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HERITAGE &
CULTURE
K. SIDDHARTHA
MODEL ANSWERS
Answer Presentation Skill Improvement
Programme
Test Series– VII
Section-VII, Indian Heritage and Culture
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1. Buddhism and Jainism helped in development of early architectural style. Explain in
brief the religious architecture of early Buddhism.
There are mainly three architectures associated with early Buddhism namely: Stupas, Chaityas and
Viharas.
Stupas were built at places where Buddha’s remains were preserved and at major sites were important
events in Buddha’s life took place. It originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth. It is
hemispherical dome called “anda” which is a bit flat at top called “harmika” where the urn containing the
remains were kept in gold or silver casket.
Chaityas were congregational halls for teaching and interaction between the common people and
monks. Initially they were made of wood and were referred to halls enclosing stupas.
Viharas were constructed to provide resting places for wandering monks. They were too wooden
structures and looked like hut and later were converted into learning institutions teaching about
Buddhism.
2. Discuss in brief the temple architecture of Gupta age.
The Gupta Age brought in a new era in the history of temple architecture. Free standing sculptural
temple rather than cave temples were erected during this period for convenience of idol worship.
Sustainable materials like brick and stone were introduced in place of perishable materials like bamboos,
woods etc. Firm foundations of temples architecture were laid. The temple consisted of square sanctum,
pillared porch and ‘Shikhara’, which developed during this period. Though small flat-roofed platforms
were characteristics of early Gupta period. The ornamentation on doors and pillars included
‘Ganas’(goblin), ‘Mithunas’(couples), ‘Dwarapalas’(doorkeepers) and flying angels. The main temple
“Garbagriha” housed the image of god and was connected to the hall by vestibule. The temple complex
is surrounded by spacious courtyards. Texts were written down around temple buildings. The stone
temple in Deogarh of Dasavataras with its excellent carvings and panels on wall is an extant remains of
Gupta architecture.
3. State some of the important characteristics of Indo-Islamic architecture. Also discuss
the unique features of Tughlaq architecture.
Indo-islamic architecture are arcuate i.e. based on arches, vaults and domesas well as trabeate
employing pillars, lintels and pyramidal towers or slender spires. The building materials were bricks,
stones, lime and mortars. The Muslims under religious injunction avoided the representation of living
being. The decoration consisted of arabesque, geometrical or floral patterns. In addition inscription in
various styles of writing, gildingand painting, inlay on marble through opus sectile or pieta dura.
The Tughlaq architecture are heavy and massive, rugged and simple. There were thick and sloping walls,
squinch archses for supporting domes, multi-domed roofs and tapering minarets at external angles of
buildings. The trabeate and arcuate buildings are combined. The walls built of rubble coated with thick
plaster instead of red sandstone and marbles shows austerity and simplicity. The Tughlaquabad Fort,
tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, Feroz Shah Kotla, Hauz Khas are some of the examples Tughlaq
architecture.
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4. Vesara or Chalukya styles of temple architecture have borrowed from Dravida and
nagara style. Discuss.
The Vesara style of temples is an independent style created through the mixing of Nagara and Dravida
styles as it is geographically located to connect north and south India.. The Vesara style temple
possessed the Dravida Vimana and Nagara-type faceted walls.
The Vesara Vimana is smaller in height. Like the Dravida style, the Vimana and Mandapa are joined by an
antarala. In course of time the storied stages of the vimana got compressed and the ornamental niche
motifs one above the other up the tower simulates the vertical band of the Nagara shikhara. The exterior
walls of thetemples seems to have been a blending of Nagara and Dravida ideas. Ratha offset breakup
the walls in characteristics Nagara fashion further spaced at regular intervals by pilasters in accordance
with the usual Dravida mode. In the interiors the pillars, door frames and ceilings are again intricately
carved which resemble the Dravida style.
5. Describe in brief about the Thanjavur School of paintings. How Thanjavur paintings
are so similar and different from Kishangarh school.
Thanjavur school of paintings gained prominence under the patronage of Thanjavur’s Sarbji II and Shivaji
II. These paintings were made for rituals and worship. Vishnu, Shiva and Krishna re favourite subject.
The paintings are made on jack wood pasted with unbleached cloth to which a mixture of limestone,
chalkpowder, gum and honey ae applied in layers on a sketch of the icon. The figures are static and
housed in centre of board, inside beautifully decorated arches or curtains. The background is always
painted red or green.
There is similarity and dissimilarity between Thanjavur painting and Kishangarh painting. Krishna and
Radha is favourite theme of both the paintings. Krishna is shown blue-skinned. Natural colours are used
in both the paintings. While Kishangarh is influenced by Jaina school and Mughal while Thanjavur school
is influenced to Hinduism wherein people turned to god and goddess for solace.
6. Discuss about the growth of Mughal painting under Akbar.
Mughal painting was mainly the court art that developed under patronage of Mughal rulers. During Akbar’s reign
painting was organized as an Imperial establishment(‘karkhana’). It should be emphasized here that the identity
of the Mughal paintings under Akbar was as much made of an original style as a fusion of the Persian and Indian
traditions. Painting under Akbar’s period distinguishes itself as a tradition from Persian painting as well as from
Indian styles particularly by the presence of historical subject matter. The two most commonly used themes are:
•
Daily events in court and
•
portraits of leading personalities
The painting acquired a distinctive form which was marked by:
1. naturalism and rhythm
2. clothing objects of daily use assuming Indian forms
3. picture space having subsidiary scenes set in background
4. picture space having subsidiary scenes set in background
5. extraordinary vigour of action and violent movement
6. luxuriant depiction of foliage & brilliant blossoms
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7. Basholi style of painting is the first phase of Pahari painting. Discuss about its theme
and special feature.
Basholi style of painting evolved in the 17th and 18th century as a distinctive style fusing Hindu
mythology, Mughal miniature techniques and folk art of local hills.
These painting have derived its themes from Rasamanjari, the Bhagavata Purana, the Gita Govinda, the
Baramasa and Ragamala.
Basholi paintings are marked by striking blazing colours, red borders, bold lines and rich symbols. The
colours are brilliant with ochre yellow, brown and green grounds predominating.
Basholi painting shows stylized facial type in profile characterized by the receding foreheads and large
expressive eyes shaped like lotus petals. A distinctive technique is depiction of jewellery by thick and
raised drops of white paint with particles of green beetles’ wings used to represent emeralds.
8. Explain various facets of Kathakali with respect to theme, dress, makeup, bodily
gestures and facial expression.
Kathakali known as the ‘Ballet of the East’ evolved from two dance forms of Kerela- Theyyam and
Kalaripayattu.
Its themes are taken from epics, the Puranas and other mythological and religious texts of the Hindus. It
seeks to represent the eternal conflict between good and evil in grandiose manner.
Each character is immediately recognizable by characteristic makeup and costume. The costume for
the dance consists of a large billowing skirt, a padded jacket and a heavy ornamented head gear.
Various colours used in makeup are- green indicates good, divinity and virtue; red signifies evil; black is
for demon and wicked female and white epresents Hanuman.
The dance aspect of Kathakali consists of pure dance as well as mime. Earlier it was performed by men
only but now female. There is detailed gesture and well-defined body movements. The dance requires
control of body and emotions. Use of eyes and eyebrows are indicative of mental state and character.
9. Folk tradition are an expression of a community and its tradition. In light of this
discuss about the Bihu dance.
The Bihu dance is a folk dance of Assam related to Bihu festival celebrated in mid-April during the
harvesting time and lasts for about a month. The dance is performed by both young men and women. It
is characterized by brisk dance steps and rapid hand movement. Dancers wear traditional, colourful
Assamese clothing. Dhol, Pepa and Gagana are musical instrument used in dance.
The dances are performed in circles or parallel rows. Love forms the subject matter of the songs that are
sung during the performance.
The Assamese celebrate three types of Bihu mark the three distinct phases of the farming calendar of
paddy, the native crop of Assam. Bhog Bihu marks the advent of seeding time of paddy, Kati Bihu marks
the completion of sowing of paddy and transplantation of saplings and finally Magh bihu marks the
culmination of the harvesting period.
This agricultural festival is celebrated with great fervor and signifies the cultural tradition practiced by
agricultural communities.
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10. Discuss about the themes and characteristics feature of Kathak dance. State some
features of its various Gharanas.
Kathak means one who tells a story. It has its association with Bhakti movement. Under the hindus, it
was a religious dance performed in temples and accompanied with keertans. The love of Krishna and
Radha formed its divine theme. Under the influence of Mughals, it assumed the form of courtly
entertainment and hence became secular. Herein the costumes and themes are similar to those of
Mughal miniature paintings.
Kathak focuses more on the footwork of dancer. The movement is skillfully controlled and performed
straight-legged and dancers wear ghunghroo (ankle bells). Along with it jumps and spins are equally
important. Kathak lays emphasis on movement of eyebrows and neck movement. The dancer can
manevoure which suit ones skill and style.
There are four major gharanasa) Jaipur Gharana emphasized on technical mastery of pure dance
b) Lucknow Gharana emphasized on dramatics and sensuous expressionsnad developed into
distinct style.
c) Benares Gharana emphasized on dance bols.
d) Raigarh Gharana is confluence of many streams of Kathak style.
11. Discuss in brief about major theme of 4 Vedas of Vedic literature. Differentiate
between Samhitas and Brahmanas.
The four Vedas of Vedic literature are- Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
Rigveda is earliest of all Vedas and is a collection of 1028 hymns devoted to various gods. The
prominent gods are- Indra, Agni, Varun, Vayu, Rudra, Aditi etc.
Samveda is related to music and melody. It consists of 16000 ragas and raginis and has a collection of
around 1875 hymns wherein 75 hymns are drawn from Rigveda.
Yajurveda concerns with rituals for worship and sacrifices. There is detailed procedure and directions for
conducting Yajnas and the accompanying recitations.
Atharvaveda is although a non-vedic tradition but is the fourth Veda. It contains charms and spells to
ward off evils and diseases.
Samhitas form the first part of Veda. It is the basic metrical text of Vedas. On the other hand Brahmanas
are commentaries on four Vedas. These are full of ritualistic formulas and explains the social and
religious meaning of rituals.
12. How is Sangam text different from Vedic text? Discuss
Sangam literature is a secular literatue written in Tamil and provides vital information about social,
economic and political life of people living in deltaic Tamil Nadu. On the other hand Vedic text are
primarily religious text written in Sanskrit though they too give insight about social and cultural
conditions of Aryans living in North India, particularly north-western India.
Sangam text contains short and long poems composed by numerous poet in praise of numerous heroes
and heroines. These texts deals with material and emotional topics like love, war, governance, trade and
bereavement. They are dated to first four centuries of Christian era. The Vedic text especially Rigveda is
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prayers recited in praise of gods like Indra, Varun etc. In addition there is rituals, magics, mythological
stories and philosophical discourse. They dates back from 1500BC-500BC latest being the Upanishads.
13. Discuss about the contribution of Jainism to Indian literature.
Jainism adopted Prakrit language of common people to preach their doctrine rather than Sanskrit. The
religious literature of Jainas were written in Ardhamagadhi. The Jainas composed the earliest important
works in Apabhramsha and prepared its first grammar. The Jainas literature contains epics, puranas,
novels and dramas. A large portion of Jainas writing is still in manuscripts and have not been published.
Many regional languages languages developed out of Prakrit language particularly Shaurasheni, out of
which grew the Marathi language. Jainas wrote extensively in Kannada and thus they contributed to
growth of kannada.
14. Bhakti and Tantricism are both similar and dissimilar.
Bhakti and Tantricism are both a movement against the evils of caste system in Hindu religion. They
both reached out to larger masses and bring into fold people all caste. This included women and
Shudras.
Bhakti movement originated in south India and was brought to north India by saints- namadev and
Ramananda. Bhakti meant that people made all kinds of offering to gods in return for which they
received prasada or favour from god. Devoution of devotee was central to idea of bhakti.
Tantricism originated in north India only. It laid stress on the use of magic rituals. Though this rituals may
have been in use in earlier times but they systemized and recorded in Tantric text from 6th century
onward. They intended to satisfy the amterial desires as well as to cure day-to-day diseases and injuries.
Tantricism arose as a resultof the large scale asmission of abroginal people in Brahminical society.
Tantricism permeated Jainism, Buddhism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism.
15. How do the religious practices and beliefs of Early Vedic people differ from those of
later Vedic?
Religion formed an important aspect for Vedic people. The religious beliefs of Early Vedic and later Vedic
were similar as they worshipped for material well being and not for spiritual uplift or ending miseries of
existence.
It is to be noted that there was varied difference in religious practices and gods to worship between the
two. For the early Vedic people recitation of prayers was dominant mode of worship and offering of
sacrifice was secondary. There were no rituals and sacrificial formulae and magical powers of words
were not considered important. Indra is considered to be the supreme god and various forces of nature
were personified and worshipped.
In contrast for later Vedic people, Indra and Agni lost their significant position to Prajapati, Vishnu and
Rudra. Signs of idolatory appeared. Sacrifices with elaborate rituals and formulae became more
important than the recitation of prayers. Greater emphasis was laid on pronunciation and belief in
magical power of words. These change in practices led to emergence and dominance of priestly class in
later Vedic period.
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16. How did the Central Asian contact of India contributed in field of literature and
learning as well as science and technology?
The contact with Central Asia served for material and cultural exchange. Many foreign rulers patronized
Sanskrit and inscription began to be composed in chaste Sanskrit. Ashvaghosh enjoyed the patronage
of Kushans and he wrote texts like Buddhacharita and Sanskrit kavya Saundarananda. There was great
progress in teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and most of its text was composed in Buddhist-hybrid
Sanskrit. The Greek introduced the use of curtains in Indian theatre. The best example of secular
literature is Kamasutra of that period.
Indian astronomy and astrology profited from contact with Greeks .Greek term about the movement of
planets was used in Sanskrit as well as the term ‘horashastra’ in Sanskrit for astrology is taken from
Greek word horoscope.
Use of trousers, long boots and practice of making of leather shoes started in India during this period.
Glass-making made great progress.
There was great progress in making of coins. The Greek coins(properly shaped and stamped) was an
improvement to punch-marked coins. The copper coins and gold coins issued by Kushans was an
imitation of Roman coins.
17. Discuss in brief that how the Ajanta caves are different from those of Ellora
Ajanta caves were built around 200BCE-680CE by Buddhist monks sponsored by various dynasties
namely- Satvahanas and Vakatakas. These are related to Buddhist only. It derives its theme from
Buddha, Bodhisattva and Jataka stories. Ellora caves have been built from 500CE-1000CE under the
rule of Kalachuri, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas. They belong to Buddhism, Hinduism as well as Jainism.
Ajanta caves have been excavated out of Basalt cliff by penetrating into the perpendicular rocky face.
Thus these caves only houses Chaityas and Viharas and are famous for its mural paintings.
On the other hand Ellora caves have been excavated in sloping sides of a hill. They have Chaityas,
Viharas, temples and edifices. These are known for its massive sculptures depicting gods and
goddesses.
18. Write a short note on seals and terracotta figurines of Harrapan Civilization.
The greatest artistic creation of Harappan culture is the seals. They were used as a means of
authentication and for commercial need. They were generally square and rectangular in shape and made
of steatite. They display variety of signs and symbols ranging from geometric patterns, flora and fauna,
human, semi-human forms, composite animals etc. Most frequently depicted animal is Unicorn and the
most famous seal is ‘Pashupati seal’.
The fire-baked earthen clay figurines, called terracotta figurines have been found in vast numbers at all
sites. These are handmade using pinching. A large number of terracotta figurines are of Mother
Goddess. The most common Harappa type is standing figure adorned with girdle, a loin cloth, necklaces
and a fan-shaped headdress. The animals depicted are humped bull, dog, sheep, elephant, rhinoceros,
pig, monkey, turtle and birds. Cow was never repreented. One terracotta figurines from Mohenjo Daro
resemble a horse.
19. The Hindi literature followed a very distinctive path in terms of its theme after
Munshi Premchand’s writing. What was this change and how did it change Hindi
literature from here.
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Premchand holds special position in Hindi literature in terms of popularity after Goswami Tulsidas. He
wrote in simple language of common man about his realistic issues.
Prior to Munshi Premchand, the stories used to have many traits
1. the main character, the hero used to be a prince, a king, or a zamindaar.
2. The story used to carry a lot of fantasy
3. The stories were mostly depicting some royal, colonial or zamindaari tinge
4. The theme of the story was very unreal and was fantasy based.
5. There were no characters with which the common man could identify himself.
The whole thing changed after the publication of Rangbhumi by Munshi Premchand. For the first time
the nayak of a Hindi novel was a common man, a struggler, an agriculturist, a person who was fighting
against all odds, a person who wont give up but unlike his predecessor heroes, he was honest, god
fearing against the colonial rule and having a lot of empathy.
The theme of the hero was changed. It was the common man who became a hero and he had the will
and capacity to change the system and be the role model of the people.
Premchand’s novel always went on to bear similar characters. The characters in the Indian novel went
on to change forever. This imprint went on to be visible even in the writings of subsequent authors. The
Hindi writng was not the same anymore.
20. How did Amrita Shergill and Raja Ravi Verma shape the modern school of Painting.
Explain.
Amrita Shergill is a pioneer in modern Indian art as she portrayed life of people who live within her local
community and showed empathy for poverty of Indian subjects of the time. She showed the rhythm of
rural life of India in her paintings. She had confluence wall paintings in Western India with European oil
painting techniques. She encouraged a spirit of defiance against orthodox social norms and encouraged
women to play prominent role in the field of art. She developed subjectivity through self portrayal and
struggle for artistic identity.
Raja Ravi Verma work was influenced by emerging nationalism and desire to create national art. He
welded Royal academy naturalism with Indian myths and legends thus creating lively images of India’s
past. He started producing colur prints of of his paintings and thus Hindu deities were found in Indian
houses. Due to his work there emerged artistic movement in Bengal.
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