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LAVI FAIR: A sustained traditional patrimony

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  Lavi fair, one of the most prominent fair of Himachal Pradesh is commemorated annually at Rampur. It is a merchandising event which is hugely remarkable for the trade and commerce of special goods and craft products. There is a great hustle and bustle  of tourists along with traders at the fair in the month of November. The town has sustained this olden traditional legacy for more than 300 years and has been organizing the Lavi mela with pride and grandeur. This fair is commenced every year in the month of November and continues for four days. Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com Rampur, 130 kms away from Shimla is situated on the left bank of river Satluj and has been a major commercial trading passage for India. Rampur was the access gateway to routes heading towards Kinnaur, Tibet, Ladakh and Afganisthan. In relevance with the Rampur fair, the Census of India (1961) states: "About three hundred years ago during the regime of Raja Kehar Singh of Bushahr, a trade treaty

The Indigenous and Forgotten people of the Andaman

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Andamanese people are the ethnic groups residing on the Andaman. As described by the Europeans colonists, the five distinct groups in which the Andaman’s people are categorised are the following, Great Andamanese,  As classified by the anthropologists, Great Andamanese are one of the Negrito people, who inhabits the parts of Southeast Asia. Jarawa are the Adivasi tribal people with the current population expected between 250 to 400 individuals.   Jangil , also known as Rutland Jarawa is an extinct tribe. Onge , are the aboriginal people who live a nomadic lifestyle are barely 100 in number at present. Sentinelese , inland people living on the Andaman are now estimated to be 100 to 200. Many premier and early anthropologists considered the endemic settlers of Andaman Islands to be intact examples of the negrito people spread over most parts of Southeast Asia. ORIGIN: Andamanese are traditional hunter- gatherer people with diverse culture .i.e. their m

WARLI: A quintessential tribal folk art of Maharashtra

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Tribal communities have contributed enormously in developing a rich heritage of our country as well as sustaining their tangible and intangible culture hence, it is really important to understand their cultural milieu as they are prominent section of the society.  Every tribal hamlet in India owns a significant art and skills and is enriched with diverse traditions and folklore.  One of all the tribal arts is Warli, inherited from the indigenous tribal community of Adivasis residing in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Gujarat and enclosing areas. Warli is a traditional folk-art of Maharashtra which is created collectively by 2 to 10 tribal married women, called as Suhasini within their community. Warli painting is different from other folk painting traditions of India in many important aspects. They don’t narrate mythological stories like the Madhubani paintings of Mithila do. On the contrary they depict social life and daily events. According to Jivya Mahse, a best i

BLACK POTTERY Of NIZAMABAD: A magnificent artistry by potters

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India has rich and diverse cultural heritage in the traditional crafts and its history is an old saga. One of the craft is the Black pottery of Nizamabad.        This craft is a wonderful amalgamation of concept, design and execution by the potters of Nizamabad, a small township in Azamgarh District of Uttar Pradesh, located on the banks of river Tamsa. It is a unique type of clay pottery well known for its black colored lustrous body with silver pattern work embossed on it. The alluring beauty of the pottery lies in love that skilled craftsman put into it. The small community of Kumhars, known as traditional potters adds magic to the jet black body by engraving beautiful designs that may be floral, geometric and abstract. All age groups of the 200 families of the community such as women, children, men, elderly takes part in their art with great interest and greater number of their works are shipped. This artistry started from Kutch, Gujarat and afterwards mo

Where Ghats will live forever……BANARAS

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Benaras, an immortal city well known as Varanasi is a divine and sacred place located on the banks of Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. Regarded as a cultural centre, Varanasi is also called as Kashi- City of lights.  In 1737, Mughals granted an official status to Benaras where numerous eminent scholars and preachers visited. This holy city is popular for its Ghats which are 87 in number and majority of them were built during Maratha reign.  Below are 10 major ghats from this holy city that you should see if you plan to visit Benaras. 1.   ASSI GHAT: This is the southernmost ghat where foreign scholars, researchers and students reside. Also noted as Moholla  Assi, this enticing place  is the first destination of every visitor in the city. It is situated at the junction of river Ganga and Assi where renowned Indian poet saint, Tulsi Das has written his Ramchitramanas. 2.   DASHASWAMEDH GHAT: With its astounding view, this ghat is considered as one of the prime ghats of Varanasi,

WAI- The City of Temples

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       http://hotelshriniwasexecutive.com/ Wai, a fascinating town with massive tangible and intangible inheritance is a place of immense beauty that starts here and lasts to go on forever. It is located in the Indian state of Maharashtra and well known by the name of Dakshin Kashi (which stands for City of Temples) due to its architectural heritage of more than 100 temples and is placed 228 kms from the city of dreams, Mumbai. Like Banaras is popular for its Ghats on the banks of river Ganga, similarly Wai is famous for its Ghats on the banks of river Krishna. Temples built in Hemadpanti architectural style are located near these seven divine ghats created by Sardar Raste namely, Gangapuri, Madhi Aali, Ganpati Aali, Dharmapuri, Brahmanshahi, Ramdoh Aali and Bhimkund Aali.  It has a pristine view which has been a shooting spot for many bollywood blockbusters of recent times such as Swadesh, Dabbang, Chennai Express, Prakash Jha directed Gangaajal and several others. More th

THEYYAM- A Ritual Art Form

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                                                                                      economydecoded.com     Theyyam is a popular, traditional and ritualistic art form of worship of North Malabar region in Kerala. This ritual of sacred dance is performed before the shrines by the people of few lower castes and tribal communities of Malabar like Vannan, Malayan, Mavilan, Velan and Pulayan and is believed to bring about well being for the society as well as the family. Theyyam is not merely a unique combination of dance and music (both vocal and instrumental) whereas it is a product of synthesis of various art forms such as painting, sculpture, architecture, costume- making, designing and also literature. The performers of Theyyam attribute great preponderancy to the worship of heroes, ancestral spirits and spiritual deities. It is considered that he immortal deity enters the mortal body and performs the ritual.  Either the person who perform theyyam or his companions first reci

SATTRIYA: A connoisseur of dance

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Sattriya is one of the most popular classical dance traditions of India which has its emergence from a five hundred year old extensive Lord Krishna centered theatre  disciplined in the Vaisnav Monasteries of northeast state of Assam. This whole affair is based on the stories of mythological deities of Hindu religion such as Krishna and Radha as well as Vishnu avatars such Rama and Sita . This is a versatile evolving art   that supplemented to the official classical dances of India in 2000 by Sangeet Natak  Akademi  and is performed by the artists worldwide. The female artist wears ghuri and chadar made of pat, a silk from the mulberry plant whereas the male artist wears dhoti and chadar. Kanchi and Kingini , a waist cloth is adorned by both, male and female artists. Sattriya, an art from Assam is based on the age-old treasure work on the performing arts, well known as NATYA SHASTRA , written by Bharata Muni who is considered as the ‘father of Indian theatrical

Heritage legacy since 11th century: Patan ka Patola

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www.youtube.com Patola sarees flourishes from Patan, situated 127 km from Ahemdabad located in Gujarat. Patola are double ikat woven silk saree which has preserved India’s affluent and ancient heritage in textiles since 11th century.  In the Gujarati families, patola saree is well chosen to bring luck and prosperity and every square in the saree personifies security in all spheres of the life. The authentic work doesn’t involve any computers or power looms. One saree is made with great patience, deep focus, deliberate dedication and hard work. The handmade authentic patola sarees are prominent for its colorful divergence and geometrical designs and its display lures the connoisseur of exquisite textiles. Most significant is the Bandhani process which involves complex and hard technique of tie and dyeing horizontally and vertically before weaving. Paintings in Ajanta caves have the earmarks of Patola’s tie-dyeing artistry. This process is build using natural dyes such as i