Subject: Art and Culture

Why in the News?

At the 43rd session of UNESCO’s General Conference held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Lucknow was officially designated a “Creative City of Gastronomy”, making it only the second Indian city after Hyderabad (2019) to receive this title.

About UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN):

• Aim: To promote the integration of cultural industries into economic, social, and environmental policies, strengthening innovation and cultural diversity.
• Establishment: Created by UNESCO in 2004 to foster global cooperation among cities leveraging culture and creativity for sustainable urban development.
• Creative Fields: Recognises excellence across 7 categories: Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, Music, and Crafts & Folk Art.
• Membership Scope: Encompasses over 250 cities worldwide, selected through a rigorous UNESCO evaluation process assessing creativity, sustainability, and community engagement.
• Core Objectives:
  • Encourage innovation-driven growth and cultural diversity.
  • Facilitate knowledge-sharing, cultural exchange, and urban identity building.
  • Support creative economy development and inclusive city policies.
• Collaborative Role: Serves as a global platform for member cities to share best practices, co-develop cultural initiatives, and enhance local creative ecosystems.

Creative Cities in India:

• Jaipur – Crafts & Folk Arts (2015)
• Varanasi – Music (2015)
• Chennai – Music (2017)
• Mumbai – Film (2019)
• Hyderabad – Gastronomy (2019)
• Srinagar – Crafts & Folk Arts (2022)
• Gwalior – Music (2025)
• Kozhikode – Literature (2025)
• Lucknow – Gastronomy (2025)

Why in the News?

This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in Down To Earth.

About Vidyapati Thakur (1352 – 1448):

• Identity and Origin: Celebrated Maithili poet, philosopher, and scholar from Mithila (northern Bihar), active under the Oiniwar dynasty during the 14th–15th centuries.
• Languages Used: Composed in Maithili, Sanskrit, and Avahatta, blending classical and vernacular idioms into a unified literary tradition.
• Cultural Role: Revered as the “Father of Maithili Literature”, he elevated a regional tongue to a medium of devotion and philosophy, breaking Sanskrit monopoly.
• Historical Setting: Lived amid the Bhakti movement’s eastern rise, when devotional currents merged with courtly Sanskrit and folk traditions.

Major Contributions:

• Bhakti Poetry (Padavali): Authored lyrical songs of Radha–Krishna love, giving women voice and agency through emotive Maithili verse.
• Linguistic Innovation: Asserted “Desil bayana sab jan mittha” – the sweetness of native speech – thereby legitimising vernacular expression against Sanskrit elitism.
• Ethical and Philosophical Thought: In Purusha-Pariksha, upheld knowledge and humility as the marks of true nobility, challenging caste and wealth hierarchies.
• Ecological Vision: Bhu-Parikramanam portrayed rivers, groves, winds as moral presences, anticipating environmental ethics centuries before modern discourse.
• Devotional Hymns: His Ganga Stuti personified the river as divine mother and moral teacher, uniting spirituality with ecological reverence.
• Administrative Scholarship: Likhanavali functioned as a manual of governance and record-keeping, showing mastery beyond poetics.
• Regional Influence: His idiom spread to Bengal, Odisha, and Assam, inspiring the Brajabuli tradition and Chaitanya-era Vaishnava poets.
• Culture–Nature Synthesis: Saw land as sacred, trees as temples, and rivers as teachers, merging ecology with devotion and ethics.
• Enduring Legacy: A bridge between Sanskrit classic and regional modernity, Vidyapati’s ideals of love, humility, and environmental ethic continue to define Mithila’s cultural identity.

Why in the News?

The Union Ministry of Culture will formalise partnerships with around 20 institutions under the Gyan Bharatam Mission, a flagship national initiative for manuscript conservation, digitisation, and research.

About Gyan Bharatam Mission:

• Overview: It is a flagship national mission of the Ministry of Culture (GoI) to preserve, digitise, and promote India’s manuscript heritage.
• Launch: Approved as a Central Sector Scheme (2024–2031) with an outlay of ₹482.85 crore.
• Background: Builds upon the National Mission for Manuscripts (2003), which documented over 44 lakh manuscripts.
• Objective: To integrate traditional conservation with modern digital technologies including AI, cloud storage, and blockchain authentication.
• Core Goal: Establish a National Digital Repository (NDR), a unified, globally accessible platform showcasing India’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
• Vision Alignment: Supports Viksit Bharat @2047 and India’s role as a Vishwa Guru in global knowledge preservation.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Scope: Covers identification, conservation, digitisation, translation, and public dissemination.
• Survey & Documentation: Creation of a national manuscript inventory through Manuscript Resource Centres (MRCs).
• National Digital Repository (NDR): Uses AI-based Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) for searchable digital access.
• Institutional Network: Implements through Cluster Centres and Independent Centres for nationwide coordination.
• Scientific Conservation: Strengthens Manuscript Conservation Centres (MCCs) for preventive and curative preservation.
• Funding Structure: 70% upfront release and 30% post-verification based on measurable outcomes.
• Public Engagement: Promotes youth and researcher participation via Gyan-Setu AI Innovation Challenge.
• Quality Assurance: Ensures accountability through third-party audits, utilisation checks, and review mechanisms.

Why in the News?

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Laszlo Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian novelist known for his dense, philosophical narratives and apocalyptic vision of modern existence.

About Laszlo Krasznahorkai:

• Overview: Hungarian novelist celebrated for his dense, philosophical, and apocalyptic prose that examines the fragility of modern civilization.
• Background: Regarded as one of Europe’s leading postmodern writers, noted for long, flowing sentences and hypnotic rhythm.
• Themes & Style: His works probe moral collapse, spiritual decay, existential isolation, and the search for meaning amid disorder.
• Literary Voice: Combines dark humor with metaphysical reflection; often set in bleak, decaying landscapes where characters struggle between despair and artistic endurance.
• Recognition: Known as a “writer’s writer”, his art embodies a belief in the redemptive endurance of literature.

Major Works & Adaptations:

• Satantango (1985):  Debut novel portraying a collapsing rural community; adapted by Béla Tarr into a seven-hour film, acclaimed for its realism and existential tone.
• The Melancholy of Resistance (1989): Allegory of hysteria and conformity in a small town; adapted as Werckmeister Harmonies (2000).
• War and War (1999): Follows a Hungarian archivist obsessed with preserving a manuscript symbolising human history; explores madness and transcendence.
• Seiobo There Below (2008): Interlinked stories on art and divinity across cultures; won the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.
• Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming (2016): Tragicomic portrait of post-communist moral decay; won the 2019 National Book Award (Translated Literature).

Why in the News?

Pandit Chhannulal Mishra, a maestro of Hindustani classical music and Padma Vibhushan recipient, passed away at 89.

About Thumri Music:

• Nature: Thumri is a semi-classical vocal genre of North India known for its emphasis on emotion (bhava) rather than rigid raga structure.
• Origin: Developed in the 19th century under Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow; later enriched in Banaras, where it absorbed devotional and folk influences.
• Etymology: Derived from thumakna (“to walk gracefully”), reflecting its rhythmic, fluid, and expressive nature tied to Kathak dance.
• Themes: Revolves around Sringara rasa, love, separation, and devotion especially, Radha-Krishna narratives; often sung from a female perspective.
• Language: Primarily in Braj Bhasha, Awadhi, and Hindi, with traces of Urdu and Sanskrit.
• Musical Features:
  • Uses popular ragas like Bhairavi, Khamaj, Kafi and tālas like Dadra and Keherva.
  • Allows improvisation, vocal ornamentation (murki, meend, gamak), and interpretive freedom.
• Forms of Thumri:
  • Bandish-ki-Thumri: Structured composition, rhythmically defined.
  • Bol-Banao Thumri: Lyrical, slow, emotive style allowing deeper expression.
• Major Gharanas:
  • Lucknow Gharana: Courtly refinement and dance association (Begum Akhtar).
  • Banaras Gharana: Devotional Purab Ang tradition (Girija Devi, Rasoolan Bai, Siddheshwari Devi, Chhannulal Mishra).
  • Patiala Gharana: Fast, rhythm-oriented style with tappa influence (Bade Ghulam Ali Khan).

Thumri and Indian Classical Tradition:

• Position in the Hindustani system:
  • Thumri is semi-classical, bridging the gap between pure classical forms (like Khayal and Dhrupad) and folk/dance traditions.
  • It prioritises emotional storytelling over technical display, making classical music accessible to the wider public.
• Connection with Kathak:
  • Thumri complements Kathak dance, aiding abhinaya (expressive gesture) through musical narration.
• Hindustani vs Carnatic contrast:
  • Hindustani classical music (North India) focuses on raga improvisation;
  • Carnatic music (South India) is composition-centric with structured kritis and rigid tala frameworks.
• Cultural Role:
  • Thumri mirrors the fusion of classical, folk, and devotional idioms, symbolising India’s cultural inclusivity.
  • It thrives on the interplay of bhava (emotion), raga (melody), and laya (rhythm)—a trinity central to Indian aesthetics.

Why in the News?

The prehistoric geoglyphs of the Konkan coast may date back as far as 24,000 years, based on new stratigraphic evidence from Koloshi caves in Maharashtra.

About Konkan Geoglyphs:

• Overview: Prehistoric rock engravings (geoglyphs/petroglyphs) carved on laterite plateaus of the Konkan coast (Maharashtra, Goa, southern Karnataka).
• Depictions: Humans, animals (elephants, tigers, rhinos, stingrays, turtles, peacocks), and abstract motifs.
• Technique: Created by scooping, etching, pecking into laterite; grooves 3–5 cm deep, 3–4 cm wide.
• Unique Feature: Unlike painted caves (e.g., Bhimbetka), these are open-air geoglyphs, rare in India.
• Cultural Value: Provide insights into prehistoric ecology, rituals, and transition from hunter-gatherer to agrarian societies.

Important Sites:

• Maharashtra (Ratnagiri–Sindhudurg): Ratnagiri alone hosts 1,500+ carvings across 210 sq. km.
  • Kasheli: Giant elephant (13×18 m), 125+ carvings of sharks, stingrays, rhinos (though locally absent), tigers.
  • Barsu: Human figure flanked by two tigers, resembling Harappan seals. Local are protesting a proposed oil refinery which might demolish this site.
  • Rundhye Tali: Concentric circles, abstract motifs, jellyfish/tiger outlines.
  • Devache Gothane: Standing human figure; linked to magnetic deflection anomaly.
  • Devi Hasol: Snake-like square design (8 m); still part of Aryadurga temple rituals.
  • Jambharun, Ukshi, Kudopi: Faunal + abstract petroglyphs.
• Goa:
  • Usgalimal (Phansaymal): Bulls, deer, spirals, cup marks, grinding grooves.

History and Antiquity:

• Dating: Traditionally ~10,000 years old; new excavations at Koloshi caves push age back to 24,000 years (cultural layers ~38,000 years).
• Continuity: Geoglyph-making persisted till the early historic period, showing ritual and symbolic evolution.
• Ecological Record: Depict species long extinct in Konkan (rhinoceros, hippopotamus), indicating Pleistocene fauna.
• World Context: Compared with Nazca Lines (Peru), Atacama Giant (Chile), and Blythe Intaglios (US) — Konkan geoglyphs are smaller but more intricate and ecologically detailed.
• UNESCO Status: On India’s Tentative List (2022); nomination under preparation for 2027–28 cycle.

Why in the News?

The PM has recently inspected the progress of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal in the Ahmedabad district.

About National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal:

• Location: Lothal, Ahmedabad district, Gujarat, in the Bhal region near the Gulf of Khambhat.
• Developer: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India.
• Objective: To showcase India’s 5,000-year-old maritime history, especially the role of Lothal as the world’s earliest dockyard during the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Historical Significance of Lothal:
  • Built around 2200 BCE as a major Harappan trade and craft centre for beads, gems, and ornaments.
  • Lothal in Gujarati means “Mound of the Dead”, similar to Mohenjo-daro.
  • Excavated by S.R. Rao (1955–1960).
  • Dockyard confirmed through studies (size: 222 x 37 m), once linked with Sabarmati’s old course.
  • Evidence of Lock Gates and Sluice System to regulate flow of water.
  • Trade connections extended to Mesopotamia and other ancient regions.
  • Nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2014); only known port-town of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Features of the Complex:
  • Exhibition halls, maritime park, amphitheater, museum, and research/educational facilities.
  • Will highlight ancient trade routes, shipbuilding traditions, and navigation techniques.
  • Expected to be a major hub for cultural tourism and heritage education.

Why in the News?

The 14th Sirarakhong Hathei Chilli Festival was inaugurated in Manipur.

About Sirarakhong Hathei Chilli Festival:

• Overview: An annual agricultural and cultural festival celebrated in Sirarakhong village, Ukhrul district, Manipur.
• Origin: Began in 2010 to promote the Hathei chilli and its farming traditions.
• Focus: Highlights the Geographical Indication (GI)-tagged Hathei chilli, which received GI status in 2021.
• Activities: Involves flag hoisting, Tangkhul Naga cultural events, buyer–seller meets, marketing programmes, exhibitions, and awareness drives on government schemes.

Salient Features of Hathei Chilli:

• Local Identity: Known as Sirarakhong chilli, indigenous to Ukhrul district.
• Cultivation: Grown on slopes under the traditional jhum system.
• Distinct Qualities: Recognised for its bright red colour, unique flavour, and medium pungency.
• ASTA Value: Possesses a high American Spice Trade Association colour value, making it sought after for food colouring.
• Nutritional Benefits: Rich in antioxidants, Vitamin C, and calcium, with medicinal value.
• Uses: Widely used in cooking, pickles, flavouring, food colouring, and processing industries.
• Uniqueness: Its qualities stem from the soil and climate of Sirarakhong, not reproducible elsewhere.