music
Music of Karnataka
Karnataka boasts of an
enviable tradition in the realm of folk and classical music. The rich heritage
of music of Karnataka can be ascribed to the Vijayanagara and Woodeyar kings
who themselves were great exponents of music and literature. These dynasties
patronized the growth traditional music and encouraged promising musicians.
Karnataka has made substantial contribution to the evolution of the both forms
of Indian classical music, Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. The
emergence of the Haridasa movement in the 14th century gave an impetus to the
Carnatic music. Among the Haridasas, Purandara Dasa played a pioneering role in
laying the foundation of Carnatic music. Known as the Pitamaha of Carnatic
music, Purandara Dasa composed around 475,000 compositions in Kannada.
Ragas are the basic building blocks of both Carnatic and Hindustani classical
music. Ragas are characterized by their specific ascent (Arohana) and descent
(Avarohana). Prominent Hindustani classical musicians from Karnataka include
Mallikarjun Mansoor, Bhimsen Joshi, Basavraj Rajguru, Nagarajarao Havaldar and
Gangubai Hangal.
Music of Karnataka also encompasses a great variety of folk music. The folk
music forms of Karnataka are an integral part of the rural life and possess the
distinctive characteristics of the regions where they belong. | art
Arts and Crafts of Karnataka
In Karnataka, the work of 'art' and 'craft' is evident in every
sphere, even the objects of daily use like the earthen pot, greatly portray the
magnificent work of art.
The extensive magnitude of Karnataka's arts and crafts is easily be seen in the
palaces, royal homes and elite bungalows of the by gone era. It depicts the
elegant delicacy and sense of supreme craftsmanship. Karnataka craft tradition
has been followed through ages from father to son which has encouraged and
continuously helped to hamper a vast variety of handicrafts with their high
degrees of perfection.
Government has set up many agencies and even design centers for encouraging
handicraft designing that has ultimately resulted in upgrading of many craft
traditions.
¤ The Craft of Wood Carving
Karnataka has come to occupy pride of place in the field of wood carving.
Holding a vast densely populated forest reserves, the State provides enough raw
material for its craftsmen who continue to employ age-old techniques for
carving, inlay-work, coating, painting and lacquer articles in wood.
Ancient temple wood architecture is the foremost specimen of wood carving,
where wood has been used extensively and carved finely into delicate
sculptures.
The ceilings and gateways of royal homes and the temples showcases hundreds of
intricately carved images of gods and goddesses. Rosewood articles are a one of
the shopper's delight, and tourist take home with them articles or sculptures
carved out of rosewood, beautifully carved rosewood elephant is most famous of
all.
Mysore craftsmen have acquired expertise in wood inlay work making exquisite
articles delineating picturesque beauty, tranquil scenes and lot more. The Maharaja's
palace in Mysore and the mausoleum of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapattna are the
foremost specimen of master craftsmanship where visitors get stun by the
startling delicacy in the work.
¤ Ivory Carving
Ivory carving is another popular craft prevailing in the entire state. Articles
carved delicately without excessively ornate image adjoining the figures,
mostly showcasing the figures of god and goddess. Some of Mysore's masterpieces
in ivory are now preserved in the Heritage Museum in Russia and in the South
Kensington Museum, London.
¤ Stone Carvers
Shilpis the stone carvers of Karnataka are supreme of all, they had won the
master crafts-man awards at the national level while others have been assigned
to carve stone idols for Hindu temples abroad, especially in the USA.
¤ Sandalwood Craft
Talking about sandalwood, Mysore charm the fragrance of this soft wood which is
extensively used to produce beautiful art pieces. There are vast range of
sandalwood product carves by the highly skilled workers, the gudigar families
of Shimoga, Uttara Kannada and Mysore districts specialize in this craft.
Krishna images are very popular among the devout, besides articles like lamp
shades, trays, jewel boxes, decorative articles, combs and even walking sticks
with rosewood handles.
¤ Doll Making
Doll making is another craft famous in Karnataka evenly arranged on wooden
platforms, decorated and displayed during the nine day Dusshera. Kinnal and
Gokak in north Karnataka and Channapatna on the Bangalore/Mysore are famous for
doll-making. The art of making puppet has galvanized many wood artisans and
painters to produce a variety of puppets. Besides puppets made of wood,
Karnataka also makes leather puppets which are more extensively used.
¤ Metal Ware
Bidar in Karnataka, is a famous for bidriware-a craft done on a metal plate of
zinc, copper, tin and lead. Bidri articles ornamental jugs, bowls, plates pen
holders, candle sticks and even paper knives. Nagamangala near Mysore is famous
for its bronze items and Mangalore in the west coast boasts of domestic
articles made of bell-metal.
Metalware in Karnataka has a rich and ancient tradition, Udupi - the temple
town is famous for its small images and ritual objects, while Karkala - an
ancient Jain center, is well-known for its Jain icons.
¤ Karnataka Mysore Paintings
Fabulous Mysore paintings of Karnataka are another attractions that dates back
to the carving of Ajanta Caves. The soft lines, the smooth and elegant drawing
of figures the sagacious use of bright vegetable colors and lustrous gold leaf,
make the traditional paintings of Mysore very elegant and attractive and most
demanding in international market. Chitrakala Parishat in Bangalore, showcasing
masterpiece collection of old paintings, also runs a school teaching the art of
traditional painting.
| dance
Karnataka is one of
the four southern states of India, whose legacy of folk dances dates right from
ancient history till date. There are many forms of folk dances of Karnataka,
which have recently received due attention of scholars and artists from many parts
of India. Some of the prominent folk dances of Karnataka are the Yakshgana and
Dollu Kunitha dances.
Yakshgana
Yakshgana is a folk
theatre form of Karnataka and it is an ancient art. It relates with many of the
traditions and conventions of the Sanskrit theatre or drama, particularly those
of the Purvaranga and the existence of a character, vidushak.
The first Yakshgana
play was in Telugu & was written in the 16th century by Peda Kempa Gaudan
and was called as Ganga Gauri Vilasam. Then came the renaissance period,
followed by the 17th century, which was the time when the Yakshgana form
developed in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. From the 15th century,
in Andhra Pradesh, this folk art is performed both as a narrative song and as a
dance drama. The form was also related to the Prabandha natak, which originated
in a slightly later period. However, Yakshgana as a theatrical form regained
popularity only in the 18th century. Till that time the written plays were
created but mainly as scripts for presentations. Yakshgana emerged as a
full-fledged theatre form in south Kannada at a time of great political unrest
and social disturbances.
The original form of
Yakshgana involves the use of recitative modes of poetry, melodies of music,
rhythm and dance techniques, colourful costumes and graceful make up. It
distinctly differs in many ways from the norms of the Sanskrit stage, as it
does not contain a highly elaborate language of hand and eye-gestures, but it
is closely related to developments in literature in the adjoining states of
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and has some affinities to literary forms.
Dollu Kunitha Dance
Kunitha are
considered as the ritualistic dances of Karnataka, of which the Dollu Kunitha
is one of the ritualistic dances that is popular with the kurubas of
`Beereshvara Sampradaya`. This is a very popular dance form of Karnataka,
accompanied by the beats of the drums, and singing of the dancers. The beating
drums are decorated by using colours or by flowers. Only the men of the
shepherd community (Kuruba community) are privileged to perform this dance. The
Dollu Kunitha is characterized by vigorous drumbeats, quick dancing movements
and synchronized group formations. Another dance form of Karnataka, which is
equally famous, is the Puja Kunitha. For performing this dance, all the dancers
carry a wooden type of structure having a deity on their heads.
The Dollu dance is
related to a myth related to the divine couple of Shiva and Parvathi. Hence
`Dollu` is popular among Saivites. The Dollu instrument used today is made from
the skin of either, sheep or goats, tightly fitted from all sides to a frame
that is made up of honne or mango tree wood. The other forms of this dance like
- Devare Thatte Kunitha, Yellammana Kunitha, Suggi Kunitha are named according
to the deity, symbols or instruments which are balanced on the head or held in
the hand of the performer while dancing. Some of the other common ritualistic
dances are the Pata Kunitha, the Gorava Kunitha and the Kamsale.
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