The Cultural Heritage of India (Volume VII) (Part two)

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About the Book

The Present volume deals with study of Arts in India, here more specifically Painting; Music, Dance and Theatre; and Art and Life. There are forty-four articles contributed by 35 authors. The attempt in this volume is to place before the readers writings of a generation of scholars who laid the foundation for identification of schools and genres and their stylistic characteristics.

The Articles in the section on Painting present a panoramic view of the painting traditions of India from pre-historic times to the early nineteenth century. A reading of these articles is a convincing proof of the continuity and vibrancy of the painting traditions in different historical brackets and regions and sub-regions.

The Seven articles on Music, authored by eminent musicians and scholars, reflect the thinking on different aspects of music over a period of four decades. The articles on Dance cover many styles of Indian classical dance.

The Group of articles on handicrafts, dress and personal ornaments represents the Indian concern with the creative hand, more, with the relationship of utility and beauty.

The Sheer joy of life is intrinsic to culture, sports and recreations. The arts of attack and defence in play are typical. The Sanskrit literature is characterized by not only wit and humour but also sharp satire.

Preface

The Cultural Heritage of India series of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture has become a collector’s item, indispensable for any library or for scholars in different disciplines who wish to know about diverse aspects of the cultural heritage of India as also Asia. Volumes I to VI cover a broad range of subjects from philosophy to science. Volume VII deals with Arts, ranging from architecture, sculpture, paintings and music and dance. Volume VIII is devoted to modern India.

Volume VII Part I of the series was published in 2006. It was hoped that Part II of Volume VII would be published soon after. However, for variety of reasons, it was not possible to adhere to the original schedule. In the meantime, Volume VIII has been published. Now, with the publication of Part II of Volume VII, the monumental enterprise of The Cultural Heritage of India series of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture will come to a closure.

Part I of Volume VII was divided into four sections: Architecture; Sculpture; Epigraphy and Numismatics; and Indian Art and the East. Part II of Volume VII is divided into three section, viz., Indian Painting; Music, Dance and Theatre; and Art and Life. This was the original schema envisaged by the late Professor S. K. Saraswati, followed by subsequent editors, viz., Professor Kalyan KumarDasgupta, Professor Kalyan Kumar Ganguli, Shri Pradyut Kumar Ganguli and Dr. Amitabha Mukherjee.

In my Preface to Part I of Volume VII, I had outlined the historiography of completing the work of my predecessors. I consider it appropriate to include this Preface in this volume. In it I have used the metaphor of Kantha, i.e., stitching together pieces of great but incomplete writing so as to make a reasonable whole. It is my earnest hope that the readers will peruse the Preface to Volume VII Part I which not only narrates the history of editing but also attempts to give an overview of the history of scholarship on Indian architecture, sculpture, numismatics and India’s relationship with the East. It is necessary to take account of this when perusing the contents of Part II of Volume VII. The articles in this volume by and large are also the writing of scholars of the decades ranging from 30s to the 70s. It is necessary to take note of the time frame.

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