Art & Culture
★ Architecture and Sculpture
★ Religion and Philosophy
★ Classical form - Dance & Music
★ Painting
★ Language and Literature
★ Theatres
★ Bhakti and Sufi Movement
Art - It is the manifestation of human expression which could be in many form like tangible (which can be felt) and intangible (which can only be seen).
Culture - Culture is the way of life. When any kind of way of life is repeated for a long period of time and when it is re-enforced by the society, then it becomes part of culture.
Culture is an ever changing phenomenon.
The culture of an area helps in deciding the policy of an area since culture is very close to the people and if their culture is not taken care/considered while formulating policies, then it will backfire.
Unit - 1 (Architecture and Sculptures)
★ Ancient India Architecture
- Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan Architecture)
- Maurya Architecture
- Post Maurya Architecture
- Gupta Architecture
- South Indian Architecture
★ Medieval India Architecture
- Delhi Sultanate Architecture
- Imperial Architecture (by Sultans of Delhi Sultanate)
- Provincial Architecture (by regional kingdoms like Bengal, Jaunpur, Malwa, Bijapur, etc.)
- Mughal Architecture
- Imperial Architecture
- Regional Architecture (Sikh & Rajput Architecture)
- Modern India Architecture (British Architecture)
- Indo-Gothic Architecture (1750)
- Neo-Roman Architecture (1911)
Indus Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization Architecture can be studied under the following headings -
- Seals
- Pottery
- Sculptures
- Ornaments, Jewellery and Cosmetics
- Town Planning
Seals - Seals were the geometrical shaped objects mainly made up of soft river stone, Steatite but there were also instances of Chert (a type of rock), Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Terracotta Seals.
They were one of the most important source of information about Indus Valley Civilization.
Near about 4000 seals have been excavated/found from various Indus sites.
Some of the famous seals of Indus Valley Civilization are -
1. Pashupati Seal -
- It is the Steatite Seal with a carved human structure in yogic posture surrounded by animals.
- Elephant and Tiger on the left side, Rhinoceros and Buffalo on the right side and two Antelopes below the image.
2. Single horned Unicorn Seal
3. Bull Seal
4. Peepal leaf Seal
Purpose of the Seals -
- It facilitates trade and commerce.
- Seals were pictographic in nature and they depict the symbolism of Indus Valley Culture.
- Some of the symbols on the seal was like mathematical symbols such as π, ɸ and Ψ which indicates that it might also be used as an educational tool.
- It was also used in Shamanic practices.
- It also indicates religion and faith of Indus Valley people.
Pottery - the general pottery of Indus Valley was Red-ware Pottery. It was meant for storage of grains, water and also for cooking purpose.
Generally, the colour of the pottery was Red but designs were created in Black colour.
Some other kinds of pottery used during Indus Valley Civilization are -
1. Miniature Vessel Pottery -
- It is a narrow and elongated pottery with beautiful designs.
- This pottery was meant for decoration.
2. Faience Pottery -
- It was bright and illuminous pottery.
- It was mostly found in Gujarat area.
3. Perforated Pottery
- Strategic microscopic pores were made on the pottery.
- It was meant for storage of grains.
- It was also used for straining liquor.
Sculptures - Terracotta sculptures, Stone sculptures and Bronze sculptures were found in Indus Valley.
1. Terracotta Sculptures
- Terracotta is the fire baked clay.
- Terracotta Sculptures include Toys, Carts, Wheels and the most important sculptures of Mother Goddess.
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| Mother Goddess |
2. Stone Sculptures
- Steatite was used for creating Stone Sculptures.
- Example - Breaded priest
3. Bronze Sculptures
- Method of creating bronze sculpture is known as Lost Wax Technique (Cire Perdue).
- Cire Perdue method - Initially, a wax figure is created which was covered with clay and baked on fire. The melted wax was replaced by molten bronze. After cooling the sculpture, the harden clay was removed and finally the sculpture was polished and refined from outside.
- Example - Dancing girl found from Mohenjodaro
- This method is so important that even today in many tribal areas, it is still used for creating bronze sculpture.
- The very famous Dhokra Art which has GI tag status is created from Lost Wax Technique.
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| Dancing girl |
Ornaments, Jewellery and Cosmetics -
- Indus Valley people used ear rings, necklace, anklets and finger rings.
- These all ornaments and jewellery were made from Terracotta, Steatite, Wood, Bone and Semi-precious stones like Amethyst, Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, etc.
- They also used soaps, lipsticks, sindoor and kajal.
- They used Mercury tincture (Hg2Cl2 - Calomel).
- Sindoor was made with HgCl2 (It is a corrosive sublimate).
Town Planning - Discussed in Indus Valley Civilization
Next Article - Mauryan Architecture
Notes on other subjects
Optional Notes
Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own.
Hope! It will help you to achieve your dream of getting selected in Civil Services Examination 👍
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