Rajasthani Culture

Rajasthani Culture

Culture is the soul of a nation or a country. It guides a society for an on-going way of life. The rules of culture are universal which creates a consciousness in a society to lead a specific pattern of life at a given time. As a consequence, every country, society or states is known by its specific culture.

 

It is essential to understand the meaning of a culture for there exists a severe misconception with regard to the concepts of culture and civilization which are often mistakenly viewed as synonymous to each other.

 

Civilization refers to the life style of a society at a given time in a given age. It is the overt or external form of the society. Civilizations have been changing with the change in time and shall be changing in future too. However, the life principles formed at the root of these civilizations and which account for motivating the thoughts, aspirations and activities of the people, guide the people of a society in the adoption of a specific life style or way pattern of life.

 

Culture stands for those principles which motivates people in the society to lead a definite pattern of life. Thus, in the words of K.M. Munshi, the mental conditions and the psychic tendencies which aim to make our life clean, pur and pious is culture. There are two aspects of culture-Internal and External. Audio-visual arts and art forms are just the instruments of external culture whereas the attributes of our character are the instruments of the internal or intrinsic culture. Although, some of the intrinsic attributes of Rajasthani culture are similar to those of the Indian culture yet Rajasthani culture has a few characteristic traits of its own for example

 

(i) To protect the refugee has been the characteristics of especially the Kshatriyas of Rajasthan. For instance, Rao Hamir of Ranthambore sacrificed all that he had to protect two muslims who sought his patronage,

(ii) To accept and recognize the piousness of the Devsthan (Place of worship) and the greatness of several presiding gods and goddesses.

(iii) Importance of Pativrata dharam and

(iv) Entertaining guest, business honesty, feeling of mutual cooperation and protection of cow, Brahmin and woman etc.

 

The field of external or overt culture is extremely wide for it includes within its purview art forms like painting, dance architecture, sculpture, music, folksongs and folk entertainments like Folk sayings, Khyal, Paware, Folk literature, Drama, Kathputli Rasleela etc. and festivals and religious festivals like Teej, Gangaur, Dashera, Deepawali, Holi etc.

 

Art is the product of human culture. The genesis of art is an insignia of the aesthetic sense of the human beings. In fact, it is for the aesthetic tendency and mental development of the mankind that different art forms have developed. Etymologically, art stands for a minute part of some object. Art denotes sound and word. Sound means orientation towards the manifest from unmenifest or latent.

 

An artist, in fact, attempts to manifest his inherent latent aesthetic feelings through the medium of different art forms. The origin of the Hindi words kala (9664) may explained in the following way too-Ka means Diety of Aesthetics, Kamdeva means beauty, joy and enthusiasm, la means to give. Kalati Dadaniti meaning thereby that the object which gives happiness, pleasure and comfort by way of manifestation of beauty is art. In modern age, the classification of Arts is based on live basic forms viz.

(i) Useful or Utilitarian Arts and

(ii) Fine Art.

 

Useful Art has the utilitarian value for the human society whereas the fine art is characteristically as mention about Fine arts is nowhere trace-able in ancient literature, it may be assumed that nomenclature of fine art in India is a contribution of Western scholars have recognized the five art forms under fine art viz. Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Music and Poetic art.

 

Generation after generation, man has been using various mediums to express or manifest his feeling beauty and of which art is a specific and good medium. Rajasthan state has been rich and imposing in the field of expression or manifestation of art.

 

Among the various art forms-painting, architecture, art of music, sculpture art and handicraft are major and these art forms have a special significance in the life of the people dwelling in Rajasthan not only from the pre-historic age but also from the viewpoint of the present day time. It is through the medium of these art forms that the various aspects of the culture of Rajasthan and glory, not only its valour of this place, have been kept alive and made stable.

 

From the point of view of culture and art, Rajasthan has a place not only at the national level and but also at the international level. A separate department has been established with the intention to keep alive the different literary archaeological culture and other art forms and to spread the same among the masses. Under this, fifteen government and semi-government institutions are functioning which are engaged in providing desired speed to the works in these respective fields. A brief account of these institutions are given here under:

1. Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy - It was started in the month of November, 1957 at Jaipur. It encourages various artists from time to time by organizing seminars, symposia, conferences and exhibitions. Prizes are awarded to artists for their outstanding works. This academy is also engaged in the task of encouraging new and young painters for which the academy organizes the exhibition of the paintings of new painters every year.

2. Rajasthan kala Sansthan- It is a premier institution which teaches music and dance for higher classes and also engaged in the development of art in the state.

3. Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal-It was started at Udaipur due to earnest efforts of Sri D.L. Samar. Rajasthan got fame in Ghumar,Dandia, Gher and Gauri folk dances throughout India and foreign countries.

4. Roopayan Sansthan- It has been functioning since 1960. Roopayan Sansthan Cultural and Educational institution functioning in Borunda village of Jodhpur district has been done pioneering work in salvaging traditional Rajasthani folk songs and stories. It has so far collected thousands of songs and tales in Rajasthani dialects and has given a chronological order. Some of the important and popular tales have been published in its own press. It also owns a library and recording devices. It gets grant-in-aid from various heads of state and central government. This institute is an outcome of cooperative effort.

5. Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy- Its headquarter is at Jodhpur. The institution has been collecting old and antiquated indigenous musical instruments which were in vague since time immemorial. Institution has also started publishing books on folk songs and old instruments. It has got a number of affiliated institutions throughout Rajasthan. This academy in Rajasthan is engaged in encouraging fine art like music. It also arranges training camps for giving training in the art of drama.

 

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