Rajasthan Art And Culture
The culture of Rajasthan is a wide spectrum of brilliant hues caressed by waves of settlers ranging from ancient Indus Valley urbanites to pastoral Aryan herdsmen, Bhil forest dwellers, Jain merchant princes, Jat and Gujjar cultivators, Muslim craftsmen, and the Rajput warrior aristocracy. All shaped this region called the land of kings. Colorful costumes, festivals and customs relieve the tedium of coping with a harsh, demanding land. People travel to Rajasthan to savor its splendors and imbibe its enviable heritage. Discover it all in the fairs and festivals, folk music, Rajasthani cuisine and crafts of Rajasthan.
Fairs And Festivals Of Rajasthan
Fairs and Festivals forms a very important part of Rajasthan Culture. The Desert Jewel of India, Rajasthan shimmers with even more vibrancy during the time of its colorful fairs and festivals. The desert glitters with the colors of joyous celebration and gay abandon with every fair and festival of Rajasthan. There is a celebration for every religious occasion, every change of season and every harvest, all invariably a reflection of the genius of their arts and crafts and their ascetic refinement. In fact, celebrations occur almost round the year and are a splendid opportunity for tourists to gain an insight into the life of the Rajasthan during their travel.
Cuisine Of Rajasthan
In the kitchens of Rajasthan, food was very serious business and raised to the level of an art - form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the pompous palaces and kept their recipes a closely guarded secret.Cooking here has its own unique flavour and the simplest; the most basic of ingredients go into the preparation of most of the dishes. The war -like lifestyle of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this region influenced the cuisine of Rajasthan. In the desert region of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use the minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, butter milk and clarified butter. Gram flour is a major ingredient here and is used to make some of the delicacies like khata, gatte ki sabzi, pakodi etc
The patronage for artisans of the state was extended by the kings and rulers who turned to them to embellish their zenanas, the women's wings of the palaces, and the durbar or courts. Ateliers were created where artists were treated with due respect and paintings, jewelery and pottery, stone and wood carving, textile and rug weaving, was accorded due place. Major craft traditions in Rajasthan include Tie-and-Dye Textiles, Hand block Printing, Quilting, Jewelery, Gems and Stones, Blue Pottery, Leather Craft, Woodcarving, and local Painting traditions.
Music And Dance Of Rajasthan
The music and dances of Rajasthan are heady, exciting, hypnotic and compelling and very much a part of the eternal appeal of this strange and wondrous land. They constitute the very warp and weft of life in Rajasthan-indeed the state has a very vibrant, highly evolved tradition of performing arts carefully nurtured and sustained over the centuries.
Art & Architecture
Rajasthan is among the richest states in the country. May be it was a result of a war like life style of people of Rajasthan which sharpened the creative senses, artistic skills and inspired them to create the best and richest of arts. Rajasthan has created and preserved rich craft heritage which includes fabulous fabrics in lovely prints, precious and semiprecious stones, Kundan Meenakari Jewelry, embroidered leather work, other hand crafted items of wood, ivory, lac, glass, brass, silver and gold.
Colorful Festivals
Festivals give people a chance to decorate their homes, buy new clothes, visit relatives and friends and take rest from their daily routine to gather together and enjoy the festivities. Special food, naturally, is very high on the agenda, keeping in mind the occasion; a wedding , a festival , a celebration to mark the birth of a male child or a good crop , even good monsoons , are reason enough to celebrate.
