ISPEAK

Manipuri Dance is a classical dance from Manipur. The dancers feet never strike the ground hard. Movements of the body and feet and facial expressions in Manipuri dance are suitable and aim at devotion and grace.

Odissi , Classical dance form of Odisha (Orissa). Odissi is the oldest classical dance rooted in rituals and tradition. It is particularly distinguished from other classical Indian dance forms by the importance it places upon the independent movement of head, chest and pelvis.

Kuchipudi is the classical form of Andhra Pradesh. The dance is accompanied by song which is typically carnatic music. The technique of Kuchipudi makes use of fast rhythmic footwork and sculpturesque body movements. Kuchipudi is a combination of Natya, Nritta and Nritya.

This dance form is from Kerala . Kathakali originated from Ramanattam. Traditionally a Kathakali performance is usually conducted at night and ends in early morning. But now it has been reduced to three hours or even lesser. In Kathakali, the story is enacted purely by the movements of the hands and by facial expressions and bodily movements. The make up of Kathakali artists are Pachcha, Kathi, Kari, Thaadi and Minukku.

It is a North Indian Classical dance form . The story of Kathak begins in ancient times with the performances of professional story tellers called Kathakas who recited stories from epics and mythology with some elements of dance. The work of the Maharaj family of dancers (Acchan Maharaj, Shambu Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj) helped in spreading the popularity of Kathak.

Bharata Natyam is a classical dance form originating in Tamil Nadu . In ancient times it was  performed as ‘dasiattam’ by Devadasis. Bharatanatyam is popularly called poetry in Motion. E. Krishna Iyer was one of those who raised the social status of Bharata Natyam and greatly popularized it. If follows the principle of Natya Shastra. Rugmini devi Arundale gave it a new life and revived it by establishing ‘Kalakshetra’ at Adayar, Chennai .

Jainism is the sixth largest religion in India and is followed throughout the India. Lakshadweep is the only Union Territory/state without Jains. Maharashtra has the highest number of Jain population. Like most ancient Indian religions, Jainism has its roots from the Indus Valley Civilization, reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India. Principles of Jainism Jainism encourages spiritual development through cultivation of one's own personal wisdom and reliance on self control through vows. Ascetics of this religion undertake five major vows: 1.       Ahimsa (Non-violence): The first major vow taken by ascetics is to cause no harm to living beings. It involves minimizing intentional as well as unintentional harm to other living creatures. 2.       Satya (Truth): The vow is to always speak of truth. Given that non-violence has priority, other principles yield to it whenever there is a conflict....

Under the Chandela kings of Bundelkhand, a great school of architecture flourished in the 10th and 11th century. An example of this style is a group of temples at Khajuraho, in Madhya Pradesh. The finest is the shaivite temple known as Kandariya Mahadev, built around CE 1000. The standard type of Khajuraho temple has a shrine room, an assembly hall, and an entrance portico. These entities were treated as a whole, whereas in the odishan style they were conceived as separate elements joined by vestibules. The sikhara is curved for its whole length, and miniature sikhkaras emerge from the central tower. The halls and porticos of the temple are also crowned with smaller towers which rise progressively to lead the eye upto the main tower, and give the impression of a mountain range. Khajuraho’s temples are also known for their extensiveerotic sculptures; the erotic expression is given equal importance in human experience as spiritual pursuit, and it is seen as part of a larger cosmic ...

The main architectural features of Odisha temples are classified in three orders, i.e. rekhapida, pidhadeul and khakra. Most of the main temple sites are located in ancient Kalinga—modern Puri District, including Bhubaneswar or ancient Tribhuvanisvara, Puri and Konark. The temples of Odisha constitute a distinct substyle within the nagara order. In general, here the shikhara, called deul in Odisha, is vertical almost until the top when it suddenly curves sharply inwards. Deuls are preceded, as usual, by mandapas called jagamohana in Odisha. The ground plan of the main temple is almost always square, which, in the upper reaches of its superstructure becomes circular in the crowning mastaka. This makes the spire nearly cylindrical in appearance in its length. Compartments and  niches are generally square, the exterior of the temples are lavishly carved, their interiors generally quite bare. Odisha temples usually have boundary walls. Example: Konark Temple, Jagannath temple,Linga...

The style of temple architecture that became popular in northern India is known as Nagara. In north India it is common for an entire temple to be built on a stone platform with steps leading up to it. It is a square temple with a number of graduated projections –rathakas – in the middle of each face which gives it a cruciform shape on the exterior. A tower (sikhara) gradually curving inwards and capped by a spheroid slab with ribs round the edge (Amalaka) give the elevation. Thus the two major  characteristics of this style are the cruciform ground plan and the curvilinear tower.

Gupta period marks the beginning of Indian temple architecture. They wrote manuals on how to form temples. There are five main types; Square building with flat roof shallow pillared porch; as Kankali Devi temple at Tigawa and the Vishnu Varaha temples at Eran. The nucleus of a temple – the sanctum or cella (garbhagriha) – with a single entrance and a porch (Mandapa) appears for the first time here. An elaboration of the first type with the addition of an ambulatory (pradakshina) around the sanctum sometimes a second storey; examples the Shiva temple at Bhumara(M.P.) and the ladkhan at Aihole. Another noteworthy example is Pārbati temple at Nachna Kuthara (M.P.). The square temple with a low and squat tower (shikhara) above; pillared approach, a high platform at the base; notable examples are the Dasavatara temple (Deogarh Jhansi) and the brick temple at Bhitargaon Kanpur. The most unique achievement of this stage was "Curvilinear tower" i.e. "Shikhara". ...

The Elephanta caves located near Mumbai in Maharashtra, India, were originally a Buddhist site which was later dominated by the Shivaite faith. It is contemporary with Ellora and its sculptures show slenderness in the body, with stark light and dark effects .

Ellora cave, located in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra is another important cave site. It is located a hundred kilometers from Ajanta and has thirty-two Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jain caves . It is an unique art historical site in the country as it has monasteries associated with the three religions dating from fifth century CE onwards to the eleventh century CE. There are twelve Buddhist caves having many images belonging to Vajrayana Buddhism like Tara, Mahamayuri etc. Buddhist caves are big in size and are of single, double and triple storey. Their pillars are massive. Ajanta also has the excavated double storey caves but at Ellora, the triple storey is a unique achievement. All the caves were plastered and painted but nothing visible is left. Unlike the Ajanta caves, the Ellora cave temples were carved out on the sloping side of the hill. Hence most of the temples have courtyards. The sculptures at Ellora are monumental, and have protruding volume that create deep recessio...

It is located in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state. Ajanta has twenty nine caves. It has four chaitya caves datable to earlier phase, i.e. second and first century BCE and the later phase i.e. the fifth century. It has large chaitya-viharas and is decorated with sculptures and paintings. Ajanta is the only surviving example of the paintings of the first century BCE and the fifth century CE. These caves are carved on a perpendicular cliff. As they are on perpendicular side, there are no courtyards. All the three forms of Art are combined in these caves : Architecture, Sculpture, Paintings.

This school developed near Sarnath in Bihar. The images of this tradition are characterised by plain, transparent drapery which covers both shoulders and a halo with little ornamentation.

This school developed in the region around Mathura, UP. The tradition of this school extended to not limited to the images of Buddha alone for it also included images of the Hindu pantheon of gods. Unlike the Gandhara school, this school was purely indigenous in its origins and reached its zenith under the rule of the Kushans. The image of the Buddha was usually carved out of sandstone and was characterised by - curly hair, roundness of flesh, transparent drapery with visible folds and a profusely decorated halo behind the head.

The Gandhara school developed in the north-western region of the Indian sub-continent. The region came under the political influence of a variety of kingdoms - Greek, Mauryan, Parthian, Kushan, Synthian and this resulted in the emergence of a mixed school of art which borrowed from various traditions. This school contributed to development of Buddha's image which was usually carved out of grey slate stone and was characterised by hellenistic features. These include - wavy hair in a top knot, sometimes a moustache on the face, urna between the eyebrows, garment with thick pleats usually covering both shoulders styled like a roman toga, plain halo behind the head and muscular formation of the body. The expression of calmness in the centre of attraction.