| The silver mountains, the sparkling
streams, vivid green valleys and the cool climate have attracted many into
the hills of Garhwal for peace, tranquility and meditation. It is
this beautiful land, which inspired the great writers Maharishi Balmiki
and Kalidas. All this laid the ultimate foundation for the literary treasures
of Garhwal, including painting and art. |
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The original art of stone carving
gradually died out but wood carving has continued. Wood carving could be
seen on every door of the house until only half a century ago. In addition,
wood carving can be seen in hundreds of temples all over Gahwal. The remains
of architectural work have been found at the following places in Garhwal:
The Chandpur fort, Temple of Srinagar,
Padukeshwar near Badrinath, Devi Madin near Joshimath, and the Devalgarh
temple, all in Garhwal and Chandi district.
Garhwal
School of Painting
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Garhwal was always considered a
safe haven for wanderers, adventurers, political exiles, philosophical
thinkers and nature lovers. About the middle of the 17th century A.D. Suleman
Shikoh, a Mughal Prince,took refuge in Garhwal. The Prince brought along
with him an artist and his son |
who were his court painters and well
versed in the Mughal style of Miniature Painting. After nineteen months,
the Prince left Garhwal but his court painters, enchanted
by the environs, stayed behind.
These painters settled in Srinagar
(Garhwal), the then capital of the Pawar dynasty and
introduced the Mughal style of painting
in Garhwal. With the passage of time, the successors of these original
masters became expert painters and also developed an original style
of their own. This style later on came to be known as the Garhwal School
of Painting.
About a century later, a famous painter,
Mola Ram, developed a style of painting equaled in romantic charm only
by few other styles of painting. He was not only a great master of the
Garhwal School but also a great poet of his time. We find beautiful poems
in some of Mola Ram’s paintings. There are definite influences of other
Pahari Schools reflected in these paintings, but the overall originality
of the Garhwal School is maintained. Special features of the Garhwal School
include beautiful women with fully developed breasts, thin waist line,
soft oval shaped face, delicate brow and thin nose with defined nose bridge.
A poet cum artist Mola Ram was undoubtedly an exceptional personality of
his age, for, he wrote poems, made notes on natural history, collected
data and painted a diverse range of subjects.
The matrimonial alliance of King
Pradhyuman Shah (1797-1804 AD) with a Guler Princess of Kangra induced
many Guler artists to come and reside in Garhwal. Their technique greatly
influenced the Garhwal style of painting. With the conceptualisation of
ideal beauty, its fusion of religion and romance, its blending of poetry
and passion, the paintings of Garhwal are an
embodiment of the Indian attitude towards love.
From painstaking research work undertaken
by eminent scholars and art historians, we know the
names of various painters of that period.
Shyam Das and Har Das
were first in the family tree, probably being the first to come to
Garhwal with Prince Suleman. Hiralal, Mangat Ram, Molaram,
Jwalaram, Tejram, Brijnath were some of the great masters
of this school of art.
The masterpieces
of the Garhwal School of Painting include the following :
Illustrations of Ramayana (1780 A
D) Celebrations of Balarama’s birthday (1780 A D) Series of Raginis Shiva
and Parvati Utkat Nayika Abhisarika Nayika Krishna painting the feet of
Radha Radha looking into a mirror Varsha Vihar Kaliya Daman Illustrations
of Gita Govinda.
A rich collection of these paintings
are displayed at the University Museum in Srinagar, Garhwal, along with
many sculptures and finds from archaeo logical excavations.
Dekara
Special images of Gods and Goddesses
were made, since idol worship played an important role in the
lives of the inhabitants of Garhwal . Dekaras are the clay
images of Gods and Goddesses either in relief or in three dimensional form
and are meant solely for worship.
They are prepared out of fine clay
mixed with colour. Then they are coloured with different hues to make them
attractive.
The festival of Makar Sankranti is
an occasion for making garlands depicting the wild pigeon or Ghugta
(which figures prominently in the romantic folk songs
of Kumaon) from sweetened wheat flour. The children feed crows with these
Ghugta models. On Kark Sankranti, the images made of Lord Shiva
are known as Dekara, which depict the marriage of Shiva with Parvati,
the daughter of Himalaya.
Ornaments
In every part of Garhwal and Kumaon,traditional
Swarnakaras or goldsmiths used to make traditional ornaments using
designs and patterns which are thousands of years old . The ornaments were
made in gold, silver & often copper was overlaid in brass.
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