Indian Schools of Sculptures

  

Indian Schools of Sculptures are very ancient and rich in nature. India has witnessed the art in a form of sculpture due to the patronage of various kings and migratory groups. However as far as schools of sculpture in the true sense of the term include Pala school of sculpture, Mathura school of sculpture, Gandhara school of sculpture and Amravati school of sculpture. During the first and second centuries ‘Buddhism’ spread to the highest degree, had encouraged an improved artistic enthusiasm to illustrate the enlightened message of Buddhism. During this creative time, three main schools of sculptures in India emerged which had developed their particular styles and distinctions. These were the ‘Gandhara’, ‘Mathura’ and ‘Amaravati’ schools.

History of Indian Schools of Sculptures
The first identified sculpture in India is from the Indus Valley civilization, found in sites of ‘Mohenjodaro’ and ‘Harappa’. These include the famous small bronze male dancer. After the fall down of the Indus Valley civilization there is a little record of sculpture until the Buddhist era. The tradition of Indian colossal sculptures in stone began comparatively late, with the period of influence of Ashoka from 270 to 232 BCE and the Pillars of Ashoka, of which six survive. Large amounts of symbolic sculpture survive from the Buddhist pilgrimage stupas, above all Sanchi; these were probably developed out of a tradition using wood. The wood continued to be the major sculptural and architectural medium in Kerala all through the historical periods until the recent decades.

In the 2nd to 1st century BCE in far northern India, the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara form of sculptures became clearer, symbolizing episodes of the Buddha’s life and teachings. The pink sandstone of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist sculptures of Mathura from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE revealed both Indian traditions and Western influences and successfully established the source for succeeding Indian spiritual sculptures. The style was developed and subtle in most under the Gupta Empire (c. 320-550) covering the earlier Ellora Caves. The famous lost wax bronzes of the Chola dynasty (c. 850-1250) from south India consist of the iconic form of Shiva as Nataraja and with the huge stonework carvings of ‘Mahabalipuram’ dating from the Pallava dynasty are very famous. The Chola period is also notable for its sculptures and bronzes. Among the existing examples in the different museums of the world and in the temples of South India, it may be seen as the several fine figures of Shiva in different forms, Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi, Shiva saints and many more.

Different Indian Schools of Sculptures
The three important schools of Indian sculpture are as follows:

The Gandhara School

The Mathura School

The Amravati School

For more, visit the link below:

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Indian Television Serials

  

Indian Television Serials tends to be regular-broadcasting soap opera broadcast on Indian television. They are being telecasted in different languages throughout the country depending upon the region. Indian television serials deal with different messages and themes for the society or at times they are merely for entertainment.

Comedy, family relationships, social issues, mythology, children's shows, patriotism, reality shows etc. are the few popular themes around which the Indian television soaps revolve. These operas are also broadcasted in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and West Africa.

History of Indian Television Serials
The first Indian television soap opera was ‘Hum Log’, which first aired in 1984 and concluded after the 154th episode. It was the longest running serial in the history of Indian television at the time at which it ended. The first flourishing wave of Indian late evening television soap operas started in 2000 with ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ created and produced by Ekta Kapoorunder her banner Balaji Telefilms. It was broadcasted not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and ended with 1833 episodes run.

Then biographies of famous people started being produced in the form of Hindi soap operas. ‘Meera’ was a biography of Meera, Shivaji was portrayed in ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Shahji Raje Bhosle’, Rani Lakshmi Bai was presented in ‘Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi’, ‘Chanakya’ covered the life of Chanakya, ‘Chittor Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur’ portrayed Rani Padmini, ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’ is a biography of King Ashoka and ‘Bharat ka veer putra Maharana Pratap’ was a biography of Maharana Pratap.

Crime programmes were also started being produced and aired. ‘Adaalat’ was an Indian television courtroom drama series which revolves around Advocate K. D. Pathak. ‘CID’ follows a team of detectives belonging to the Criminal Investigation Department in Mumbai. The protagonist of the show is Shivaji Satam. Indian audience is fond of television soaps but when it comes to reality shows, the interest for the show boosts.

Types of Indian Television Serials
Following are different genres which are broadcast as soap operas in India:

Drama: The development of daily long running drama series started with Ekta Kapoor's ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ which was followed by several K-series such as ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’, ‘Koi Apna Sa’, ‘Kkusum’ and more. Recent successful drama series are ‘Saath Nibhaana Saathiya’, ‘Sasural Simar Ka’ completing with 2000 episodes and the longest running ever Indian show is ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ with more than 2600 episodes and still counting.

Romance: It began to air in early 2000s with the drama series. Several shows were followed with it some of them being, ‘Kutumb’, ‘Kahiin to Hoga’, ‘Kayamath’ and so on. Most recent being ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein’, ‘Kumkum Bhagya’, ‘Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki’ and ‘Kundali Bhagya’.

Social Message: In recent times, soap operas in India focused on socially appropriate themes such as child marriages, female child killings, rape, murder, sati and several themes that sends message to society. The most popular soap under this genre is ‘Balika Vadhu’ that focused on child marriages, ‘Na Aana Is Des Laado’ that focused on social evils against girl child and women's rights, ‘Bairi Piya’ a soap by Balaji Telefilms, ‘Bandini’ a show that described how a female was married under forced circumstances, ‘Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki’ which focuses on transgender and their social rights and many more.

Historical: Most of the historical serials are based on Indian kings and queens. The most popular soap opera in this genre is Zee TV's ‘Jodha Akbar’ created and produced by Ekta Kapoor under her banner Balaji Telefilms and ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, a story Rani Laxmibai. Others include, ‘Veer Shivaji’, a story of Maratha king Shivaji, ‘Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap’, a story of Rajput king, ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’ a story of king Ashoka, ‘Porus and Prithvi Vallabh - Itihaas Bhi, Rahasya Bhi’.

Mythological: The first mythological series in India was produced in 1986. The most popular series in this genre ever produced are ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’. Since then, several versions of this series have been reproduced, the most recent being, ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Siya Ke Ram’ on Star Plus. Other series made in this genre are ‘Dharmakshetra’, ‘Jai Shri Krishna’, ‘Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki’, ‘Mahakaali — Anth Hi Aarambh Hai’, ‘Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman’, ‘Suryaputra Karn’, ‘Vighnaharta Ganesha’ and several others.

For more, visit the link given below:

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Odissi Music

  

Odissi Music is a very old classical Indian style of music with specific Raagas, Taals, and its own special style of rendering of lyrics and melody. It belongs to the genre of Classical music of India and has its origins in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Indian Classical Music has five main branches- Avanti, Panchali, Udramagadhi, Hindustani and Carnatic Music. Of these, Udramagadhi exists in the form of Odissi music. Odissi songs traditionally depict the love and frolics of Radha and Lord Krishna. Odissi dance is one of the classical dances of India performed with Odissi music.

Origins of Odissi Music
Odissi Music has a rich history and dates back to the 2nd century BC. Originally Odissi was sung to the dance of the 'Maharis' (Devadasis) at the Jagannath Temple, and was later sung to dances by young boys, 'Gotipuas' performing Odissi dance. The Odissi music of today has evolved from the style of 'Gotipua' music. In its earliest days the Odissi style of music and dance was patronised by Kharvela, the ruler of Orissa (Kalinga). The music form got shaped during the time of famous Odiya poet Jayadeva. He was the first one to compose lyrics which were meant to be sung. Later, by the 11th century AD, the folk music of Orissa which existed in the form of Triswari, Chatuhswari, and Panchaswari, came to be adapted into the classical style.

Style of Odissi Music
The Taal forms the most important part of Odissi Music, and all songs are to be sung in specific raagas and taals. The Odissi taalas have a different distribution of beat and pause from the north and south Indian taalas. Though Odissi music is thus a unique blend of South and North Indian classical music, it has its own distinct qualities. For instance, some taals in Odissi music that are similar to Hindustani classical music are 'Jhampa' and 'Jhaptaal', 'Atta' and 'Chautaal', 'Aditaal' and 'Tritaal'. Typical Odissi taals, however, are different from that of Hindustani music in division of beats and bols. Odissi music gives great importance to the lyric where words are required to be sung without fragmentation or distortion. Also, a lot of importance if singing is laid on the text of the song known as 'Prabandha'.

The typical Odissi style of singing starts with a short 'Aalap' with typical Odissi 'Andolan' followed by the main song 'Prabandha' where the use of 'Boltan' elaborates the raaga. 'Boltan' is also used to demonstrate various 'Abhinayas' during dances performed to these songs. 'Taan' is usually in the form of 'Sargam' and is usually at the end of the song. It is set to the beats and pauses of the taal. 'Padi' (lyrics sung to a different division of beats of the same taal) is typical to the Odissi style although all songs may not have 'Padi'. Usually, 'Padi' is sung at a faster speed than the main song.

For more, visit the link below:

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Awakening Kundalini Energy

  

Awakening Kundalini Energy is a specific energetic experience that means all of the knots and issues of the psyche have been resolved. Once the Kundalini (the energy in the form of a snake) is awakened, it passes through all the seven Chakras, or centres of consciousness, that are thought to reside in the human body. The actual experience of Kundalini Awakening is a surge of energy coming from Mooladhara Chakra up the back of the spine, over the top of the head and culminating in the forehead. Each chakra provides a certain power or experience when stimulated. The whole system gets awakened.

Kundalini Yoga is a type of Yoga that concentrates on the awakening of the energy that is found at the base of the spine, which is supposed to be in the form of a coiled snake. The goal of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken this ‘snake’ and send it moving up the spine all the way to the brain, which is believed to result in a sublime state of ecstasy and awareness.

Methods to Awaken Kundalini Energy
Awakening the Kundalini should not take a lot of effort. The only things one need is patience, perseverance, and devotion to the practice. There are various powerful techniques for Kundalini Awakening. Some of the different methods of Kundalini awakening are as follows;

Awakening Kundalini by Reiki

Awakening Kundalini by Mudras

Awakening Kundalini by Chakra

Awakening Kundalini by Pranayama

Awakening Kundalini by Yoga

Awakening Kundalini by Tantra

The above mentioned techniques will not only awaken the Kundalini energy, moving one towards spiritual enlightenment, it also can improve the health and remove all stress and unhappiness from the life.

For more, check the link given below:

https://www.indianetzone.com/1/awakening_kundalini_energy.htm

Hill Stations in Sikkim

  

Hill Stations in Sikkim are the popular where one can find the mixture of three cultural influences- Indian culture, Tibetan culture and Chinese cultural influences. Gangtok, Gyalshing, Lachung, Namchi, Pelling, Rangpo, Yuksom and many others are the popular hill stations, which are accessible from Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Darjeeling (West Bengal). Sikkim is well connected by roadways and airways with all the states of India, especially the north eastern states of India. The monasteries of Sikkim are popular tourist attractions.

Gangtok, East Sikkim district
Gangtok is a municipality in Sikkim. Gangtok is the capital and the largest town of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district. Located in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of 1,650 meters, Gangtok has M. G Road, which is a popular shopping destination in north east India.

Lachen, North Sikkim District
Lachen bears a meaning 'big pass'. It is a town allures for the panoramic view of the Himalayan Range. Here in winter times, snow fall is dominant. It is advisable to visit in the month of summers, because in winters landslides are frequent.

Nathu La, East of Gangtok
Nathu La is located along the Indo-China border. It is one of the most exotic places in Sikkim, which connects with all other cities of Sikkim.

Gyalshing, West Sikkim District
Gyalshing is connected with the hill stations of West Bengal like Darjeeling and Kalimpong with Jorethang. This place is beautiful for the green valleys and the deep natural vegetation.

Lachung, North Sikkim district
Lachung has the blessings of Lachen River and Lachung Rivers, tributaries of the Teesta River. Lachung thus forms an eco tourism spot.

Namchi, South Sikkim District
Namchi is a tourist spot and pilgrimage centre of Buddhism. Namchi monastery, Ralong Monastery and Tendong Hill are important Buddhist pilgrimage centers.

Pelling, West Sikkim District
Pelling is the cultural centre, located at a distance of 10 km from the district headquarters of Geyzing. Himalayan Mountain Range and the Kanchenjunga Peak are easily viewed from the many view points.

Rangpo, East Sikkim District
Rangpo is a popular tourism destination because it is connected with Siliguri and Gangtok. Rangpo enjoys sub-tropical climate throughout the year.

Yuksom, West Sikkim District
It is a historical town of Geyzing subdivision, where large numbers of archaeological ruins are located.

To explore more of Sikkim, click the link below:

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