Cultural Fusion during 15th and 16th centuries 2016

Transcription

1 CULTURAL FUSION DURING THE 15 TH AND 16 TH CENTURIES 1. Ever since the appearance of Alexander on the banks of River Indus in the 4 th century BC the north-western borders of India have witnessed successive influx of the Greeks, the Scythians, the Parthians, the Huns, the Sufis, the Afghans, the Mughals, the Turks and the Persians. 2. The resilience provided by Buddhism and other heterodox sects to the Indian society, had facilitated the assimilation of the new comers. The flexibility of the concepts of the newcomers had also accelerated their absorption in to the various levels of social institutions. 3. This could not be the case with the Persian invaders who not only brought rigidly defined religious ideas, but also orthodox theologians, who alone were most emphatic about maintaining their separate identity. 4. The Brahamans on the Indian side were no less orthodox. These two priestly classes were in fact responsible for maintaining the hiatus of identity between the two cultures. However, as both had common political, economic and social needs to fulfill, interaction was inevitable. This interaction produced the Indo Persian Culture, beginning at the superficial level of adaptation of eating and dressing habits, but later spreading in to the more fundamental 10x10learning.com Page 1

2 fields of new social ideas that became an integral part of life in India. 5. The development of the Sufi and the Bhakti movement also show that the interaction in the social and religious fields was significant. 6. The process was partly facilitated by the Persians reliance on Hindu converts for gathering a following in India because possibilities of any large scale immigration from West Asia had been negated by the Mongols. 7. The Hindu converts came mostly from the poorer sections and included artisans, craftsmen, and other working groups. They continued many of their original habits as that was the only art they were familiar with. They also continued their business relations with other sub-caste guilds. 8. Since caste loyalties were above political loyalties the cultural interaction was most strong at the lower caste levels, which were more permeated with Islamic ideas of equality. 9. Also because the lower castes were mostly non-vegetarians and their food habits blended more easily with the nonvegetarian Persians. Yet, despite their egalitarian philosophy, the influence of Islam did not result in disappearance of caste even among the converts. 10x10learning.com Page 2

3 10. In fact new sub-castes developed to define the hierarchy that emerged with in the Persian society itself. At the top of the hierarchy were the Ashraf or the pure who were the analogous to the divya brahmans. Authority and power remained with castes traditionally associated with power. This lack of vertical mobility isolated thinking with in the castes, and therefore, made the Bhakti movement ineffective in the political sphere during this period. 11. The cultural fusion between the ruling classes was reflected in music, habits of food and dress, and favourite pass-times such as polo, chess, gambling, horse racing and hunting. The need to marry in to the local royal families accelerated the process. 12. The Persians did not introduce any major changes in the political field. The hierarchy of officials remained the same, but the Persian designations such as wazir, munsif, were adopted to mark the change. 13. The Bhakti movement was an important instrument in the evolution of the Indo-Persian thought and culture. The anti-caste movement of the Nath-panthis, Nanak and Kabir and their strong denunciation of idol worship and ritualism, coincided with the Islamic ideas of equality and brotherhood preached by the Sufi saints. 10x10learning.com Page 3

4 14. Nizamuddin Auliya and Nasiruddin Chirag-i- Dilli mingled freely with the lower castes including Hindus and conversed in the Hindavi dialect. The Sufi saints kept aloof from politics that was controlled by orthodox theologians. Kabir and Nanak also concerned themselves both with Hindus and Muslims and emphasized the re-ordering of the society. 15. Religious themes, folk tales, ballads, on contemporary events: A common feature of these saints was that they conveyed their message in the language of the common people. Their initiative resulted in the vernacular translation of several scriptures previously available in Sanskrit or Persian only. 16. As such, the most popular epics and Purana were translated in to several local dialects and commentaries on sacred literature such as the Bhagavad Gita, came to be written to explain the complex concepts in simple vernacular languages for better understanding. 17. Consequently a crucial incentive was provided to literature in the regional languages which became spontaneous and had themes that surpassed the local or regional interests. Shankaradeva in the fifteenth century wrote a large number of one-act morality plays in Assamese. The Jaganath Temple at Puri, in Orissa, 10x10learning.com Page 4

5 collected several manuscripts dating from the 12 th century onwards, which record the genesis of Oriya language. In the modern Bihar region, Maithali was developed as a medium for literary expression. 18. In Gujarat the Jaina literature came to be written in old Gujarati, which has a close relationship with Marwari language called Dingal. Mirabai wrote her bhajan in Rajasthani and was influenced by other Bhakti movement poets who wrote in Hindi. 19. The Jaina writing their manuscripts on palm leaves in old Gujarati had illustrated them with highly stylized miniature paintings, having an ancestry in the temple murals of the Deccan and South India. As the Arab merchants trading with China introduced paper, the shape of the page allowed a higher format for the painting. 20. The Turks in the process of introducing Persian culture to north India, brought with them exquisite miniatures by Persian artists, who excelled in the juxtaposition of bright colours. As such, the common brick red and blue of Jain miniatures gave way to a wide range of exquisite colours. This variety of Jain miniature influenced the Rajasthani miniature paintings. 21. In addition, ballads on contemporary events in regional language composed by singers and minstrels. The Turkish 10x10learning.com Page 5

6 rulers of Bengal identified themselves with the region very early and took a genuine interest in Bengali culture and literature. This assured them support of the masses in a great extent and also promoted the literary aspects of the Bengali language. 22. The crux of Indo- Persian cultural development lay in the evolution of Hindi and Urdu. Hindi at first was the language spoken in the regions around Dilli. It first developed with the historic epics composed by local bards at the courts of Rajput kings the most popular being Prithviraj raso and Vishaldeva- raso. 23. The Sufis later used Hindavi which increased its popularity with Kabir, Surdas, and Mirabai. Hindavi was also taken up by the Persian poet Amir Khusrav. 24. But what gave an added importance to Hindavi was the evolution of Urdu which was a combination of Hindi syntax and Persian script and vocabulary. Urdu gradually became the language of the Sultanate. 25. Persian had been introduced as the new official language by the early Sultans to replace Sanskrit. As Sanskrit was displaced, it encouraged the use of regional languages because Indians were unfamiliar with Persian. 26. Amir Khusrav represented the beginning of Indian based Persian and Indian literature. Early Persian literature had used imagery and forms familiar to Persia. Khusrav 10x10learning.com Page 6

7 followed the Persian model in his poetry but adopted Indian sentiments and imagery. 27. After language, architecture became the most symbolic medium of Indo-Persian cultural expression and fusion. The Turks introduced new architectural styles of which the mosque and the mausoleum are typical. At first to meet the immediate need for a place to pray, the demolished temples were modified and converted in to mosque with slight variations. For example the tenth century Chauhan temple near Qutub Minar was converted in to Quwat-ul- Islam mosque by merely removing the central sanctuary and building a screen of five arches to cover the ornate pillars. Similarly, a monastary at Ajmer was converted in to the Arhai-din-ka -Jhonpara. 28. Nonetheless, the Turks had brought with them definite traditions of Persian architecture. Their chief features included the pointed arch, the transverse vault and the dome. All these were new to the Indian architecture in which the temple towers were corbelled. Thus, the combination of arches and domes gave to Islamic buildings a distinctive character. 29. Yet these two styles merged unnoticed in the employment of Indian artisans and craftsmen, who gradually introduced Indian motifs such as the lotus in 10x10learning.com Page 7

8 various forms since the ornamentation of Islamic buildings was dependent on the techniques existing in India. 30. These motifs were introduced together with the classic Islamic decorative motifs of the geometrical patterns and artistic Arabic script called arabesques Colour was also added through the use of red sandstone, which was used alternatively with yellow sandstone and marble to enhance the beauty. 31. Of the surviving relics the Qutab Minar constitutes the highest watermark of this Indo-Persian style of architecture. It derives its effect mainly from the skilful manner in which the balconies have been projected and yet linked with the main tower. The concept of balcony itself is of Rajasthani origin. The use of red and yellow sandstone and marble provided luxury and variety to the ornamentation of the Minar itself as well as to the Alai Darwaza added to it by Alauddin Khilji. The arches to this Darwaza were the first to be built on correct scientific lines in India. 32. The Tughlaq architecture introduced the sloping walls. This dispensed with the need for a large number of pillars to support the roof and led to the construction of large halls with clearer view. 10x10learning.com Page 8