Subject: History

The Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh has received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Gond Art

• Gond painting is a traditional art of Madhya Pradesh and belongs to the Gond tribe.
• Patangarh village of Dindori district is famous for Gond paintings, where there is an artist in every house.
• Their work is famous in the state and abroad for its unique style, theme, and motifs.
• Gond art has been passed down through generations, traditionally adorning the walls of each artist’s home in Patangarh.

Features of Gond Painting

• Gond paintings showcase the beauty of nature, including trees, plants, animals, the moon, sun, river, drains, God, and Goddesses.
• The paintings also portray daily life activities such as food, plough making, and even how the king used to fight.

Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)

• A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
• The tag stands valid for 10 years.

Bidri craft artist from Karnataka Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri Award.

Bidri Crafts

• Bidri ware is a traditional form of handicraft that originated in Bidar, Karnataka.
• It involves the crafting of metal wares using a unique technique that incorporates zinc and copper.

Its history

• Bidri ware has a long history that can be traced back to the 14th century.
• It was introduced to Bidar by Persian artisans during the reign of the Bahmani Sultans.
• The craft flourished under the patronage of the Mughal emperors, and it became a symbol of wealth and status.

Crafting process

• The process of making Bidri ware involves several stages. First, a mould is made of the object to be crafted.
• Next, the object is cast in an alloy of zinc and copper.
• The cast object is then filed and polished to remove any rough edges.
• The design is then etched onto the surface of the object using a sharp chisel.
• The etched areas are then filled with a blackened paste made from a mixture of copper sulphate and mud.
• Finally, the object is polished again to remove any excess paste and to create a smooth finish.

Designs and motifs

• Bidriware is known for its intricate designs and motifs, which are often inspired by nature, Islamic art, and Persian calligraphy.
• Common motifs include flowers, leaves, and geometric patterns.
• Many pieces also feature verses from the Quran or other Islamic texts.

Recognition and awards

• Bidri ware has received several awards and recognition for its craftsmanship and cultural significance.
• In 2006, it was awarded the Geographical Indication status by the Indian government, which recognizes its unique origin and traditional crafting techniques.
• Bidriware has also been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The famous Basohli Painting, known for its miniature art style from Kathua district, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag.

Basohli Paintings

• Basohli Paintings are a form of miniature paintings that originated in the town of Basohli in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• They are known for their vibrant color, intricate details, and depictions of Hindu mythology and legends.
• Basohli Paintings date back to the 17th and 18th centuries and are considered to be the earliest examples of Pahari paintings.

Key features 

Other GI products from J&K

• The UT of Jammu and Kashmir has included 33 products on the list that have received the GI tag on 31 March 2023.
• The products that received the GI tags include Basohli Pashmina Woolen Products (Kathua), Chikri Wood Craft (Rajouri), Bhaderwah Rajma (Doda), Mushkbudji Rice (Anantnag), Kaladi (Udhampur), Sulai Honey (Ramban), Anardana (Ramban), and Ladakh Wood Carving (Ladakh).

Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)

• A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
• The tag stands valid for 10 years.

Home Minister said that the government will move forward to open Sharda Peeth on the lines of the Kartarpur corridor.

Why in news?

• Activists request that the Sharda Peeth corridor should be made operational on the lines of Nankana Sahib Gurudwaras and the Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan.

Sharda Peeth

• Sharda Peeth is a Hindu temple located in the Neelam Valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
• It is considered one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas, or major shrines, of the Hindu goddess Shakti.
• The temple is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus, particularly those from the Kashmir Valley.

History and Significance

• The temple is believed to have been established in the 6th century CE by Adi Shankaracharya, a famous Hindu philosopher and saint.
• Sharda Peeth became an important center of learning and scholarship during the medieval period, attracting scholars from all over India and even from as far as Central Asia.
• The temple was destroyed several times by invading armies and underwent major renovations and restorations under various rulers over the centuries.
• The temple’s importance declined during the colonial period and it fell into disrepair in the years following India’s partition in 1947.

Current rundown state and Controversy

• Sharda Peeth is now located in a remote and inaccessible part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and has become a subject of political and religious controversy.
• The Indian government has long sought to open a pilgrimage corridor to Sharda Peeth for Hindu devotees, but this has been complicated by the ongoing conflict and tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
• In recent years, there have been calls for the temple to be handed over to India or for it to be converted into a museum that can be visited by people from both sides of the border.

Significance in Kashmiri Identity

• Sharda Peeth is an important part of Kashmiri Hindu identity and culture, and its restoration and revival have been a longstanding demand of the community.
• Some Kashmiri Pandits view the temple as a symbol of their lost homeland and argue that its restoration would be a step towards reclaiming their cultural and religious heritage.
• Others, however, caution against politicizing the temple and argue that it should be seen as a shared heritage of all Kashmiris, regardless of their religious or political affiliations.

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Assam’s pyramid-like structures known as moidams or maidams have met all the technical requirements of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.

Charaideo Maidams

• The Charaideo maidams represents the late medieval (13th-19th century CE) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahom community in Assam.
• The Ahoms preferred to place the departed family members at Charaideo where the first king Sukapha was laid to rest.
• The historical chronicles inform that wives, attendants, pet animals and huge quantity of valuables were buried with the departed kings.
• The Charaideo Maidams enshrine the mortal remains of the members of the Ahom royalty, who used to be buried with their paraphernalia.
• After the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation and began entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Maidam at Charaideo.
• Out of 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative of and the most complete examples of mound burial tradition of the Ahoms.

Architecture details

• Architecturally it comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure.
• It is covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound.
• At the top of the mound a small open pavilion chow-chali is provided.
• An octagonal dwarf wall encloses whole maidam.

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The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stumbled upon a 1,300-year-old stupa right in the middle of a Khondalite mining site in Odisha’s Jajpur district.

About the Stupa

• The stupa could be 4.5-meter tall and initial assessment showed it may belong to the 7^th or 8^th
• It was found at Parabhadi which is situated near Lalitagiri, a major Buddhist complex, having a large number of stupas and monasteries.
• The newly discovered stupa was possibly disfigured in an earlier period.

Back2Basics: Lalitagiri Buddhist Complex

• Lalitagiri is a major Buddhist complex in the state of Odisha.
• The complex is home to stupas, ‘esoteric’ Buddha images, and monasteries (viharas), which is the oldest site in the region.
• Significant finds at this complex include Buddha’s relics. Tantric Buddhism was practiced at this site.
• Together with the Ratnagiri and Udayagiri sites a short distance away, Lalitagiri is part of the “Diamond Triangle”.
• It used to be thought that one or all of these were the large Pushpagiri Vihara known from ancient records, but this has now convincingly located at a different site.

Stupa Architecture

In the most basic sense, as an architectural representation of a sacred burial site, a stupa — no matter where it is located in the world or when it was built — has three fundamental features.

• A hemispherical mound (anda) The anda’s domed shape (green highlights) recalls a mound of dirt that was used to cover the Buddha’s remains. As you might expect, it has a solid core and cannot be entered. Consistent with their symbolic associations, the earliest stupas contained actual relics of the Buddha; the relic chamber, buried deep inside the anda, is called the tabena. Over time, this hemispherical mound has taken on an even grander symbolic association: the mountain home of the gods at the center of the universe.
• A square railing (harmika) The harmika (red highlights) is inspired by a square railing or fence that surrounded the mound of dirt, marking it as a sacred burial site.
• A central pillar supporting a triple-umbrella form (chattra) The chattra, in turn, was derived from umbrellas that were placed over the mound to protect it from the elements (purple highlights). Just as the anda’s symbolic value expanded over time, the central pillar that holds the umbrellas has come to represent the pivot of the universe, the axis along which the divine descends from heaven and becomes accessible to humanity. And the three circular umbrella-like disks represent the three Jewels, or Triantha, of Buddhism, which are the keys to a true understanding of the faith: (a) Buddha; (b) dharma (Buddhist teachings or religious law); and (c) sangha (monastic community).

Around these three core building blocks were added secondary features.

• Enclosure wall with decorated gateways (toranas) at the cardinal directions The wall — with its trademark three horizontal stone bars (in the top image) — surrounds the entire structure. The wall is marked in light blue highlights and the toranas in yellow.
• A circular terrace (medhi) The terrace — surrounded by a similar three-bar railing — supports the anda and raises it off the ground (black highlights); it likely served as a platform for ritual circumambulation.

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