Indian Art and Culture: Art Forms, Literature and Architecture

What the official syllabus says

UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination, Paper II: General Studies I.

Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Topics in detail

The line names three fields (art forms, literature, architecture) across the whole span of Indian history. Read each field period by period, and for every monument, school or text note where it is, who made or patronised it, and its defining features.

Architecture: ancient and early medieval

• Harappan town planning: grid streets, covered drains, citadel and lower town; the Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro), the dockyard (Lothal), water reservoirs (Dholavira)
• Mauryan architecture: polished stone pillars, stupas, the rock-cut Barabar caves
• Stupas and their parts (anda, harmika, chhatra, vedika, torana): Sanchi, Bharhut, Amaravati
• Rock-cut caves: Buddhist chaityas and viharas (Karla, Bhaja, Ajanta), Ellora (Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves; the Kailasa temple), Elephanta, Udayagiri–Khandagiri
• Temple architecture: the Nagara, Dravida and Vesara styles; parts of a temple (garbhagriha, mandapa, shikhara or vimana, gopuram)
• Gupta temples: Dashavatara temple (Deogarh), Bhitargaon brick temple
• Regional styles: Pallava (Mamallapuram rathas and Shore Temple), Chalukya (Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal), Rashtrakuta (Kailasa, Ellora), Chola (Brihadeeswara, Thanjavur), Hoysala (Belur, Halebidu), Odisha (Lingaraja, Konark Sun Temple), Chandela (Khajuraho), Solanki (Modhera), Dilwara Jain temples (Mount Abu), Vijayanagara (Hampi)

Architecture: medieval and modern

• Indo-Islamic architecture: the true arch and dome, minarets, calligraphy and geometric decoration
• Delhi Sultanate buildings: Qutub Minar, Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, Alai Darwaza, Tughlaq monuments
• Provincial styles: Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa (Mandu), Bijapur (Gol Gumbaz), Gujarat
• Mughal architecture: Humayun’s Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid; the charbagh garden
• Rajput forts and palaces; Sikh architecture (Harmandir Sahib)
• Colonial architecture: Gothic revival, Indo-Saracenic (Gateway of India), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the planning of New Delhi (Lutyens and Baker)
• Post-independence architecture: Chandigarh (Le Corbusier) and modern Indian architects

Sculpture

• Harappan sculpture and seals: the bronze ‘dancing girl’, the steatite ‘priest-king’, terracotta figures
• Mauryan sculpture: the Sarnath Lion Capital (the national emblem), the Didarganj Yakshi
• Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools: material, influences and features
• Gupta sculpture (the Sarnath Buddha) and the classical ideal
• Chola bronzes and the lost-wax (cire perdue) technique; the Nataraja

Painting

• Prehistoric rock art: Bhimbetka
• Mural traditions: Ajanta, Bagh, Sittanavasal, Lepakshi
• Miniature painting: Pala manuscripts, Mughal (Akbar, Jahangir), Deccani, Rajasthani (Mewar, Bundi, Kishangarh), Pahari (Basohli, Kangra)
• Company painting; Raja Ravi Varma; the Bengal School (Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose); modern Indian artists
• Folk and tribal painting: Madhubani, Warli, Pattachitra, Kalamkari, Gond, Phad, Kalighat, Pithora

Performing arts

• The Natya Shastra and the theory of rasa
• Classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Sattriya; origin, themes and features of each
• Folk dances of different regions (Bihu, Garba, Bhangra, Chhau, Ghoomar and others)
• Music: the Hindustani and Carnatic systems; raga and tala; Hindustani forms (dhrupad, khayal, thumri) and gharanas; the Carnatic trinity (Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastri)
• Musical instruments and their classical classification (tata, sushira, avanaddha, ghana)
• Theatre: Sanskrit drama and Koodiyattam (Kerala’s Sanskrit theatre), folk theatre (Yakshagana, Nautanki, Jatra, Tamasha, Bhavai), puppetry traditions, modern theatre

Literature

• Vedic literature: the four Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads; Vedangas
• The epics (Ramayana, Mahabharata) and the Puranas
• Buddhist (Tripitaka, Jataka tales) and Jain (Agamas) literature
• Classical Sanskrit literature: Bhasa, Kalidasa, Banabhatta; scientific and technical texts
• Sangam literature and later Tamil classics (Tolkappiyam, Tirukkural, Silappadikaram, Manimekalai)
• Bhakti and Sufi literature in regional languages: Alvars and Nayanars, Basavanna, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Surdas, Tulsidas, the Marathi saints
• Persian and Urdu literature: Amir Khusrau, Abul Fazl, Mirza Ghalib
• Modern Indian literature in the regional languages and in English; Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand, Subramania Bharati

Religious and philosophical traditions behind the arts

• Buddhism and Jainism: teachings, councils, sects and their art
• The six schools of Indian philosophy (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta) and Charvaka
• The Bhakti and Sufi movements and their cultural legacy

Heritage and its protection

• Handicrafts, textiles and Geographical Indication (GI) tags for crafts
• Fairs, festivals and calendars of India
• India’s World Heritage Sites and the elements on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list (such as Koodiyattam, Ramlila, Vedic chanting, Kumbh Mela, Yoga, Durga Puja in Kolkata, Garba)
• Institutions: the Archaeological Survey of India, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi

Overlaps

• Prelims General Studies Paper I asks about Indian history including art and culture in objective form.
• The Optional Subject list includes History and the literature of many languages, which go deeper into the same material.