even without any kind of special care, they have survived thousands of years and lived to tell the tales of their creators.
Ancient Indians were also effective designers. The royal carvings on the walls of palaces are the proof of the precision of those hands that made them possible.
They also designed using mirrors of various colors.
The sculptures not only being artistic but also had a great scientific significance. They created systems which are able to tell exact time with the precision of a single second by refering to the sun in the day and moon in the night
4. Jewelry Making:-
Today, handmade and handstitched products are in a greater demand. There are luxury products like Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ethnic jewelry, etc which are almost not affordable to even higher economic class.
The things that are the costliest nowadays are the things that were commonly worn during those days.
A simple example of it can be obtained from the comparison of the jewelry of the royal families and the jewelry of the current generation.
A single Kohinoor diamond is of so much worth that even the governments are chasing each other to acquire it.
The ancient Indians believed that jewelry adds to the beauty and purity of the person who wears it.
They also believed that stones of different compositions have connections with various planetary motions and that situations of people can be changed by the help of wearing such jewelry according to affordability and necessity
5. Miniature Painting:-
Ancient Indian painters used barks of trees, scrolls, wood, etc for making paintings.
The paintings included natural scenes, religious concepts, etc
The paintings were also used as a source of education
The paintings would be effective in order to create a visualization of anything
The paintings at Ajanta-Ellora are one of the example. Painted by monks, these paintings show the use and durability of natural colors.
The colors used were made from the leaves of trees, flowers, trunks, and various natural pigments and elements
6. Martial Arts
Martial arts is the technique for self defence. It was used by warriors in the ancient era. It is also used in modern times but with a somewhat different approach.
Martial arts also helps in making the body strong and flexible rather than just stuffing it up.
Martial art forms like Huyen Langlon, Gatka, Kalaripayattu, etc have been created in the Indian subcontinent.
Along with this, India has also gifted the world with the art of Yoga.
The arts no matter how old they may be, are still of a great significance to the world.
They inspire us and teach us how to represent information. The teachings of our ancestors and the gifts in the forms of preserved arts are the living example of evolution of human race.
