SPECIAL CLASSES SERIES

ON INDIAN ART AND CULTURE

BASICS OF INDIAN CULTURE

AND ARCHITECTURE

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

 FOLLOW

© Deepanshu Singh (discount code- DS27)

 CONTACT

Deepanshu27singh

Dsingh27

Deepanshu.singh

queries4deepanshusingh

© Deepanshu Singh (discount code- DS27)

DEEPANSHU SINGH
• FACULTY- INDIAN POLITY AND CURRENT
AFFAIRS WITH 5+ YEARS EXP.

• UPSC CSE RESERVE LIST

• CONSULTANT WITH G.O.I. AND GUEST

SPEAKER AT IITs/IIMs AND TOP
INSTITUTES

• TOP EDUCATOR AT UNACADEMY

• FIRST EDUCATOR TO REACH A MILLION

VIEWS ON UNACADEMY CSE

• STARTED ‘THE HINDU ANALYSIS’ IN 2015

• ASSOCIATED WITH FAMOUS INSTITUTES

IN NEW DELHI AND ONLINE PLATFORMS

© Deepanshu Singh (discount code- DS27)

 ONGOING AND UPCOMING COURSES
• INDIAN POLITY FOR PRELIMS 2020

• COMPREHENSIVE COURSE FOR INDIAN

POLITY FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS 2020

• UPSC CSE THROUGH NCERTS PART-III

• SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL PAPER-I and

PAPER-II

• Complete PHYSICAL, INDIAN AND

WORLD GEOGRAPHY for UPSC CSE 2020

• SPECIAL FREE CLASSES ON POLITY,

ECONOMY AND ART AND CULTURE

• COMING SOON! 750 IMPORTANT TOPICS

FOR UPSC PRELIMS

© Deepanshu Singh (discount code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (discount code- DS27)
India- a land of veritable treasures
• India is a land of veritable treasures, at once
interesting to the tourist as well as to an
enquiring student of Indian architecture.
• India has been the birth place of three major
religions of the world-Hinduism, Buddhism
and Jainism; these have inspired most of her
art.
• India's artistic traditions are ancient and deeply
rooted in religion. While at various times in her
long history, foreign races and cultures
exercised some influence on Indian art forms,
the main aesthetic currents remained
predominantly Indian.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

 Sculpture and Architecture
• Though sculpture is the Indian art par excellence, it is in
architecture that the national genius has shown it’s most
unquestionable originality and much of the greatest Indian
sculpture was produced in connection with, indeed as an art of,
architecture.
• Broadly speaking, architecture has been described as an art of
organizing space, functionally and beautifully.
• The “dominance” of the sculptural mode in India is due to the
Indian propensity, stronger than that of any other culture, for
carving sculptural caves and temples out of the living rock, of
mountain escarpment or outcropping

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

Sculpture and Architecture
• Also in ancient India, the arts were not
separated as they unfortunately are
today the architect; the sculptor and the
painter were often one man. Sculptures
were invariably painted in colour and
the sculpture generally was not free-
standing, but formed part of the temple
structure
• In this way architecture, sculpture and
painting were in fact, much more
intimately connected than they are
today and much of this was a happy
combination.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Indian Art
• India occupies an exalted position in the realm of art of the ancient world.
• If the Greeks excelled in the portrayal of the physical charm of the human body, the Egyptians in the
grandeur of their pyramids and the Chinese in the beauty of their landscapes, the Indians were
unsurpassed in transmitting the spiritual contents into their plastic forms embodying the high
ideals and the common beliefs of the people.
• The Indian artists visualized the qualities of various gods and goddesses as mentioned in their
scriptures and infused these qualities into their images whose proportions they based on the
idealised figures of man and woman. Indian art is deeply rooted in religion and it conduces to
fulfilling the ultimate aim of life, moksha or release from the cycle of birth and death.
• There were two qualities about which the Indian artists cared more than about anything else,
namely, a feeling for volume and vivid representation, even at the risk of sacrificing, at times,
anatomical truth or perspective.
• Indian art is a wholesome, youthful and delicate art, a blend of symbolism and reality,
spirituality and sensuality. Indian art may well be said to bear in itself the greatest lesson an
exemplary continuity from pre-historic times to the present age, together with an exceptional
coherence.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

Indian Architecture
• Indus Valley Civilization

• Buddhist Art- Sculpture and Architecture

• Mauryan and Gupta Architecture

• Various other schools of Architecture

• Medieval - Indo-Islamic and other schools

• Modern Architectural Styles

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

 Indian Architecture- IVC Basics
• The Harappan civilisation was the first urban civilisation in South Asia,
contemporaneous with the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Of the three
aforementioned civilisations, the Harappan civilisation occupied most area (about
8,00,000 sq km).

• Earlier historians had calledthis civilisation the Indus Valley Civilisation, but since
then, major settlements have been excavated in the Ghaggar-Hakra belt that spread far
beyond the Indus region. Harappa, as the first archaeological site to be discovered,
therefore gives its name to the entire civilisation.

• It forms a part of the proto-history of India, and belongs to the Bronze Age. While it is
classified as a civilisation that is older than Chalcolithic civilisations, in many ways it
was far more developed than settlements in the Chalcolithic Age.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Indian Architecture- IVC Basics
• The earliest remains of Indian architecture are to be found in Harappa, Mohenjodaro,
Ropar, Kalibangan, Lothal and Rangpur, belonging to a civilization known as the Indus
valley culture or the Harappan culture.
• About 5000 years ago, in the third millennium B.C. a lot of building activity went on in
these areas. Town planning was excellent. Burnt brick was widely used, roads were wide
and at right angles to one another, city drains were laid out with great skill and
forethought, the corbelled arch and baths were constructed with knowledge and skill.
• But with the fragmentary remains of the buildings constructed by these people it is not
yet possible to know enough about the architectural skill and tastes of the people.
However, one thing is clear, the extant buildings do not give us any clue as to aesthetic
considerations and there is a certain dull plainness about the architecture which may be
due to their fragmentary and ruined condition.
• However, due to the fact that during this time sculpture and architecture was utilising
organic and perishable materials such as mud, mudbrick, bamboo, timber, leaves, straw
and thatch, these have not survived the ravages of time.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

 Indian Architecture- IVC Basics
• There was a sophisticated concept of town planning in the Indus Valley Civilization. From
the excavated remains, it is clear that it possessed a flourishing urban architecture.
• There were well-planned grids with broad main roads and smaller lanes intersecting at
right angles.

• There were large networks of hundreds of wells, which supplied water to the residents.
• A sophisticated drainage system was in existence and even the smallest houses were
connected to it. Houses were made of bricks.
• The standardised dimensions of these bricks, found in the many cities across this
civilization, are remarkable.

• The houses had several storeys.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Features of IVC Architecture
• Grid Pattern

• Harappa and Mohen-Jo Dero were laid out on a grid pattern and had provisions for an advanced drainage
system. Streets were oriented east to west. Each street was having a well organized drainage system.

• City Walls

• Each city in the Indus Valley was surrounded by massive walls and gateways. The walls were built to control
trade and also to stop the city from being flooded.

• Each part of the city was made up of walled sections. Each section included different buildings such as: Public
buildings, houses, markets, craft workshops, etc.

• The acropolis and the lower cities

• A typical city would be divided into two sections, each fortified separately.

• One section was located on an artificially raised mound (sometimes called acropolis) while the other level was on
level ground.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Features of IVC Architecture
• The acropolis contained the important buildings of the city, like the assembly halls,
religious structures, granaries and in the great bath in case of Mohenjo-Daro.
• The lower section of the city was where the housing for the inhabitants was located. It
was here where some truly amazing features have been discovered. The city was well
connected with broad roads about 30 meters long which met at right angles. The houses
were located in the rectangular squares thus formed.

• The Residential Buildings

• The residential buildings, which were serviceable enough, were mainly made up of
brick and consisted of on open terrace flanked by rooms. These houses were made of
standardized baked bricks (which had a ratio of length to width to thickness at 4:2:1) as
well as sun dried bricks. Some houses even had multiple stories and paved floors.
•

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Features of IVC Architecture
• In-house wells
• Almost every house had its own wells, drains and bathrooms. The in-house well is a common
and recognizable feature of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Drainage System
• Each house was connected directly to an excellent drainage system, which indicates a highly
developed municipal life.
• Granaries
• The largest building found at Mohenjo-Daro is a granary, running 150 feet long, 75 feet wide
and 15 feet high.
• The granary was divided into 27 compartments in three rows.
• It was well ventilated and it was possible to fill grain in from outside. The large size of the
granary probably indicates a highly developed agricultural civilization.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Features of IVC Architecture
• Great Bath

• The Great bath at Mohenjo-Daro is about 179 feet long and 107 feet wide.
• The complex has a large quadrangle in the center with galleries and rooms on all sides. In
the center of this quadrangle there is a large swimming enclosure that is 39 feet long, 23
feet wide and 8 feet deep.
• The entire complex is connected to an elaborate water supply and sewer system. The Great
Bath was probably used for religious or ritualistic purposes.
• No Temples

• There are no traces of temple architecture or other religious places, yet the people practiced
religion. The great bath has been linked to some religious practice.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Features of IVC Architecture
• No weaponry / warfare monuments

• Excavations across this culture have not revealed evidence of military forces or weaponry
for warfare. While the art of other civilisations has many images of prisoners, monuments
to war victories and of other activities related to warfare, the art of the Indus Valley has not
a single such depiction.
• The archaeological evidence points to the fact that the early river valley civilisation in India
was remarkable in being a cooperative culture without the rule of kings. The emphasis
appears to have been on peaceful trade and not on the development of military might.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

 Features of IVC Architecture
• Town Planning at Lothal
• A different kind of town planning we found at Lothal, in present-day Gujarat, on the western
coast of India. This city was divided into six sections and each section had a wide platform of
earthen bricks. Lothal is different from other sites of Indus Valley Civilization in terms of
town planning that it has entry to the houses on the main street while in other sites have
shown lateral entry.
• Lothal Dockyard
• Lothal has a large structure that has been identified as a tidal dock for sea-faring ships. There is
a great deal of evidence that Indus Valley cities traded extensively with other civilisations of
that period. Mesopotamian records mention trade with cities here, and objects from the Indus
region have been found in West Asian cities. Lothal’s dock—the world’s earliest known,
connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between
Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding Kutch desert of
today was a part of the Arabian Sea. It was a vital and thriving trade centre in ancient times,
with its trade of beads, gems and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of West Asia
and Africa.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)
 Lessons of Urban planning from Indus Valley
Civilization
• The Indus Valley Civilization displayed remarkable planning in its urban towns, especially
in the area of sanitation and drainage.
• To a great extent, it can provide inputs to the present day urbanization. One of the major
challenges of urban planning, in India, has been dealing with the haphazard construction
of buildings. In the IVC, the streets were built on grid-like patterns, which allowed for
methodical and planned growth.
• In modern times, Le Corbusier’s plans for Chandigarh, Navi Mumbai, Greater Noida
provided for a rectangular shape with grid iron pattern, which enabled fast movement of
traffic and reduced the area.
• In the IVC, the town was also demarcated clearly between residential areas and
common/public areas. The granaries of IVC are also an example of intelligent design, with
their strategically placed air ducts and the platforms being divided into units. The
houses in the IVC were constructed in such a manner that it didn’t disturb the layout of the
roads in any way. The houses had doors that opened out into the lanes instead of the
roads.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

 Lessons of Urban planning from Indus Valley
Civilization
• The warehouse in Lothal is an exemplary instance of designing with precision. The drains
in the IVC connected each and every house, and enabled them to dump their waste
directly.

• These drains were covered, and they directly connected to the larger sewerage outlets.
There were inspection holes on the drains for maintenance purposes and there were
manholes on the streets. Thus, urban planning of the IVC has extensively helped us learn
from it.

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

Interesting
Facts-

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)

© Deepanshu Singh (Code- DS27)