Rajasthan Art & Craft |
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 Rajasthan
is culturally rich and has artistic and cultural traditions
which reflect the ancient Indian way of life. There is rich
and varied folk culture from villages which is both fascinating
and mesmerizing. Highly cultivated classical music and dance
with its own distinct style is part of the cultural tradition
of Rajasthan. The music is of uncomplicated innocence and songs
depict day-to-day relationships and chores, more often focused
around fetching water from wells or ponds.
Language
The mother tongue of the majority of people in Rajasthan is Rajasthani. Rajasthani and Hindi (the official language of India) are the most widely used languages in Rajasthan. After independence, Rajasthani was used as a medium of instruction, along with Hindi and English, in some schools. Some other languages used in Rajasthan are Sindhi, Gujarati and Punjabi.
Music and dance
 Rajasthan
is culturally rich and has extensive tradition in art and culture,
which reflects Indian way life. The dance, music and art forms
have been watchfully cultivated and patronised by the erstwhile
courts. An equally rich and varied folk culture from villages
is both fascinating & mesmerising. The music is of uncomplicated
innocence and songs depict day-to-day relationships and chores
more often focal around bring of water. Rajasthan's cultural
tapestry takes in simple folk to highly cultivated classical
music and dance in its own distinct style.
Music sung by women is mostly about water and the style is called panihari. It depicts daily chores and is cantered around the well. In arid area like Rajasthan water is of immense significance. Some of the folk songs also talk about chance encounter with their lover. Some even have snipes at the incorrigible mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Music here, also has strong religious flavor and is sung in dedication to various deities. Some religious songs are folk idioms of Saints, Surdas, Kabirdas, Meerabai and others. These songs are mostly heard in nightlong soirees.
Music traditions are kept alive by entertainer like the Langas, Manganniyars, Mirasis and Dholis. The education in music of these groups began early and passed down from generation to generation. The folk musicians are apt in classical tradition. Songs normally began with an alap, which set the tune of the song and then recital of the couplet that is called the dooba. The songs also have the taan, the pitch and the tibias -the triplet, which lends variance to the tune.
Ballad traditions of Rajasthan are also of great attention. Here bards sing heroic tales of folk heroes like Tejaji, Gogaji and Ramdeoji. They sing and narrate heroic tales of battles and even of legendary lovers and their tragedies. To distinctive category in this tradition are the 'Phad' and the puppetry.
The accompanying instruments are of various varieties to repercussion, string and wind and even common use utilities like bells, thali (metal dishes) and earthen pots.
The Thar Desert of Rajasthan comes alive when its dancers take the center stage. Rajasthan has great variety of dances, which are simple expressions of celebration and festivity. The dancers, the dances and costumes have made Thar the most colorful desert in the world. Each region adding its own form of dance styles and performers. There are dances that follows a lineage of age old traditions, adhere to religious significance, display their daring attitude as well as complimenting various fairs and festivals.
 Ghoomar,
a community dance for women performed on auspicious occasions.
Gair Ghoomar, Raika, Jhoria and Gauri are particularly of Bhil
tribe. Gair is performed on Holi but only by the men folk. Chari
dance, with pots on the head and a lighted lamp, is popularly
performed on marriage occasions or on the birth of a male child.
Kalbelia dance is of the kalbelia tribe, the snake charmers.
With numerous pots on the head, women excel the balancing act
in the Matka-bhawai. Terah taali, is a ritual for Baba Ramdev,
a dance with thirteen manjiras. Other dances are Kachhi-Ghodi,
Kathputli (the puppet dance), Fire dance, drum dance and various
others pertaining to the particular tribes. Kathhak, a popular
dance form being imported from Uttar Pradesh have been revived
by the rajputana courts, with a style and theme of its own.
Art
 Rajasthani
art and crafts, with its staggering variety, beauty and color
has contributed the most to the crafts collage of India. Rajasthan
has also given the world famous phad paintings, pichwais, and
exquisite miniature paintings that are the pride of serious
collectors the world over. Rajasthani jewelry, mostly the silver
embellished with meena work, fabulous fabrics,; the arrestingly
lovely costumes, traditional items of furniture, traditional
art of tie-and-dye textiles, Laheriyas or the delicately created
patterns in waves, the pachranga or five colored bhandej (tie
-and-dye) on sarees, odhnis, or mantles and safas or turbans,
sarees from Kota, hand block printing, geometric ajraks, historic
jajam prints, feather-soft and feather-light Jaipuri razai (quilt),
handmade paper, blue pottery, jootis or remarkably sturdy footwear,
lamp shades, vases, perfume vials, photo frames,; gesso work
in floral designs, hand-knotted woolen carpets and extensive
range of cotton rugs called durries are some of the mention
worthy work of art and craft that have always attracted the
attention of the people globally.
Cuisine of Rajasthan
 There
is scarcity of rainfall in Rajasthan, which is not conducive
for the growth of vegetables, has resulted in increased stress
on the cultivation of, pulses especially moong, moth and gram.
Most Rajasthani cuisine uses pure ghee (clarified butter) as
its medium of cooking. A favorite dish is prepared with broken
wheat (dalia) sauteed in ghee and sweetened. Bikaner ki Bhujia
is a savory that is world famous and unlike in other parts of
India is prepared out of a pulse called moth (a type of lentil).
Similarly a sweet made from pumpkin is a Bikaner specialty affectionately
named as petha. The list is endless, the palate insatiable.
 Clothes
Reflecting the colorful Rajasthani culture, Rajasthani clothes have a lot of mirror-work and embroidery. A Rajasthani traditional dress for females comprises an ankle length skirt and a short top, also known as a lehenga or a chaniya choli. A piece of cloth is used to cover the head, both for protection from heat and maintenance of modesty. Rajasthani dresses are usually designed in bright colours like blue, yellow and orange.
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