GS Paper: GS1-01.Indian Culture- Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Carbon dating of excavated finds in Tamil Nadu pushes evidence of iron being used in India back to 4,200 years ago, the Tamil Nadu government announced this week on the basis of an archaeological report.

What is the news?

• Before this, the earliest evidence of iron use was from 1900-2000 BCE for the country, and from 1500 BCE for Tamil Nadu.
• The latest evidence dates the findings from Tamil Nadu to 2172 BCE! Much older.
• The results of dating, used accelerator mass spectroscopy.

Where were these objects found?

• The excavations are from Mayiladumparai near Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, about 100 km south of Bengaluru.
• Mayiladumparai is an important site with cultural material dating back between the Microlithic (30,000 BCE) and Early Historic (600 BCE) ages.
• The site is situated in the midst of several archaeological sites such as Togarapalli, Gangavaram, Sandur, Vedarthattakkal, Guttur, Gidlur, Sappamutlu and Kappalavadi.

Outcome: Varying span of Iron Age

• The dates when humans entered the Iron Age vary from one region of the world to another.
• In India, too, the date has been revised with successive findings over the decades.

When the Iron Age is considered in India?

• In 1979, use of iron was traced to 1300 BCE at Ahar in Rajasthan. This is what we have been reading in NCERTs.
• Later, samples at Bukkasagara in Karnataka, indicating iron production, were dated back to 1530 BCE.
• The date was subsequently pushed back to 1700-1800 BCE with excavations finding evidence of iron smelting at Raipura in the Mid-Ganga valley.
• It was then to 1900-2000 BCE based on investigations in sites at Malhar near Varanasi and Brahmagiri in North Karnataka.
• A series of dating results on finds from various parts in India have shown evidence of iron-ore technology before 1800 BCE.
• Before the latest discovery, the earliest evidence of iron use for Tamil Nadu was from Thelunganur and Mangadu near Mettur, dating back to 1500 BCE.

Historical significance

• Iron is not known to have been used in the Indus Valley, from where the use of copper in India is said to have originated (1500 BCE).
• But non-availability of copper for technological and mass exploitation forced other regions to remain in the Stone Age.
• When iron technology was invented, it led to the production of agricultural tools and weapons, leading to production required for a civilisation ahead of economic and cultural progress.
• While useful tools were made out of copper, these were brittle and not as strong as iron tools would be.
• With the latest evidence tracing our Iron Age to 2000 BCE from 1500 BC, we can assume that our cultural seeds were laid in 2000 BCE.
• And the benefit of socio-economic changes and massive production triggered by the iron technology gave its first fruit around 600 BCE — the Tamil Brahmi scripts.

Culture and politics

• The Tamil Brahmi scripts were once believed to have originated around 300 BCE, until a landmark finding in 2019 pushed the date back to 600 BCE.
• This dating narrowed the gap between the Indus Valley civilisation and Tamilagam/South India’s Sangam Age.
• This, and the latest findings, are politically significant.
• The dating of the scripts, based on excavations from sites including Keeladi near Madurai, became controversial when the ASI did not go for advanced carbon dating tests.

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After Prayers held at the ruins of the eighth-century Martand Sun Temple in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag is deemed to be a violation of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) rules.

About Martand Sun Temple

• The Martand Sun Temple is a Hindu temple located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley.
• It dates back to the eighth century AD and was dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity.
• The temple was destroyed by Sikandar Shah Miri in a bid to undertake mass conversion and execution of Hindus in the valley.
• According to Kalhana, the Temple was commissioned by Lalitaditya Muktapida in the eighth century AD.
• The temple is built on top of a plateau from where one can view whole of the Kashmir Valley.
• From the ruins the visible architecture seems to be blended with the Gandharan, Gupta and Chinese forms of architecture.

Why in news now?

• According to ASI, prayers are allowed at its protected sites only if they were “functioning places of worship” at the time it took charge of them.
• No religious rituals can be conducted at non-living monuments where there has been no continuity of worship when it became an ASI-protected site.

What are the living/non-living monument?

• If some activity, like any kind of worship, has been going on for years in the structure, then it is taken over as a living monument.
• But where no activity has taken place, say an abandoned building, then it is declared a dead monument.
• The latter is difficult to restore because it is generally covered by a lot of overgrowths.
• The best-known example of a living ASI monument is the Taj Mahal in Agra, where namaz is held every Friday.

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DNA samples collected from two human skeletons unearthed at a necropolis of a Harappan-era city site in Rakhigarhi, Haryana have been sent for scientific examination.

Why in news?

• DNA analysis might tell about the ancestry and food habits of people who lived in the Rakhigarhi region thousands of years ago.

About Rakhi Garhi

• The ancient site of Rakhi-Khas and Rakhi-Shahpur are collectively known as Rakhigarhi, located on the right bank of the now dried up Palaeo-channel of Drishadvati.
• It is located in the Ghaggar-Hakra river plain in the Hissar district of Haryana.
• Seven mounds are located here.
• The site has yielded various stages of Harappan culture and is by far one of the largest Harappan sites in India.
• The site shows the sequential development of the Indus culture in the now dried up Saraswati basin.

Major findings at Rakhi Garhi

• Findings confirm both early and mature Harappan phases and include 4,600-year-old human skeletons, fortification and bricks.
• Digging so far reveals a well-planned city with 1.92 m wide roads, a bit wider than in Kalibangan.
• The pottery is similar to Kalibangan and Banawali.
• Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be for sacrificial or some religious ceremonies.
• There are brick-lined drains to handle sewage from the houses.
• Terracotta statues, weights, bronze artefacts, comb, copper fish hooks, needles and terracotta seals have also been found.
• A bronze vessel has been found which is decorated with gold and silver.
• A granary belonging to the mature Harappan phase has been found here.
• Fire altars structures were revealed in Rakhigarhi.

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The Madhavpur Mela was recently inaugurated by the President of India.

In the entire country, there is no other fair which the President and host of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of a number of states visit.

What is the Madhavpur Mela?

• The Mela is a religio-cultural fair taking place every year in Madhavpur, a village on the Porbandar coast, also known as Madhavpur Ghed.
• The village has temples of Madhavraiji, or Lord Krishna, and his consort Rukmini, believed to have been built in the 15th century.
• It is also known for its sandy sea beach, the turquoise waters of the Arabian Sea, a sea turtle hatchery and the Osho Ashram
• The fair begins on Ram Navami, Lord Rama’s birth anniversary falling on the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar, and culminates on Tryodashi, the 13th day of the month.

Mythology behind the fair

• The fair celebrates the marriage of Lord Krishna with Rukmini around 4,000 years ago, as per Hindu mythology.
• The fair begins on Ram Navami, Lord Rama’s birth anniversary falling on the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar, and culminates on Tryodashi, the 13th day of the month.
• According to mythology, Lord Krishna had established his kingdom in Dwarka near Porbandar.
• Rukmini, daughter of King Bhimak of the present-day Arunachal Pradesh, wanted to marry Krishna, while her brother wanted to marry her off to Shishupal, Krishna’s cousin.
• Therefore, Krishna abducted Rukmini, brought her to Gujarat and tied the knot with her at Madhavpur village.
• Today, to mark the wedding, marriage rituals go on for five days.
• They culminate with the idols of Lord Krishna and Rukmini being taken out in a procession through Madhavpur for ‘samaiya’, a ritual to welcome the bridegroom back home with his bride.

Significance of the fair

• The President observed that fairs and festivals have bonded the people of India for ages and that Madhavpur Mela also integrates Gujarat to the Northeast of India.
• This fair reflects that, despite our languages, dialects and lifestyles being different, Indians, since time immemorial, have been one culturally.

Do you know?

There is one such festival called ‘Pushkaram’ which is celebrated by the people of Tamil Nadu. Devotees from Tamil Nadu perform rituals at the banks of Brahmaputra River.

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The discovery of a number of megalithic stone jars in Assam’s Dima Hasao district has brought to focus possible links between India’s Northeast and Southeast Asia, dating back to the second millennium BC.

What is the news?

• According to a study in Asian Archaeology, the jars are a “unique archaeological phenomenon”.
• It calls for more research to understand the “likely cultural relationship” between Assam and Laos and Indonesia, the only two other sites where similar jars have been found.

About the Megalithic Jars

• The jars of Assam were first sighted in 1929 by British civil servants James Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton.
• They recorded their presence in six sites in Dima Hasao: Derebore (now Hojai Dobongling), Kobak, Kartong, Molongpa (now Melangpeuram), Ndunglo and Bolasan (now Nuchubunglo).
• More such sites were later discovered in 2016 and 2020.
• Researchers documented three distinct jar shapes (bulbous top with conical end; biconcial; cylindrical) on spurs, hill slopes and ridge lines.

Their significance

• While the jars are yet to be scientifically dated, the researchers said links could be drawn with the stone jars found in Laos and Indonesia.
• There are typological and morphological similarities between the jars found at all three sites.
• Dating done at the Laos site suggests that jars were positioned at the sites as early as the late second millennium BC.
• The other takeaway is the link to mortuary practices with human skeletal remains found inside and buried around the jars.
• In Indonesia, the function of the jars remains unconfirmed, although some scholars suggest a similar mortuary role.

Back2Basics: Megalithic Burials in India

• Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials.
• The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala).
• The urn or the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains was usually made of terracotta.
• Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs. (The line separating the two is a bit blurry, since remains have been discovered underneath otherwise non-sepulchral sites, and vice versa.)
• Taken together, these monuments lend these disparate peoples the common traits of what we know as megalithic culture, one which lasted from the Neolithic Stone Age to the early Historical Period (2500 BC to AD 200) across the world.
• In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.

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Many students from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are enrolling for training of Yakshagana theatre.

What is Yakshagana?

• Yakshagana is a traditional theater, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala.
• It emerged in the Vijayanagara Empire and was performed by Jakkula Varu.
• It combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.
• Towards the south from Dakshina Kannada to Kasaragod of Tulu Nadu region, the form of Yakshagana is called as ‘Thenku thittu’ and towards north from Udupi up to Uttara Kannada it’s called as ‘Badaga Thittu‘.
• It is sometimes simply called “Aata” or āṭa (meaning “the play”). Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.
• Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions.

Try this question from CSP 2017:

Q.With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:

1. It is a song and dance performance.
2. Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
3. It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 3.

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1 only

 

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Punjab government has announced gazetted holiday on the birth anniversary of Guru Nabha Dass, a 16th century saint, taking it out from list of restricted holidays.

Who was Guru Nabha Dass?

• Guru Nabha Dass was born on April 8, 1537 at village Bhadrachalam on the bank of Godavari river in Khammam district, which falls in the present day Telangana.
• He belonged to Mahasha also known as doom or dumna community, which is one of the Schedule Caste communities.
• Since childhood, orphaned Guru Nabha Dass, whose original name was Narayan Dass, had an inclination towards spirituality.
• Two religious gurus — Agar Dass and Keel Dass — who were passing through his village took the orphan child to a temple at Ghalta Dham, which is now main pilgrimage of Nabhadassias, at Jaipur.
• People from this community are also known as Nabhadassias. They are known for making baskets and grain storage containers with bamboo.

His legacy

• Guru Nabha Dass wrote ‘Bhagatmal’ in 1585.
• It has the life history of around 200 saints. He died in 1643.

What is his connection with Punjab?

• Guru Nabha Dass used to visit village Pandori in Gurdaspur district where people of Doom community live.
• Some gurus of the community also used to live there.

What made government announce gazetted holiday now?

• Political parties can’t manage to ignore the sentiments of such a large community.
• The community had been requesting the government to declare April 8 as a gazetted holiday since long.

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