Tag: the flowering of regional culture

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. Some of the most beautiful of these, found in western India, were used to illustrate Jaina texts.

In 1230, king Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity and proclaimed himself as the "deputy" of the god.

The term Kathak is derived from Katha, a word used in Sanskrit and other languages for story. The Kathaks were originally a caste of story-tellers in temples of north India, who embellished their performances with gestures and songs.

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.
Another region that attracted miniature paintings was the Himalayan foothills around the modern-day state of Himachal Pradesh. By the late seventeenth century this region had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli.

The Basohli miniature painting developed around Himachal Pradesh around the late 17th century. Nadir Shahs invasion and the conquest of Delhi in 1739 resulted in the migration of Mughal artists to the hills to escape the uncertainties of the plains.

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.

Stories about Rajput heroes were recorded in poems and songs, which were recited by specially trained minstrels. These preserved the memories of heroes and were expected to inspire others to follow their examples.

Sometimes, women figure as the cause for conflicts, as men fought with one another to either "win" of "protect" women. Women are also depicted as following their heroic husbands in both life and death.

Many Mughal Emperors patronised highly skilled painters. With the decline of the Mughal Empire, many painters moved out to the courts of the emerging regional states. As a result Mughal artistic tastes influenced the regional courts of the Deccan and the Rajput courts of Rajasthan. At the same time, they retained and developed their distinctive characteristics. Portraits of rulers and court scenes came to be painted, following the Mughal example. Besides, themes from mythology and poetry were depicted at centres such as Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh.

The Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan patronishe highly skilled painters who primarily illustrated manuscripts containing historical accounts and poetry. These were generally painted in brilliant colours.