Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Art & Culture) – June 29, 2020

First discovery of rock paintings in the world was made in India (1867-68) by an Archaeologist, Archibold Carlleyle, and twelve years before the discovery of Altamira in Spain (site of oldest rock paintings in the world).

• In India, remnants of rock paintings have been found on the walls of caves situated in several districts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.
• Some of the examples of sites early rock paintings are Lakhudiyar in Uttarakhand, Kupgallu in Telangana, Piklihal and Tekkalkotta in Karnataka, Bhimbetka and Jogimara in Madhya Pradesh etc.

The art of bronze-casting was practised on a wide scale by the Harappans. Their bronze statues were made using the ‘lost wax’ technique in which the wax figures were first covered with a coating of clay and allowed to dry.

• Then the wax was heated and the molten wax was drained out through a tiny hole made in the clay cover.
• The hollow mould thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object. Once the metal cooled, the clay cover was completely removed.
• In bronze we find human as well as animal figures, the best example of the former being the statue of a girl popularly titled ‘Dancing Girl’.
• Amongst animal figures in bronze the buffalo with its uplifted head, back and sweeping horns and the goat are of artistic merit.
• Bronze casting was popular at all the major centres of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• The copper dog and bird of Lothal and the bronze figure of a bull from Kalibangan are in no way inferior to the human figures of copper and bronze from Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
• Metal-casting appears to be a continuous tradition.

Past human cultures used various raw materials found from the natural context, for example, shell species of Turbinella pyrum from the Gulf of Kachchh, agate-carnelian from Khandak near the Harappan site of Surkotada and other locations in Gujarat, lapis lazuli from the Badakshan mines of Afghanistan, high quality steatite from northern Rajasthan, and turquoise from Central Asia.

The Sriparvata Arama project supported by the Government of India and executed by the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), is an attempt to capture the Buddhist heritage of the Telugu country and interpret it to the present generation.

• The project also seeks to revive the forgotten Buddhist visual art traditions. Of the three schools of Buddhist art, the Madhura School, the Gandhara School and the Amaravati School, the last one belongs to the Telugu country.
• It is this School that flourished all over the South-India, even in Sri Lanka. It is also this school which is celebrated for its quality of ‘moving images’ and for capturing social and cultural life of the times in addition to religious imagery.
• Our artists and sculptors gave up Buddhist architecture and sculpture after the decline of Buddhism around the 7th Century CE; the later temple architecture and sculpture belong to the Pallavan and Chalukyan art traditions.
• The Arama project seeks to revive the forgotten Amaravati School of Art.

The Krishna’s Butterball is a massive 20 feet high and 5 meter wide rock stands on a slippery slope of a hill on less than 4-feet base is located in Tamil Nadu.

• It is called as Krishna’s butterball because butter is his favourite food and it is a myth that it falls from heaven.
• It is also known as ‘Vaanirai Kal’ in Tamil which means ‘Stone of the Sky God’.
• Recently in October 2019 it is visited by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Located in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, these ancient fresco paintings on a rock shelter are in a shape of half-opened umbrella.

• It is believed that this shelter acted like the royal hunting lodge.
• The most noticeable painting is that of a royal procession that dates back to 7th century.
• The remains of Chola period paintings, belonging to 11th century, are also of importance.

Sparrows, peacocks, squirrels and cows inhabit the world of Sohrai and Khovar paintings. Popular in Hazaribagh region of Jharkhand, the folk art draws heavily from the forest life. It is an art form practised by women at home, usually the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law combine.

Sattriya originated in Sattra, monastery, as a part of neo-Vaishnavite movement started by Srimanta Sankardev in the 15th Century. He propagated the “ek sharan naama dharma” (chanting the name of one God devotedly).

• “Sattriya dances are devotional in nature as they were intended for propagation of neo-Vaishnavism. Its highlights are intense emotional fervour, and in its solo avatar now dramatic abhinaya is prominent in contrast to nritta, pure dance”.
• Sunil Kothari was recently bestowed the prestigious Madhabdev Award by the Government of Assam for his work in making Sattriya popular in India and abroad.
• Though long recognised as a traditional dance form, Sattriya was given the status of a classical dance in the year 2000 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
• Highlighting on how it differs from other forms, Kothari says, “In its basic stance for male and female known as Purush Pak and Prakriti Pak, Sattriya dances differ from other dance forms.
• They have special mnemonic bols, typical Assamese music known as Borgeet, musical instruments like large cymbals, drums, colourful costumes which stand out from other dance styles, besides complicated choreographic patterns using various talas for each stanza sung by the vocalist.
• Dance-dramas are distinct living tradition and use vachikabhinaya, dialogues. Special masks are also used in dance-dramas.”

The traditional string puppets of the Rajasthan area known as Kathputli, which derives its name from kath meaning wood and putli meaning doll.

• The puppets are covered in traditionally bright Rajasthani dress. The show is accompanied by a dramatic folk music.
• A unique feature of the puppets is the absence of legs. The strings are attached to the finger of the puppeteer.

Sankirtana is the artistic manifestation of Manipuri worship. To the Manipuris Sankirtana is the visible form of God.

• Woven within the framework of sacrosanct rituals and ceremonies the art consists of narrative singing and dancing.
• Always performed in a Mandala (circular area) inside a Mandapa (hall) attached to a temple or erected in a courtyard.
• The rituals and formalities are strict and even the audience are seated according to set rules. It employs musical instruments like drums and cymbals.
• The artistes play these instruments and dance at the same time. An artiste spends a life-time specializing only in one aspect.