Haryana: Art, Culture, Literature and Architecture

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-I (Paper III), Main Written Examination:

• Related issues of Haryana.

The same line closes General Studies-II and General Studies-III, where it covers Haryana’s polity, governance, economy, agriculture, environment and security. The Preliminary Examination’s General Studies paper has:

• Haryana-Economy and people. Social, economic and culture institutions and language of Haryana.

In General Studies-I, “related issues of Haryana” means the Haryana side of this paper’s subjects: the state’s history, art and culture, society and geography. This page covers one of them.

Topics in detail

Language and dialects

• Hindi as the official language; Punjabi as the second language
• Haryanvi and its dialects: Bangru (central Haryana), Bagri (the western sandy belt), Ahirwati (Rewari, Mahendragarh, Gurugram), Mewati (Nuh), Braj (the Palwal and Hodal side); Punjabi-influenced speech in the north

Folk theatre and music

• Saang (Swang): form, themes, performers; Kishan Lal Bhaat, Deep Chand, Pt. Lakhmi Chand, Baje Bhagat, Pt. Mange Ram
• Ragini and its place in village life
• Folk songs by occasion: seasons (Teej, Phagun), birth, weddings, Sanjhi, devotional songs
• Instruments: been, bansuri, dhol, nagara, ektara, sarangi, chimta, khartal, dafli

Folk dances

• Phag (the Phalgun season), Loor (girls’ dance of the spring), Dhamal (Ahirwal and Mahendragarh), Khoria (women), Ghoomar (the western and southern districts), Gugga (devotional), Chhathi (birth of a child), Jhumar, Teej dances

Fairs and festivals

• Teej, Sanjhi, Gugga Naumi, Holi and Phag, Baisakhi
• The Surajkund International Crafts Mela (Faridabad)
• The Gita Jayanti festival at Kurukshetra; the solar eclipse gathering at Brahma Sarovar
• The Kapal Mochan fair (Yamunanagar), the Pehowa fair
• Fairs at Mata Mansa Devi (Panchkula), Sheetla Mata (Gurugram), Baba Mastnath (Rohtak), Agroha

Crafts and material culture

• Phulkari and Bagh embroidery, durries and Panipat’s handloom textiles
• Pottery, pidhas (woven stools), Jagadhri metal utensils
• Dress (dhoti, kurta and pagri; daaman, kurti and odhni) and ornaments
• Food: bajra and wheat, milk and ghee, kadhi, churma, lassi

Architecture and monuments

• Thanesar: Harsh ka Tila, Sheikh Chilli’s tomb
• Hisar: Firoz Shah’s palace complex, the Lat ki Masjid, Gujri Mahal
• Narnaul: Jal Mahal, Birbal ka Chhatta, Ibrahim Khan Sur’s tomb
• Panipat: Ibrahim Lodi’s tomb, the Kabuli Bagh mosque
• Pinjore Gardens (Yadavindra Gardens), a Mughal-style garden
• Asigarh fort (Hansi), Lohgarh (Yamunanagar), Rani Talab (Jind), the kos minars
• Religious sites: Brahma Sarovar and Jyotisar (Kurukshetra), Adi Badri, Kapal Mochan, Gurdwara Nada Sahib (Panchkula), Gurdwara Panjokhra Sahib (Ambala)
• Museums: the Dharohar museum at Kurukshetra University, the Shri Krishna Museum at Kurukshetra

Literature

• Banabhatta at the court of Harsha
• Surdas and the tradition linking him with Sihi (Faridabad)
• Saint-poets: Garib Das (Chhudani, Jhajjar) and the Sant tradition
• Balmukund Gupt, Hindi journalist and essayist
• Haryanvi literature, Saang poetry, and Haryanvi cinema (Chandrawal, 1984)

Cultural institutions

• State academies for literature and the arts, and the Haryana Kala Parishad
• The Pt. Lakhmi Chand State University of Performing and Visual Arts (Rohtak)
• Akharas and the sporting culture of the state (wrestling, boxing, kabaddi)

Overlaps

• Indian art, literature and architecture in general: Indian Culture: Art Forms, Literature and Architecture.
• The Preliminary Examination asks about the culture institutions and language of Haryana: HCS Prelims: General Studies.