Tag: the making of regional cultures

As the temple gained importance as a center of pilgrimage, its authority in social and political matters also increased. All those who conquered Orissa, such as the Mughals, the Marathas and the English East India Company, attempted to gain control over the temple. They felt that this would make their rule acceptable to the local people.

In the twelfth century, one of the most important rulers of the Ganga dynasty, Anatavarman, decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannatha at Puri.

Miniatures (as their very name suggests) are small-sized paintings, generally done in water colour on cloth or paper. The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood. By the late seventeenth century Himachal Pradesh had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudattas Rasamanjari.

Miniatures (as their very name suggests) are small-sized paintings, generally done in water colour on cloth or paper. The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood. By the late seventeenth century Himachal Pradesh had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudattas Rasamanjari.

Miniatures (as their very name suggests) are small-sized paintings, generally done in water colour on cloth or paper. The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood. By the late seventeenth century Himachal Pradesh had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudatta's Rasamanjari.

The Sun Temple at Konark, Odisha, is famously known as the Black Pagoda due to its dark appearance and its use as a navigational landmark by sailors.

Miniatures (as their very name suggests) are small-sized paintings, generally done in water colour on cloth or paper. The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood. By the late seventeenth century Himachal Pradesh had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudatta's Rasamanjari.

Miniatures (as their very name suggests) are small-sized paintings, generally done in water colour on cloth or paper. The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood. By the late seventeenth century Himachal Pradesh had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudatta's Rasamanjari.

Bengali is a language spoken mostly in the state of Bengal and by Bengalis. Bengali is now recognised as a language derived from Sanskrit, but early Sanskrit texts (mid-first millennium BCE) suggest that the people of Bengal did not speak Sanskritic languages. From the fourth-third centuries BCE, commercial ties began to develop between Bengal and Magadha (south Bihar), which may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit. During the fourth century the Gupta rulers established political control over north Bengal and began to settle Brahmanas in this area.Thus, the linguistic and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger. In the seventh century the Chinese traveller Xuan Zang observed that languages related to Sanskrit were in use all over Bengal. 

The early settlers in Eastern Bengal who migrated from the more fertile Western Bengal from 16th century onwards, sought some order and assurance in the unstable conditions of the new settlements. These were provided by community leaders, who also functioned as teachers and adjudicators and were sometimes ascribed with supernatural powers. People referred to them with affection and respect as pirs. This term included saints or Sufis and other religious personalities, daring colonisers and deified soldiers, various Hindu and Buddhist deities and even animistic spirits. The cult of pirs became very popular and their shrines can be found everywhere in Bengal.