- Arts and entertainment in India
India has a lot of good entertainment such as obstacle courses for fun, singers, and actresses, every night. You only have to go to school to two years as long as you are successful. India's entertainment varies from a varitety of things. of kings and emperors. The coming of
Islam spawned a whole new era of Indian architecture and art. Finally the British brought their own Gothic and Roman influences and fused it with the Indian style.They have a culture infusion in their artArchitecture
Indian architecture is that vast tapestry of production of the
Indian subcontinent that encompasses a multitude of expressions over space and time, transformed by the forces of history considered unique to the sub-continent, sometimes destroying, but most of the time absorbing. The result is an evolving range of architectural production that nonetheless retains a certain amount of continuity across history.The earliest production in the
Indus Valley Civilization was characterised by well planned cities and houses where religion did not seem to play an active role. The Buddhist period is primarily represented by three important building types- the Chaitya Hall (place of worship), theVihara (monastery) and theStupa (hemispherical mound for worship/ memory) - exemplified by the awesome caves ofAjanta and Ellora and the monumentalSanchi Stupa . TheJaina temples are characterised by a richness of detail that can be seen in theDilwara Temples inMt.Abu . Early beginnings of Hindu temple architecture have been traced to the remains atAihole andPattadakal in present dayKarnataka , and haveVedic altars and late Vedic temples as described byPāṇini as models. Later, as more differentiation took place, the Dravidian/ Southern style and or the Indo-Aryan/ Northern/ Nagara style of temple architecture emerged as dominant modes, epitomised in productions such as the magnificentBrihadeeswara Temple ,Thanjavur , and theSun Temple ,Konark .With the advent of
Islam , the arch and dome began to be used and themosque or "masjid" too began to form part of the landscape, adding to a new experience in form and space. The most famous Islamic building type in India is the tomb or the "mausoleum" which evolved from the basic cube and hemisphere vocabulary of the early phase into a more elaborate form during theMughal era where multiple chambers are present and tombs were set in a garden known as the char-bagh. Well known examples are theGol Gumbaz , Bijapur and theTaj Mahal ,Agra , the latter renowned for its beauty in white marble, its minarets and its setting. With colonisation, a new chapter began. Though the Dutch, Portuguese and the French made substantial forays, it was the English who had a lasting impact. The architecture of the colonial period varied from the beginning attempts at creating authority through classical prototypes to the later approach of producing a supposedly more responsive image through what is now termedIndo-Saracenic architecture- a mixture of Hindu, Islamic and Western elements.;Various examples of Indian architecture
With the introduction of
Modern Architecture intoIndia and later with Independence, the quest was more towards progress as a paradigm fuelled byNehru vian visions. The planning ofChandigarh - a city most architects hate/love- byLe Corbusier was considered a step towards this. Later as modernism exhausted itself in the West and new directions were sought for, in India too there was a search for a more meaningful architecture rooted in the Indian context. This direction calledCritical Regionalism is exemplified in the works of architects such asB.V. Doshi ,Charles Correa , etc. Apart from this, the advent of globalisation and economic development since the 90s, has spawned an impressive collection of modern IT campuses and skyscrapers, and as economic reform accelerates, metropolitan areas are gaining futuristic skylines.Literature
Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. India has 22 officially recognized languages, and a huge variety of literature has been produced in these languages over the years. In Indian literature, oral and written forms are both important.
Hindu literary traditions dominate a large part of Indian culture. Apart from theVedas which are a sacred form of knowledge, there are other works such as the Hindu epics "Ramayana " and "Mahabharata ", treatises such asVaastu Shastra in architecture and town planning, andArthashastra in political science. Devotional Hindu drama, poetry and songs span the subcontinent. Among the best known are the works ofKalidasa (writer of the famed Sanskrit playShakuntala ) andTulsidas (who wrote an epic Hindi poem based on the Ramayana, calledRaamcharitmaanas ).Tamil literature has been in existence for more than 2500 years.
Tolkaappiyam has been credited as its oldest work, whereas the exact origins ofThirukkural is unknown. The golden age of Tamil literature was during theSangam period, roughly 1800 years ago. The classic works of this period areCilappatikaram ,Manimekalai , andSivakasinthamani . Tamil literature is known for its secular traditions, although its authors had strong religious beliefs.Thirukkural is considered to be the greatest of Tamil works.Kannada literature is probably the third oldest in Indian literature next toSanskrit literature andTamil literature . The earliest reported work in Kannada literature dates back to the fifth century. The first available literary in Kannada isKavirajamarga , written in the eighth century byAmoghavarsha Nrpatunga .Hindi literature started as religious and philosophical poetry in medieval periods in dialects likeAvadhi andBrij . The most famous figures from this period areKabir andTulsidas . In modern times, the "Khadi" dialect became more prominent and a variety of literature was produced in Sanskrit.The most renowned Bengali writer is Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore , who received theNobel Prize for Literature . In the last century, several Indian writers have distinguished themselves not only in traditionalIndian languages but also in English. India's only native-born Nobel laureate in literature was theBengal i writerRabindranath Tagore , but VS Naipaul, a diaspora Indian novelist born in Trinidad, also won the Nobel in 2001. Other major writers who are either Indian or of Indian origin and derive much inspiration from Indian themes areR. K. Narayan ,Vikram Seth ,Salman Rushdie ,Arundhati Roy ,Raja Rao ,Amitav Ghosh ,Vikram Chandra ,Mukul Kesavan ,Shashi Tharoor ,Nayantara Sehgal ,Anita Desai ,Ashok Banker ,Shashi Deshpande ,Jhumpa Lahiri , andBharati Mukherjee .Music
Indian music includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and
Hindustani music , has a history spanning millennia and, developed over several eras, remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as sources of religious inspiration, cultural expression and pure entertainment. India is made up of several dozenethnic group s, speaking their ownlanguage s anddialect s. Alongside distinctly subcontinental forms there are major influences from Persian, Arab andBritish music . Indian genres likefilmi andbhangra have become popular throughout theUnited Kingdom , South andEast Asia , and around the world.Indian pop stars now sell records in many countries, while
world music fans listen to the roots music of India's diverse nations. American soul, rock andhip hop music have also made a large impact, primarily on Indian pop and filmi music. Other highly popular forms areghazal ,qawwali ,thumri ,dhrupad ,dadra ,bhajan ,kirtan ,shabad , andgurbani .Filmi music is often said to have begun in 1931, with the release of Ardeshir M. Irani'sAlam Ara and its popular soundtrack. In the earliest years of the Indian cinema, filming was generally Indian (classical and folk) in inspiration, with some Western elements. Over the years, the Western elements have increased, but without completely destroying the Indian flavour. Most of the Indian movies are musicals and feature elaborate song and dance numbers. There is constant work for pop music composers — or music directors, to use the Indian term. Movie soundtracks are released as tapes and CDs, sometimes even before the move is released.Dance
Indian classical dance is performed in different styles. Its theory can be traced back to the
Natya Shastra ofBharata Muni (400 BC). Its various currents forms includeBharatanatyam ,Odissi , Manipuri,Kathakali ,Kuchipudi ,Mohiniaattam ,Kathak and Sattriya.Bharatanatyam is thought to have been created by Bharata "Muni", a sage from Tamil Nadu, who wrote theNatya Shastra , the most important ancient treatise onclassical Indian dance . It is also called the fifthVeda in reference to the foundation of Hindu religion and philosophy, from which sprang the related South Indian musical tradition ofCarnatic music .Odissi is one of the oldest surviving forms of dance, with depictions of Odissi dancing dating back as far as the
1st century BC . Like other forms of Indian classical dance, the Odissi style traces its origins back to antiquity. Dancers are found depicted in bas-relief in the hills of Udaygiri (nearBhubaneswar ) dating back to the 1st century BC. TheNatya Shastra speaks of the dance from this region and refers to it as Odra-Magadhi.Kathakali ("katha" for story, "kali" for
performance or play) is a form ofdance -drama . It originated in theSouth India n state ofKerala over 500 years ago. It is a spectacular combination of drama, dance, music and ritual. Characters with vividly painted faces and elaborate costumes re-enact stories from theHindu epics,Mahabharata andRamayana .Kuchipudi is a classical
dance form fromAndhra Pradesh , a state ofSouth India . Kuchipudi is the name of a smallvillage in the Divi Taluq ofKrishna district that borders theBay of Bengal and with residentBrahmin s practising this traditional dance form, it acquired the present name. Mohiniaattam is a traditional dance from the South Indian state of Kerala.Mohini is anApsaras in the Hindu mythology and aattam inMalayalam means dance. So Mohiniaattam essentially means "dance of the enchantress". The theme of Mohiniaattam is love and devotion to god. The costume worn by the dancers are typically white coloured kasavusaree with golden borders.The Kathak dance form arose from the
Vaishnava devotees dancing to the episodes fromKrishna 's life. Originally a Northern Indian temple dance, it was transformed to a court dance in theMughal era . The new Muslim influence brought with it certain changes to the dance form: what had been a largely devotional practice now became more a courtly entertainment.The Sattriya dance is believed to be a creation of the great Vaishnavite (
bhakti ) guruSrimanta Sankardeva considered the lead architect of Assameseliterature andculture . He created this magnificent Sattriya dance to accompany the "Ankiya Naat" (a form of Assamese one-act play, another creation of Sankardeva) which was usually performed in "Satras" (Assamese monasteries). Since the dance developed and grew within the "Satras", it is named after these religious institutions.Folk dances are performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child, a wedding and festivals. The dances are extremely simple with minimum of steps or movement. The dances burst with verve and vitality. Men and women perform some dances exclusively, while in some performances men and women dance together. On most occasions, the dancers sing themselves, while being accompanied by artists on the instruments. Each form of dance has a specific costume. Most costumes are flamboyant with extensive jewels.
Sculpture
The first sculptures in India date back to the
Indus Valley civilization , where stone and bronze carvings have been discovered. This is one of the earliest instances of sculpture in the world. Later, asHinduism ,Buddhism andJainism developed further, India produced some of the most intricate bronzes in the world, as well as unriveled temple carvings. Some huge shrines, such as the one atEllora were not actually constructed using blocks, but instead carved out of solid rock, making them perhaps the largest and most intricate sculptures in the world.During the 2nd to 1st century BCE in far northern
India , in what is now southernAfghanistan and northernPakistan , sculptures became more explicit, representing episodes of the Buddha’s life and teachings. Although India had a long sculptural tradition and a mastery of rich iconography, the Buddha was never represented in human form before this time, but only through some of his symbols. This may be becauseGandhara n Buddhist sculpture in modern Afghanistan displays Greek andPersia n artistic influence. Artistically, the Gandharan school of sculpture is said to have contributed wavy hair, drapery covering both shoulders, shoes and sandals, acanthus leaf decorations, etc.;A selection of Indian sculptures of various ages and styles
The pink sandstone sculptures of Mathura evolved during the Gupta period (4th to 6th century) to reach a very high fineness of execution and delicacy in the modeling. Newer sculptures in
Afghanistan , in stucco, schist or clay, display very strong blending of Indian post-Gupta mannerism and Classical influence, Hellenistic or possibly even Greco-Roman. Meanwhile, elsewhere in India, less anatomically accurate styles of human representation evolved, leading to the classical art that the world is now familiar with, and contributing to Buddhist and Hindu sculpture throughout Asia.Painting
The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of
pre-historic times, thepetroglyph s as found in places likeRock Shelters of Bhimbetka , and some of them are older than5500 BC . Such works continued and after several millennia, in the7th century , carved pillars ofEllora ,Maharashtra state present a fine example of Indian paintings, and the colors, mostly various shades of red and orange, were derived from minerals. Thereafter, frescoes ofAjanta and Ellora caves appeared. India’sBuddhist literature is replete with examples of texts which describe that palaces of kings and aristocratic class were embellished with paintings, but they have not survived. But, it is believed that some form of art painting was practiced in that time.;Indian art, ancient and medieval
Cinema
India is a major regional center for cinema. The Indian film industry is the largest in the world (1200 movies released in the year2002 ). Each of the larger languages supports its own film industry:Hindi , Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam. The Hindi/Urdu film industry, based inMumbai , formerly "Bombay", is calledBollywood (a melding ofHollywood and Bombay). Similar neologisms have been coined for the Kannada (Karnataka State) film industry (Sandalwood ) based on Karnataka being known for Sandalwood, Tamil film industry (Kollywood , from the Kodambakkam district ofChennai ) and the Telugu film industry (Tollywood ). Tollygunge is ametonym for the Bengali film industry, long centered in the Tollygunge district ofKolkata . The Bengali language industry is notable as having nurtured the directorSatyajit Ray , an internationally renowned filmmaker and a winner of many awards, among them theBharat Ratna (India's highest civilian award), theLégion d'honneur (France), and the Lifetime achievement Academy Award. The Bollywood industry is usually the largest in terms of films produced and box office receipts, just as Urdu/Hindi speakers outnumber speakers of other Indian languages within India. (Tollywood is close on Bollywood's heels, and sometimes will turn out more films in a year.);Indian actresses through the years
Radio
Radio broadcasting was, until recently a government monopoly under the Directorate General of
All India Radio --established in 1936 and since 1957 also known asAkashvani --a government-owned, semicommercial operation of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. From only six stations at the time of independence, All India Radio's network had expanded by the mid-1990s to 146 AM stations plus a National Channel, the Integrated North-East Service (aimed at tribal groups in northeast India), and the External Service. There are five regional headquarters for All India Radio: the North Zone in New Delhi; the North-East Zone in Guwahati, Assam; the East Zone in Calcutta; the West Zone in Bombay; and the South Zone in Madras. All India Radio covers 99.37% of India's populace.The government-owned network provides both national and local programs in Hindi, English, and sixteen regional languages. Commercial services, which were inaugurated in 1967, are provided by Vividh Bharati Service, headquartered in Mumbai.
Vividh Bharati , which accepts advertisements, broadcasts from thirty-one AM and FM stations in the mid-1990s.India has an extensive network of medium wave and shortwave stations. In 1994 there were eighty-five FM stations and seventy-three shortwave stations that covered the entire country. The broadcasting equipment is mostly Indian made and reaches special audiences, such as farmers needing agroclimatic, plant protection, and other agriculture-related information. The number of radio receivers increased almost fivefold between 1970 and 1994, from around 14 million to nearly 65 million. Most radios are also produced within India.
The foreign broadcast service is a function of the External Services Division of All India Radio. In 1994 seventy hours of news, features, and entertainment programs were broadcast daily in twenty-five languages using thirty-two shortwave transmitters. The principal target audiences are listeners in neighbouring countries and the large overseas Indian community.
Satellite Radio was introduced to the Indian market in 2000 by
WorldSpace , a Washington-DC based company. Currently WorldSpace beams 30 channels comprising music, news, and regional channels, a subscriber in India pays Rs 1,200 per annum. In addition, some premium channels are available at an extra cost. This service requires special receivers which are often subsidized by world space.Recently The Department of Space (DoS) indicated it is exploring the possibility of setting up a multi-media satellite platform that would include satellite radio, video and data channels.
Television
Television service is available throughout the country.
Doordarshan is a government-owned broadcaster established in 1959 and a part of All India Radio until 1976. It operates of one national network and seven regional networks. In 1992 there were sixty-three high-power television transmitters, 369 medium-power transmitters, seventy-six low-power transmitters, and twenty-three transposers. Regular satellite transmissions began in 1982 (the same year colour transmission began).By 1994 some 6 million people were receiving television broadcasts via satellite, and the number was expected to increase rapidly throughout the rest of the decade. Cable television was even more prolific, with an estimated 12 to 15 million subscribers in 1994. Besides Doordarshan,Zee TV -- an independent station broadcasting from Mumbai since 1992--uses satellite transmissions. In fact, because Doordarshan is the only network that is permitted to broadcast television signals domestically,Zee TV and other entrepreneurs broadcast their Indian-made videotapes via foreign transmitters. Other networks joining the fray areCable News Network (1990);Asia Television Network (1991); Hong Kong-basedStar TV (1991);Jain TV , near Bombay (1994); EL TV, a spin-off of Zee TV in Bombay (1994); HTV, an affiliate of theHindustan Times in New Delhi (1994); andSun TV , aTamil language service in Chennai (1994). In a communications breakthrough in July 1995, Doordarshan agreed, for a US$1.5 million annual fee and 50 percent of advertising revenue when it exceeds US$1.5 million, to allow CNN to broadcast twenty-four hours a day via an Indian satellite.Doordarshan offers national, regional, and local service. The number of television sets increased from around 500,000 in 1976 to 9 million in early 1987 and to around 47 million in 1994; increases are expected to continue at around 6 million sets per year. More than 75 percent of television sets were black and white models in 1992, but the proportion of colour sets is increasing annually. Most television sets are produced in India.
Major events
Professional events
* Lakme Fashion Week
* Ponds FeminaMiss India
* Global Festival Of Films On Peace And Spirituality http://www.aaft.comAmateur events
* Culfests in India
References
*
External links
* [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/asian/india/resources/india-culture.html Culture: India] — Arts and entertainment related links at the
Library of Congress
* [http://www.downmelodylane.com DownMelodyLane.com - Enclyclopedia of Indian Cinema]
* [http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20070824507606600.htm Eternal India_Article by Benoy K. Behl]
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