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Chapter - 09 History, The Making of Regional Cultures, , It is quite common for us to identify a region with its language. Thus, we call a person Bengali, , or Kannada on the basis of the language which he speaks., , Every region is identified with a certain distinct type of food, clothing, poetry, dance, painting, , and music., , Language is quite closely connected to a region., , The Chera empire of Mahodayapuram, which was established in 9th century in the south, western part of Kerala introduced the Malayalam language., , Rlers and Religious Traditions: The Jagannatha Cuit, , i) In several regions, regional cultures developed around religious traditions., , (ii) | The local people made a wooden image of the deity which, originally a local God, came, to be identified with Vishnu., , (iii) | Temple became a centre of pilgrimage., , The Rajputs and Traditions of Heroism:, , @ In the 19th century, the Rajasthan of today was called Rajputana by the British., , (ii) | There are many groups who call themselves Rajputs in Northern and Central India., , (iii) Prithviraj Chauhan was one such ruler., , (iv) Women had been given a heroic image since they committed sati or self-immolation., , Beyond Regional Frontiers: The Story of Kathak, , (i) The heroic traditions of various regions also helped in the evolution of dance in, several regions., , (ii) | One such dance was Kathak, which was evolved in Northern India. The Kathaks, initially were a caste of story-tellers in North Indian temples., , (iii) | The legends of Radha-Krishna were enacted in folk plays known as rasalila., , (iv) Itintegrated folk dance with the basic gestures of the kathak story-tellers., , Paintings for Patrons: The Traditions of Miniatures, , (i During this period, one more tradition which deserves our attention is the miniature, painting. Miniatures are small sized paintings done in water colour on cloth or paper., , (ii) | Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan hired highly skilled painters to illustrate their, manuscripts in the Kitab Khana containing their accounts and poetry.

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(iii), , (iv), (v), (vi), , When Mughal empire started declining, new artistic tastes developed in the regional, court of Deccan and Rajput rulers., , One bold style of miniature painting was called Basohli., , One of the most popular paintings of Himalayas region was Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari., The Kangra artists by mid-18th century infused a new life into miniature painting., , The Growht of a Regional Language: Bengal, , @ Regional language is the language which a person speaks in a region., , (ii) _Itis generally assumed that Bengali language is spoken by people of Bengal., , (iii) Bengali originated from Sanskrit but later on developed its own identity and, literature., , Pirs and Temples:, , (i) From 16th century, people migrated in large numbers from less fertile western Bengal, to the forested and marshy of south-eastern Bengal., , (ii) | With Mughal control over Bengal, the capital shifted to Dhaka. Officials received land, grants Mosques were set up., , (iii) | The early settlers got help from teachers called Pirs. They included saints or Sufis and, , prominent religious personalities., , Fish as Food: Bengalis had fish as food. Popularity of fish made even Bengal Brahmins eat, , fish.

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2. Subsequently, Kathak developed into dance forms with two ‘gharanas’, -one of Rajasthan (Jaipur) and other of Awadh (Lucknow)., , 3. Under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh,, Kathak grew into a major art form., , Q.4 What are the important architectural features of the temples of, Bengal?, , Ans.: Bengal developed a typical style in temple architecture. The, important architectural features of the temples of Bengal are —, , 1. The double-roofed (dochala) or four-roofed (chauchala) structure of the, thatched huts, resembling the ‘Bangla Dome’ which became the Bengali, style in Temple Architecture., , 2. In the four-roofed structures, four triangular roofs placed on the four, walls move up to converge on a curved line or a point., , 3. Temples were built in a square platform., , 4. The interior walls are relatively plain and the outer walls are generally, , decorated with paintings, ornamental tiles or terracotta tablets., , Let's discuss, , Q.5 Why did minstrels proclaim the achievements of heroes?, , Ans.: In the ancient days, the minstrels occupied an important position, in the society and they used to record and preserve the stories of Rajput, heroes in the form of poems and songs. Ordinary people were attracted by, these stories and poems of the minstrels., , Minstrels proclaimed the achievements of the heroes to preserve their, memory and inspire others to follow their example. So, the minstrels used, to sing about only those brave warriors who chose death on the battlefield, rather than accept defeat., , Q.6 Why do we know much more about the cultural practices of rulers, than about those of ordinary people?

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Ans.: We know more about the cultural practices of rulers than about, those of ordinary people because:, , 1. Only rulers could afford historians for the purpose of documentation., 2. In those times only rulers had the resources to preserve their work., , Q.7 Why did conquerors try to contro] the temple of Jagannatha at Puri?, Ans.: The conquerors such as Mughals, Marathas and the English East, India Company tried to control the temple of Jagannatha at Puri mainly, because of:, , 1. The importance of Jagannatha temple increased continuously as a, center of pilgrimage,, , 2. Its authority in social and political matters also increased, simultaneously,, , 3. If they have control of the temple it would make the local people to, accept their rules,, , 4. Most importantly, by gaining control over the temple they could access, the huge wealth of the temple collected from the donations of the pilgrims., , Q.8 Why were temples built in Bengal?, Ans.: 1. Temples were built in Bengal to house the local deities who had, gained the recognition of the Brahmanas., , 2. To demonstrate power and proclaim their deity., , 3. When social and economic position of people improves they built, temples to proclaim their status.