96. an Overview of Art and Culture in Telangana
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Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 An overview of Art and Culture in Telangana *Thonty Devanna, Asst.Professor of History, Girraj.Govt.College(A), Nizamabad,Telangana ABSTRACT Telangana, due to its geographical location, is the realm where two diverse cultures from the north and the south of the country merge and create a composite culture region with diverse cultural, social and economic backgrounds. Thus, Telangana links the north and south of India. Hyderabad, the state capital, is a classic example of Telangana heritage, exemplified by a number of archeological monuments such as the Charminar, the Golkonda Fort, Mecca Masjid, the Sri Chennakesava Swamy Temple, UjjainiMahankaali Temple and Hussain Sagar, to quote a few. Other important heritage sites in Telangana, apart from Hyderabad, are Adilabad, Karimnager, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Warangal. Each of these has several heritage monuments that emerged during the state's long history.Culture in Telangana is a combination of customs adopted from Persian traditions during the rule of Moghuls and Nizams and more dominantly South Indian customs. Thus ,it has a very rich culture with Telugu culture amalgamated within the fabric of the society. Telangana is potential lies in its culture that blends cultural customs from Persian traditions embedded during Moghuls, QutubShahis and Nizams rule with influential and mainly South Indian customs and traditions. The State has a rich tradition in classical music. It has a rich painting and folk arts such as Burrakatha, shadow puppet show, and Perini Shiva Tandavam, Gusadi Dance, Kolatam, Bonalu, Kite Festival, etc. This paper examine the an overview of art and culture in Telangana State. Key Words: Art,Cultures, Moghuls, QutubShahis and Nizams Introduction Telangana, the new State of the Indian Union achieved after a prolonged and relentless struggle during which many sacrificed their lives, has successfully completed a little over six years. Though six years is too short a period in the history of any State or the country, Telangana has been firing on all the cylinders despite all odds and forging ahead with long strides, thus becoming a trailblazer for other States. Through initial troubles and numerous constraints, Government’s commitment to realize the goal of ‘Bangaru Telangana.’ remains unwavered. On the important occasion of successfully completing six years of all-round development of the State, it may be apt to take stock of where the State stood at the time of attaining Statehood and where it stands now. There are many ways of looking at the performance of Volume IX, Issue VIII, AUGUST/2020 Page No : 925 Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 a Government in the last six years. But the three most important ways of looking at the performance of a Government are from the perspective of people’s expectations, against the promises made and fulfilled and against the previous governments’ record. It is a matter of great pride that with determined efforts of the Government, the performance of the State on all these parameters was extraordinary, to say the least. There was acute power shortage at the time of the formation of the State adversely impacting the growth of industrial and services sector. Many small scale units had to shut down their operations and others had no option but to work in shifts. There were frequent incidences of droughts and crop failures resulting in farmers committing suicides. Many opportunities were lost because of utter neglect of Telangana on all the fronts in the combined State and the problems assumed alarming proportions. Against these odds, with the attainment of Statehood after a prolonged struggle, the expectations of people were very high. The Government did not brood over the past neglect and was not deterred by the many challenges before it. The Government was firm that such a serious crisis should not go waste and took it as an opportunity to do things that were never done before to meet the suppressed aspirations of people. The State started the process of reinventing and reorienting the State to realize the goal of ‘Bangaru Telangana’. Telangana is a historic land dotted with a variety of forts that have the ability to develop into iconic heritage sites for tourism. Many prominent forts are Golconda Fort, Medak Fort, Khammam Fort, Nizamabad Fort, Elagandula Fort, Karimnagar and Bhongir Fort, Nalgonda, where Tourism Department is taking up projects to establish tourist amenities. Warangal Fort and Golconda Fort is also the host of Sound and Light displays that take us back to a glorious history. More such shows would highlight Telangana's rich heritage. Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) organizes all the above-mentioned tourism packages and also connects neighboring states. Haritha Hotel chains, wayside services, river cruises, and water fleet are also operated by TSTDC at various locations. Any trip to Telangana State, including the popular Hyderabadi Biryani, Qurbani-ka-Meetha, Haleem, Osmania Biscuits and Irani Chai, is incomplete without a taste of its cuisine. Objectives of the Study 1.To exmine the importance of art and culture in Telangana. 2.To describe the crafts of Telangana. 3.To analyze the Architecture in Telangana. Methodology The research is based on secondary data. It’s an exploratory and descriptive in nature. The study is descriptive as well as analytical in nature and is being carried out with the help of secondary data availed from Socio Economic outlook, library books, journals, newspapers, magazines,Government publications and websites. Volume IX, Issue VIII, AUGUST/2020 Page No : 926 Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 The name ‘Telangana’ is derived from the word ‘Trilinga’ meaning the place of three lingas as according to legends Lord Shiva’s lingams are found on three mountains Srisailam, Kaleshwaram and Draksharama which form the boundaries of Telangana. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata as Telingadesha and it is said that the people of this land sided with the Pandavas in their battle against the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra War. It is also mentioned in the Aitreyabrahmana, Ramayana and Puranas. The Art, Culture and Traditions of Telangana is a fusion of the Telugu and Persian culture dating back to the Nizams and Mughals. Hence, there is an influence of Hinduism and Islam. Since Buddhism was the dominant religion upto the 6th century it was also the home of Mahayana Buddhism. This can be observed in the monuments of Nagarjunakonda and the World University at the Sri Parvata presided over by Acharya Nagarjuna. In the 12th century the Kakatiyas and the Chalukyas revived Hinduism and Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire restructured old temples and built new ones. Art Nirmal Arts Amidst the hills and forests of Adilabad one of the districts of Telangana is the small town of Nirmal. It has been considered the land of art and crafts. The big community of craftsmen in Nirmal are referred to as ‘Nakkash’. It is said that this art form originated somewhere around 14th century. By the end of 17th century, this art took a radical transformation. This town is famous for its paintings known as Nirmal paintings. These paintings were greatly admired and patronized by the Mughal rulers in the medieval period and it is said that Lady Hydri later on brought the craftsmen to Hyderabad to promote their growth and development. In this, traditional art scenes are painted from the Hindu epics¬ Ramayana and Mahabharata. The paintings have been influenced by the Indian Schools of Art like Ajanta, Kangra and from Mughal miniatures. The colours used in these paintings especially the familiar gold colour are produced indigenously from extracts of herbs, gum, vegetable dye and minerals. The paintings, whether depicting the grace of a dancer or the rhythm of a musician, enrapture the viewer. It is said that in the past the Nizam of Hyderabad on visiting Nirmal was given a grand welcome with the artisans decorating the venue and seat of the Nizam in such a way that an intricately designed banana bud suspended over the Nizam’s seat unfurled and a cascade of golden petals were showered on the Nizam. Deccani Paintings Deccani paintings are a style of miniature paintings which flourished among the Deccani Sultanates in peninsular India in the late 16th century. It was a combination of Vijayanagar wall paintings and Persian influence with elongated figures and landscapes with floral backgrounds. The colours used were rich and luminous predominantly in gold and white. Volume IX, Issue VIII, AUGUST/2020 Page No : 927 Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 Kalamkari paintings These paintings originated from the word ‘kalam’ meaning pen and ‘kari’ meaning work. Colorful designs are applied on cloth using vegetable dyes. Scenes from Hindu mythology are depicted though Persian designs and motifs are included due to the influence of Muslim rulers. Hand carved blocks are used to do the outlines and main features and the pen is used for finer details. Cheriyal Scroll Paintings These paintings are stylised versions of Nakashi art which is an art form practised in Cheriyaldistrict of Warangal in the Telangana region. They are used for storytelling and their themesare drawn from folklore and mythology like the Puranas and Epics. The format of thesepaintings is narrative like a film role or a comic strip. They were traditionally used by theballadeer or story telling community known as ‘Kaki Padagollu’. They went from village tovillage singing and narrating their ballads with music and dance displaying these scrolls in aseries of horizontal or vertical panels on a stage erected on four poles with a horizontal bar.The length of the scroll depended on the length of the story and each scroll could have about50 panels. The panel depicting that particular part of the story would be displayed as the bardwould narrate the story.