Art And Culture Of West Bengal

The book ART AND CULTURE OF WEST BENGAL by Sahanawaz Hussain highlights the different culture of west Bengal. The state west Bengal has a diverse culture. Author Sahanawaz Hussain highlights all the culture of different district of west Bengal starting from North Bengal to South Bengal. West Bengal boasts a rich literary and cultural heritage with evidenced by authors like Rabindranath Tagore,folk music like baul,Gambhira as well as Najrul Geeti,Rabindra Sangeet. West Bengal is the home of a thriving cinema industry dubbed Tollywood.throughout the year many festivals are celebrated in bengal. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BOOK:- Art & Culture (Literature) The Bengali language boasts a rich literary heritage, shared with neighbouring Bangladesh. West Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the Charyapada, Mangalkavya, Shreekrishna Kirtana, ThakurmarJhuli, and stories related to Gopal Bhar. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, Bengali literature was modernized in the works of authors such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Jibananda Das and Manik Bandyopadhyay. In modern times Jibanananda Das, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay, Ashapurna Devi, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Buddhadeb Guha, Mahashweta Devi, Samaresh Majumdar, Sanjeev Chattopadhyay and Sunil Gangopadhyay among others are well known. (Music and Dance) The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bengali folk music, which has also been influenced by regional music traditions. Other folk music forms include Gombhira and Bhawaiya. Folk music in West Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. West Bengal also has an heritage in North Indian classical music. Rabindrasangeet, songs composed and set into tune by Rabindranath Tagore and Nazrul geeti (by Kazi Nazrul Islam) are popular. Also prominent are other musical forms like Dwijendralal, Atulprasad and Rajanikanta's songs, and adhunik or modern music from films and other composers. From the early 1990s, there has been an emergence and popularisation of new genres of music, including fusions of Baul and Jazz by several Bangla bands, as well as the emergence of what has been called Jeebonmukhi Gaan (a modern genre based on realism). Bengali dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as the broader Indian dance traditions. Chau dance of Purulia is a rare form of mask dance. State is known for Bengali folk music such as baul and kirtans and gajan, and modern songs including Bengali adhunik songs. (Films) The state is home to a thriving cinema industry, dubbed Tollywood. Tollygunj in Kolkata is the location of numerous Bengali movie studios, and the name Tollywood (similar to Hollywood and Bollywood) is derived from that name. The Bengali film industry is well known for all kind of films, and has produced acclaimed directors like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Ritwik Ghatak. Prominent contemporary directors include Buddhadev Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh.It has also produced famous film personalities like Uttam Kumar,Soumitra Chatterjee,Suchitra Sen,Kanon Devi,Kishore Kumar and many more. (Fine Arts) Bengal had been the harbinger of modernism in fine arts. Abanindranath Tagore, called the father of Modern Indian Art had started the Bengal School of Art which was to create styles of art outside the European realist tradition which was taught in art colleges under the colonial administration of the British Government. The movement had many adherents like Gaganendranath Tagore, RamkinkarBaij, Jamini Roy and Rabindranath Tagore. After Indian Independence, important groups like the Calcutta Group and the Society of Contemporary Artists were formed in Bengal which dominated the art scene in India. (Reformist Heritage) The capital, Kolkata, was the workplace of several social reformers, like Raja Ram Mohan Ray, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Swami Vivekananda. These social reforms have eventually led to a cultural atmosphere where practices like sati, dowry, and caste-based discrimination or untouchability, the evils that crept into the Hindu society, were abolished. (Costumes) Bengali women commonly wear the shaŗi , often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western attire. Among men, western dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the panjabi with dhuti, often on cultural occasions. (Festivals) Durga Puja in October is the most popular festival in the West Bengal. Poila Baishakhthe Bengali New Year, Rathayatra, Dolyatra or Basanta-Utsab, Nobanno, Poush Parbon (festival of Poush), Kali Puja, SaraswatiPuja, LaxmiPuja, Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha and Muharram are other major festivals.

Based on an exhibition organized by Centre of International Modern Art, Kolkata, in association with Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, held in New Delhi; includes reproductions of the works exhibited.

Art, literature, music and other intellectual expressions of a particular society are together regarded as the culture of that society. Ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society are also its ‘culture’. Contrary to what we think, it is not easy to describe ‘culture’, nor is it easy to write the cultural history. Writing the history of Bengali culture is even more difficult because Bengali society is truly plural in its nature, made even more so by its political division. The two main religious communities that share this culture are often more aware of the differences between them than the similarities. Nonetheless, the people remain bound by history and a shared language and literature. Ghulam Murshid’s Bengali Culture over a Thousand Years is the first non-partisan and holistic discussion of Bengali culture. Written for the general reader, the language is simple and the style lucid. It shows how the individual ingredients of Bengali culture have evolved and found expression, in the context of political developments and how certain individuals have moulded culture. Above all, the book presents the identity and special qualities of Bengali culture. The book was originally published in Bengali in Dhaka in 2006. This is the first English translation.

The presented book 'Indian Art & Culture' is extremely beneficial for the candidates preparing for the Preliminary and Mains Examination of Civil and State Services. The entire subject matter of the book is divided into 3 sections: Indian Art, Indian Culture and Indian Heritage. Each section has been discussed in detail in various chapters of the book. It is even more important for the aspirants because the book includes the diverse forms of Indian Art, Culture and Heritage, such as paintings and handicrafts, architecture, drama, dance, music, sculpture, architecture, inscriptions, festivals, heritage sites declared by UNESCO, language, literature, education, religion and philosophy etc. and their historical development since the time of their inception till now. This book is presented in a critical form with authentic facts and updated data keeping in view the latest developments in the field of art & culture. Four appendices have also been given at the end of the book in which examination related material pertaining to art and culture has been incorporated.

This volume is a collection of 86 speeches of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered during the first year of his second term.

Highlights the state's rich cultural and natural landscapes and attractions with fifty-seven photographs in a week-at-a-glance format.

The folk arts of West Bengal have always been a treasure-trove of folk art in diverse forms, which found expression in almost every conceivable item of village life in earlier days. In this book, the author delves into the intricacies of the creative pattern of folk arts of Bengal, providing an overview of the vast array of art forms. The folk arts of West Bengal have always been a treasure-trove of folk art in diverse forms, which found expression in almost every conceivable item of village life in earlier days, starting from clay-built houses and corn-bins to folk painting,