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Dance
Festivals
History
Dance
Using
the body as a medium of communication, the expression of dance
is perhaps the most intricate and developed, yet easily
understood art form. Dance in India has seeped into several
other realms like poetry, sculpture, architecture, literature,
music and theatre. The earliest archaeological evidence is a
beautiful statuette of a dancing girl, dated around 6000 B.C.
Bharata's Natya Shastra (believed to be penned between second
century B.C. and second century A.D.) is the earliest
available treatise on dramaturgy. All forms of Indian
classical dances owe allegiance to Natya Shastra, regarded as
the fifth Veda.
 One
of the most enduring symbols of India is the figure of
Nataraja - Shiva, the King of Dancers . Shiva's cosmic dance
is believed to encompass creation, preservation, and
destruction and this idea has been embedded in Hindu thought
and ritual since the dawn of civilization. He holds a small
drum (damaru) in his upper right hand. His lower right hand
shows the fear-negating gesture (abhaya), his upper left hand
is in half-moon pose (ardhachandramudra) which holds a tongue
of flame which is the fireman) that finally destroys the world
and is then quenched in cosmic waters. Thus the hand holding
the drum and the one holding fire balance the forces of
creation and destruction. The second left arm is held
gracefully across the chest (gajahastamudra) with the hand
pointing to the uplifted foot, denoting favor or grace for the
devotee. One foot rests on Pismire or Mauyalka, the embodiment
of human cruelty and ignorance. Surrounding Shiva’s figure
and emanating from him is an immense aureole of flames (prabhamandala)
representing the vital processes of nature, sustained by the
tremendous energy of the dancing God within. The flames
represent the transcendental power of wisdom and truth, as
well as the mantra ‘Om’ which signifies the totality of
creation.
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Festivals
The
Indian calendar is one long procession of festivals. These are
as varied in origin as they are large in number. There are
innumerable national, regional, local, religious, seasonal and
social festivities. This is not surprising considering the
fact that India is the land of gods, goddesses, saints, gurus
and prophets.
Festivals
here are characterised by colour, gaiety, enthusiasm, feasts
and a variety of prayers and rituals. Travellers are struck by
the scale and multiplicity of the festivities that populate
the cultural scene of this land.
Hibachi,
Deposal, Deep Diwali, Dussehra, Easter, Festivals of Uttar
Pradesh, Ganesha Chaturthi
Holi,
Hola Mohalla, Janmashtami, Pongal, Lohri, Kullu Dussehra,
Ladakh Festival, Onam, Raksha- Bandhan, Ram Navami, Rath Yatra,
Shivaratri, Gangaur, Festivals&Fairs of Rajasthan,
Festivals& Fairs of Gujarat,Tyagaraja Festival, Buddha
Purina, Christmas, Good Friday, Guru Nanak's Birthday, Id,
Mohair Jeanie, Muharram Parsi Festivals, New Year Days,
Festivals in the North-East Makar Sankranti, Ugadi
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History
The
roots of Indian civilisation stretch back in time to
pre-recorded history. The earliest human activity in the
Indian sub-continent can be traced back to the Early, Middle
and Late Stone Ages (400,000-200,000 BC). Implements from all
three periods have been found from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar,
parts of what is now Pakistan and the southern most tip of the
Indian Peninsula.
These
Paleolithic people were semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers for
many millennia. Five main races of people were in existence
when the move to an agricultural lifestyle took place, in the
middle of the 9th millennium BC. These were the Negritude
race, the Proto-Australoid; the Mediterranean race, the
Mongloids and the Alpine people.
The
first evidence of agricultural settlements on the western
plains of the Indus is roughly contemporaneous with similar
developments in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia. These
settlements gradually grew and the inhabitants started to use
copper and bronze, domesticated animals, made pottery and
began trade activities.
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