It is very sad to see these delicate arts losing charm and value these days.
Similarly in South, making beautiful Gods out of stones for temples is an age old art. You must see some of the big temples in tanjore, Kumkbakonam, Kancheevaram, Madurai, Chidambaram, etc. to understand the value of this and the craftsmanship involved.You will be simply shocked with the way they have carved out delicate images out of stones. This art is slowly dying out, as there are no demands for it.
Another art is making idols of Gods from a mixture of 5 metals (panchaloha). This art also is very ancient. You must visit the temples mentioned above in T.Nadu to realize this. This also is dying out due to lack of interest in it by people. To add to the problem, though the temples own a lot of land, most of the leaseholders do not provide anything to the temples, as per terms and conditions of the lease agreement, which leaves the temples in poor conditions.
Another art dying out is weaving silk sarees at Kancheepuram, Thirubhuvanam. These places are known for their pure silk sarees. In olden days atleast at the time of marriages, the bride is supposed to wear atleast 3-4 pure silk sarees. Now-a-days due to the high cost involved, the demand for such pure silk sarees is coming down, and lesser priced artificial silk sarees are picking up.
In olden days, atleast the girl child in any Brahmin family used to learn Bharatha Natyam, vocal singing (Karnatic), playing of Veena, etc. Due to the tough competition in studies now-a-days and lack of spare time due to the ever increasing bookload, children prefer to go to tution or computer classes. They simply argue if I learn Veena or Bharatha Natyam, how will it help me in getting a decent employment at a later date?
It pains to see these centuries old arts slowly dying down in front of our own eyes.
RE:Dying Arts in India
by ashwini gupta on Apr 22, 2007 01:41 AM Permalink
you are right man , so true . Indeed we are losing our roots in the blind pursuit of material progress and blindly aping west.
That is why our transcendental scriptures should be a compulsory part of the study curriculum of all the students.so that they can know abt our glorius culture and history
RE:RE:Dying Arts in India
by Ken on Apr 22, 2007 09:03 AM Permalink
Guys... if people (parents or children) want it they'll learn it... Y force somethng on uninterested parties? If anybody wants to do a Ph.D in the 'glorious' indian history, they are free to do so anyways... so is anybody (not just south indian brahmin) who wants to learn bharat natyam or veena! If people don't do it, they probably have other priorities... U and I can't decide what those priorities shd be, simple as that!
RE:Dying Arts in India
by sree devi narayanan on Apr 21, 2007 03:42 PM Permalink
We indians are heading to such a direction,that in due time we will also be called by others -as we india don't have any culture.we have forgotten our culture our sense of being.we are all now a higlhy selfish society and that is the main reason of our fownfall. god help us sree
