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Art,
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Dance
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Architecture -
Introduction |
Mauryan
Pillars & Sculptures | Islamic
Architecture | Modern Architecture |
Local
Arts
ARCHITECTURE
Introduction
The art tradition of Bihar dates back to the Neolithic and prehistoric
times. There are many structural relics that indicates the gap
between the prehistoric times and later periods.
The
buildings and works of art of the early Mauryan era, were mostly created
on wood. The ancient city of Pataliputra had wooden pillars and
fortifications, which reveals a high order workmanship. Indubitable evidence furnished
in Sanskrit and Pali literacy sources indicate the existence of a highly developed art other than
the sculptures of Pre-Ashokan Magadha.
As
per Megasthenes account, the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta's palace Mauryan
was splendor with series of hypostyle halls containing pillars of wood, clasped around with vines embossed in gold and ornamented with designs of birds and foliage in gold and silver.
Pataliputra, situated along the banks of the Ganges river, was surrounded by a stupendous timber palisade with loopholes for archers and protected externally by a wide and deep moat.
At intervals were over five hundred bastions with towers. The city
was entered by around sixty-four gates.
Gradually,
magnificent monuments executed in stone began to appear in Bihar during the Mauryan period.
Burnt bricks and lime was used for constructions. Houses were provided with pillars, windows and stairs.
Fortified cities and palaces had a wall around them interspersed with gateways and watch-towers and ditches outside.
The cities had well planned streets and different classes of people occupied special quarters set apart for them.
An
architectural achievement of the Mauryan Bihar is 'Stupa', which means 'something raised', and came to be used as a Buddhist architectural term for a mount containing the relics of Buddha.
The Four-Lion stupa of Ashoka has been adopted as the official emblem of
India. The pillars are said to be the master pieces of Mauryan Art.
The Pre-Ashokan and
Pre-Mauryan folk art were admittedly inspired by the animistic worship of popular deities known as Yakshas and Yakshinis, Nagas or Nagis, Gandharvas, Apsaras, earth-spirits, water spirits etc.
The fairly large size Yakshi statue was discovered by accident, at Didarganj
(Patna). It represents the sculptural art in the indigenous tradition.
In her right hand, the female figure holds a 'cowry' and the lower part of her body is richly covered with ornaments and folded garments.
Mauryan Pillars & Sculptures
The
Lion-crowned pillar, Lauriya, Namdangarh in Champaran, is the finest monolithic pillars of Ashoka.
It consists of a polished block of sandstone 10.1 meters long with a capital nearly 2.13
meters in length. Two other inscribed pillars are found at Rampurwa and Laurya at Basark.
All four were set up on the imperial road from Pataliputra to Nepal.
The edicts of the emperor are inscribed on rock at the Dhauli Hill in Orissa and on a hill near Sasaram in Bihar.
Buddhistic
statuary in the Gaya district is the only class of Indian Buddhist art that has come down through ages in a fair state of completeness.
At Bodh Gaya, the oldest Buddhist memorial (55 meters high temple) is a stone railing ornamented with friezes, panels and bosses,
that shows considerable artistic skill. The stupa was originally a copy in brick or stone of an earthen sepulchral tumulus and ending with the ornamented spire of the medieval period.
Islamic
Architecture
Islamic architecture has Minar domes, vaults and arches with an exclusive use of mortar and concrete.
A typical architectural splendor is the mausoleum of Magdum Shah Daulat at Maner, 29 kilometers west at Patna.
Hindu symbols representing elephants, bulls and lotuses also carved on its walls.
The buildings at Bankipur and Padri-ki-Haveli are constructed
as per the Gothic architecture. Golghar is the site of a famous granary, built in 1786.
The Sultan Palace on the Gardiner Road, Patna represents the twentieth-century Muslim
architectural style.
Modern Era
In the nineteenth century, Pucca (strong) houses, large in size with
baked bricks, mortar, lime, molasses and timber began to be constructed.
The poorer section of the people used Gilaba rather than lime and mortar and country tiles for their roofs.
From about the twentieth century, cement and sand began to be used in places of mortar and lime.
People began to project porticos and balconies unsupported by pillars. Construction of buildings even at marshy places became possible and gigantic structures with deep iron foundations have come up in Bihar.
Local Arts
The Maithils
(people of ancient Mithila) succeeded to some extent in preserving their rich art traditions.
Their Brahmins, Kayasthas and their women folk continued their traditional practices which kept alive the ordinary domestic arts of painting earthen pots and mud walls with gods and goddesses.
Bihar
Government has begun to play a vital and active role in promoting cultural forms and in providing opportunities to individual and group talents.
After independence, Bihar took the lead in establishing the state academy of music, dance and drama even before the National academy was set up.
With the help of All India Fine Arts and Crafts society, Bihar's own Shilpakala Parishad,
organized exhibitions on the regional level. Bihar was first, in organizing and holding regional festivals such as Vaishali festival.
Bihari craftsmen have excelled in terracotta, bamboo-work, Seenk-work, Kasida, Pottery, stone craft, textiles etc.
Reference:
http://www.webindia123.com/
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