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The Fine Arts
"If I am asked which nation had been advanced in the ancient world in respect of education and culture then I would say it was - India."
- Max Muller
German Indologist
In the area of the fine arts too the Indian psyche has proved itself to be quite fertile. An Indian is generally familiar with the different classical dance styles that today exist in India, like Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Mohini Attam apart from the folk dance like Bhangra and Garba.
These dancers from Bali in Indonesia show clear indian influences. The people of Bali are Hindus, although ethnically different from Indians
In the area of music too we have many indigenously Indian muscial instruments like Sarangi, Sitar, Tabla, Tambora, Tanpura, etc., Two schools of vocal music also have evolved in India viz. the Hindustani School and Carnatic School. Exponents of Indian vocal music and dance like Bhimsen Joshi Subbalakshmi, Yamini Krishnamurthy, Sanjukta Panigrahi, etc. have become popular with foreign audiences. The series of 'Festivals of India' that were organised in Britain, U.S.A., France, the former U.S.S.R. and Japan, did much to inform the peoples of these countries about Indian culture. But a large part of ancient India's achievements in the fine arts remain unknown to Indians.
In this chapter we will exam the scenario in these areas in ancient In and how the native cultures of the countries of South-east Asia as well as of Cent Asia, the Mid East and also Europe h borrowed from India in the area of the Fine Arts.
Author : Shri Sudheer Birodkar
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