Thursday, May 3, 2012
Saris
One of the most vivid visual pieces of ancient Indian, as well as present day culture, are the beautiful and intricately designed saris.
Saris have been prevalent in Indian history for at least 2000 years, perhaps even longer,as the practice of growing, and then weaving cotton into fabric has been around for over 5000 years. While the origins of the sari are a bit obscure due to lack of written records, but the first visual record of a sari is Northern Indian terra cotta from 100 b.c. of an Indian woman. While now the sari is an entirely female garment, originally it was worn by both men and women, although the method of winding them around the body differed for the genders.
The colors and motifs used in the saris all had deliberate significance, the designs woven into the saris stood for specific religious aspects, and could vary from village to village. More universal in meaning were the colors the saris were dyed. The colors white and black were avoided, as they were associated with Ill omens and death. White saris were only worn by widows mourning the passing of their husbands. Red was the color of the warrior class, and was associated with valor. But due to it's symbolizing luck and fertility members of all the castes wear red saris on their wedding days. The merchant class wore saris of green, although today the color is popular along the Muslim population of Indii.
The color blue was worn by artisans, farmers, weavers, and manual labourers. Both blue and green were avoided by the higher caste members as they were beneath their station, as well as the process of preparing the indigo dye was seen as impure. The Color yellow was the Color of religion and asceticism, yellow saris were traditionally worn by expectant mothers for seven days prior to the birth of the child.
In today's culture the sari is perhaps the most well known aspect of Indian art and culture, as well as being a timeless piece of practical artwork.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Bhajans
This is another bhajan, this one specifically for the god, Shiva. It is called a Shiv Bhajan.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Bollywood Dance
In most Bollywood movies, the actors randomly break out into song and dance. Its pretty amazing. Here are some examples of modern day Indian dance and music:
Pretty popular song from the movie Dostana:
Although not portraying India as it really is, this song is awesome, mostly because the lead male actor has two thumbs on his right hand.
Pretty popular song from the movie Dostana:
Although not portraying India as it really is, this song is awesome, mostly because the lead male actor has two thumbs on his right hand.
A song from 3 Idiots a very recent Bollywood movie:
Another song:
Sources:
Jaya Sharma
Youtube.com
(and Netflix from watching Bollywood movies)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Henna designs
One of the most striking and well know parts of Indian culture is the henna designs inked most notably on the hands of brides. This ancient practice of temporarily tattooing designs has been around for centuries. One of the oldest practices is known as rangoli, a strictly female form of decoration. The art first evolved as a floor decoration in the home temples, where the women of the family would go to reflect and meditate on their lives. This role of decorator mostly fell to the elderly women of the villages who no longer had children and homes to keep up, and so the practice of rangoli soon became associated with the wise women of the area. In rangoli the area to be painted is filled with infinitesimally large geometric patterns sometimes with influences ranging from animals and gods, to the large mango leaf patterns which decorate paisley ties today. Over time the same good luck symbols painted on the floors began to appear on the body, used as decorations for festivals such as Diwali, portents of good fortune in the coming year.
Over the centuries Rangoli has evolved for use in many important rituals. Before a wedding a bride is painted with elaborate designs to bring good luck, and happy life and marriage, and of course children. During the eight month of pregnancy the expectant mother's belly is painted with designs to celebrate the child. This ancient practice is one of the most well known today, prevalent in Bollywood movies and in art and design, the ancient practice of henna designs is one of the first things to come to mind when thinking about Indian art.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Ancient Indian Music: History
Ancient Indian Music By Emma Williams
When one thinks of ancient Indian music, one might recall the sitar. However, the Indian sitar is a redesigned version of an instrument originally from the ancient Middle East known as the shetar. Also, some ancient Indian musical instruments, such as the laddishah and the ravan-hatti are now only available in museums. As the interest in them dwindled, so did their numbers, causing craftsmen to make less and less money off of them, so that people who knew how to make them became fewer and fewer. In other words, as classical Indian music dropped out of the public eye, classical Indian instruments became scarce.
Hindu religious songs were called bhajans. They originated from the Sama Veda, the fourth Veda. Bhajans are typically sung in groups, with one lead singer on melody. They are also very repetitive. This is one of the reasons that bhajans are sometimes used to relieve stresses of the moment. The repetition allows for freedom from thinking.
http://hinduism.about.com/od/audiomusic/a/bhajan.htm .
http://cnx.org/content/m12459/latest/
When one thinks of ancient Indian music, one might recall the sitar. However, the Indian sitar is a redesigned version of an instrument originally from the ancient Middle East known as the shetar. Also, some ancient Indian musical instruments, such as the laddishah and the ravan-hatti are now only available in museums. As the interest in them dwindled, so did their numbers, causing craftsmen to make less and less money off of them, so that people who knew how to make them became fewer and fewer. In other words, as classical Indian music dropped out of the public eye, classical Indian instruments became scarce.
Hindu religious songs were called bhajans. They originated from the Sama Veda, the fourth Veda. Bhajans are typically sung in groups, with one lead singer on melody. They are also very repetitive. This is one of the reasons that bhajans are sometimes used to relieve stresses of the moment. The repetition allows for freedom from thinking.
http://hinduism.about.com/od/audiomusic/a/bhajan.htm .
http://cnx.org/content/m12459/latest/
Technical Ancient Indian Music
Ancient Indian Music By Emma Williams
In western music, an octave has eight commonly used notes, in contrast to the twelve commonly used notes of the Indian octave. In music terms, an octave higher means that all the notes in the tune are twelve notes higher than the melody, but have the same relation to each other and follow the same pattern. An octave can also be twelve notes lower. There are two western scales, major and minor. In ancient Indian music, however, there are many scales, called thats. There are ten popular thats in Ancient Indian music. Many of the ascending Indian scales, called arohas, differ from the descending scales, called avarohas. However, this is not unique to Indian music, as the harmonic minor scale in western music follows this same pattern.
In western music, an octave has eight commonly used notes, in contrast to the twelve commonly used notes of the Indian octave. In music terms, an octave higher means that all the notes in the tune are twelve notes higher than the melody, but have the same relation to each other and follow the same pattern. An octave can also be twelve notes lower. There are two western scales, major and minor. In ancient Indian music, however, there are many scales, called thats. There are ten popular thats in Ancient Indian music. Many of the ascending Indian scales, called arohas, differ from the descending scales, called avarohas. However, this is not unique to Indian music, as the harmonic minor scale in western music follows this same pattern.
Ancient Indian Instruments and Songs
Ancient Indian Music By Emma Williams
Ancient Indians used music as their source of basic religious knowledge. When one thinks of ancient Indian music, one's mind often goes right to the sitar. However, the Indian sitar is a redesigned version of an instrument from the ancient Middle East known as the shetar. Some ancient Indian musical instruments, such as the laddishah and the ravan-hatti are now only available in museums. Their numbers dwindled because interest in them dwindled, causing craftsmen to make less and less money off of them, so craftsmen who knew how to make them became fewer and fewer. In other words, as classical Indian music dropped out of the public eye, classical Indian instruments became scarce. http://cnx.org/content/m12459/latest/ (music in religion) Hindu religions songs were called bhajans. They originate from Sama Veda, the fourth Veda. Bhajans are typically sung in groups, with one lead singer on melody. They are also very repetitive. This is one of the reasons that bhajans can relieve stresses of the moment. The repetition allows for freedom from thinking. http://hinduism.about.com/od/audiomusic/a/bhajan.htm .
Ancient Indians used music as their source of basic religious knowledge. When one thinks of ancient Indian music, one's mind often goes right to the sitar. However, the Indian sitar is a redesigned version of an instrument from the ancient Middle East known as the shetar. Some ancient Indian musical instruments, such as the laddishah and the ravan-hatti are now only available in museums. Their numbers dwindled because interest in them dwindled, causing craftsmen to make less and less money off of them, so craftsmen who knew how to make them became fewer and fewer. In other words, as classical Indian music dropped out of the public eye, classical Indian instruments became scarce. http://cnx.org/content/m12459/latest/ (music in religion) Hindu religions songs were called bhajans. They originate from Sama Veda, the fourth Veda. Bhajans are typically sung in groups, with one lead singer on melody. They are also very repetitive. This is one of the reasons that bhajans can relieve stresses of the moment. The repetition allows for freedom from thinking. http://hinduism.about.com/od/audiomusic/a/bhajan.htm .
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