The Snow Valley

Himachal has its own identity for its rich culture and music and dance. The music of Himachal Pradesh is synonymous with the various events and happenings in the day to day life of the people.  Musical instruments like Narsingha, Karnal, Flute, Ektara, Kindari, Jhanjh, Manjira, Chimta, Ghariyal, and Ghunghru reverberate to lend foot-tapping melody to the songs and dances. These instruments are supported by drums which vary in their design and sound. Some of them include Dhol, Dolki, Nagara, Doru and Hudak. Percussion instruments like Manjira, Ghanta, Thali and Kokatha Murchang add that distinct sound to any song Folk Songs of Himachal Pradesh Most of the Himachali songs are centred on the respect and gratitude for gods, the splendour of changing seasons and the warmth of love ballads. These melodic songs combine with the sublime dance forms and musical instruments at important festivals, rituals, fairs and small festivities which celebrate the mysteries of life. Natives living in t...

 Himachal is one of the states of India, which is known for its beauty, tradition, culture, and many more. The art of Himachal has grown out of fusion of cultural strains, migration and religious beliefs.  The Kangra Paintings:  Patronised by rulers of hilly kingdoms, indegenious Art forms blended with Mughal style blossomed into Kangra School of Paintings. The fame of Kangra school of miniature paintings is such that reputed museums around the world have masterpieces permanently displayed at their galleries. Paintings from Guler, Basohli, Chamba, Nurpur and Kangra, patronised by the rulers between 17th and 19th century, collectively form part of this school of paintings. The three main centers of Kangra painting are Guler, Nurpur and Tira-Sujanpur.  This great art originated Guler State, a small hill state in the Lower Himalayas in the first half of the 18th century when a family of Kashmiri painters trained in Mughal painting Style sought shelter at the court of Ra...

Painting Styles of Himachal Pradesh Pahari Schools of Painting: Local schools of painting existed in Himachal Pradesh long before the intrusion of Mughal style. It is believed that 35 old styles flourished in Himachal Pradesh. These include Mandi Kalam, Kangra Kalam, Bilaspur Kalam, Arki Kalam, etc Himachali paintings can be classified into three broad categories: 1.Miniature paintings drawn on stiff handmade paper. 2.Wall paintings from Chamba and Sultanpur Palace as well as National Museum in Delhi. 3.Manuscript paintings which flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Schools of Painting:   1.Basohli School This school is the oldest known school of painting in the hill area. It  rose to its status Under Raja Kripal Pal (1678-94)  of Basohli. The Basohli School used colours symbolically: red for love, yellow for spring and blue for the fertile rains and clouds. It spread to other hill states of Mankot, Nurpur, Kullu, Mandi, Suket, Bilaspur, Nalagarh,...

Himachal Pradesh, amid the Himalayan mountain range, is a land of Gods. The temple is where the past intersects with the present through belief. Various cultural streams hsve enriched the art forms of Himaachal Pradesh in the wake of numerous migrations. Thousands of temples and religious places are there in Himachal, some of which have been built time immemorial. The prominent types of temple architecture based on roof styles are: (1) The ‘Pent’ roof and veranda The pent-roofed temples are indigenously styled circular or rectangular structures with slanting roofs made of rows and rows of slates, designed, in keeping with the climatic conditions of the region, to keep heavy rainfall and snowfall from covering these structures for more than short intervals. The roof extends over the covered ‘ veranda ’ which serves the purpose of ‘Pradakshina’ round the shrine. An interesting feature very specific to these hill temples is the peculiar arrangement of wood and stone in...

British Architecture In Shimla Britishers build many marvelous structures some of which are Christ Church, Regal Lodge, Railway building, Ellirsle and others.   But in order to understand how different this architecture is from the indigenous architecture in Himachal Pradesh we must first observe the ancient Himacha l architecture. Ancient Himachal Architecture Himachal’s ancient architecture use d building materials such as: Wood (mainly deodar) Stones Mud The architecture style in Himachal changes with altitude. The low lying hills or the Shivalik hills have Shikhara style, doomed and flat roofed temples. The mid and higher hills have pent roofed and tiered roofed( P agoda style) temples. British Architecture Styles in Shimla British architecture was very different than the traditional styles.They used more stones and usually had fancy carvings. British structures in Shimla were constructed mainly using two style...