|
Wooden Dolls, Natungram
Natungram Wooden Dolls are a type of wooden doll, popular in India, especially in the Bardhaman district of West Bengal state. The art of making wooden dolls is an age-old practice in India and Natungram dolls are especially culturally relevant, associated directly with the goddess Lakshmi. Other examples of such dolls include the famous Gour-Nitai, Krishna dolls, and Royal couple dolls. History The artists of Natungram worked first in stone carving, with the patronage of the local Rajas of Bardhaman. However, after the fall of the Raj following the abolition of the Zamindari System in 1951, the craftsmen faced difficulties. Many left the stone carving industry and began crafting fine arts and wooden works - though number of carvers are declining again due to the inefficiency of wood carving in comparison to plastic and metal. One of the common family names here is ''Sutradhar in sanskrit according to legend, are the carpenters descended from Maya son of Vishwakarma. Sut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. The area's early history featured a succession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka.", "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doll
A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Greece, and Ancient Rome, Rome. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate art. Modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, from the 15th century. With Industrialisation, industrialization and new materials such as porcelain and plastic, dolls were increasingly mass-produced. During the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as collectibles. History, types and materials Early history and traditional dolls The earliest dolls were made from available materials such as clay, stone, wood, bone, ivory, leather, or wax. Archaeology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bardhaman District
Bardhaman district (, ; also spelled Burdwan or Barddhaman or Vardhaman) was a district in West Bengal. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two districts: Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman district. The headquarters of the district was Bardhaman, and it housed the cities of Asansol and Durgapur. Indian revolutionary Rashbehari Bose was born in village Subaldaha, Bardhaman district. Bengali poet Kumud Ranjan Mullick was born at Kogram and poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was born at Churulia in the same district. Notable persons like Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Akshay Kumar Datta, Jatindranath Sengupta were also born in erstwhile Bardhaman district. It was the seventh most populous district in India (out of 640) at the time of bifurcation. Etymology Historians link the name of the district to the 24th and last Jain ''tirthankara'', Mahavira Vardhamana, who came to preach in the area. A Jain image is in the collection of Vidyasagar Mandir in the Midnapur town. A Jaina b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Along with Parvati and Saraswati, she forms the Tridevi of Hindu goddesses. Within the goddess-oriented Shaktism, Lakshmi is venerated as the prosperity aspect of the Mother goddess. Lakshmi is both the consort and the divine energy (''shakti'') of the Hindu god Vishnu, the Supreme Being of Vaishnavism; she is also the Supreme Goddess in the sect and assists Vishnu to create, protect, and transform the universe. She is an especially prominent figure in Sri Vaishnavism, in which devotion to Lakshmi is deemed to be crucial to reach Vishnu. Whenever Vishnu descended on the earth as an avatar, Lakshmi accompanied him as consort, for example, as Sita and Radha or Rukmini as consorts of Vishnu's avatars Rama and Krishna, respectively. The eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a native synonym for “estate”. The term means ''land owner'' in Persian. Typically hereditary, from whom they reserved the right to collect tax on behalf of imperial courts or for military purposes. During the period of British colonial rule in India many wealthy and influential zamindars were bestowed with princely and royal titles such as ''maharaja'' (great king), ''raja/rai'' (king) and ''nawab''. During the Mughal Empire, zamindars belonged to the nobility and formed the ruling class. Emperor Akbar granted them mansabs and their ancestral domains were treated as jagirs. Some zamindars who were Hindu by religion and brahmin or kayastha or kshatriya by caste were converted into Muslims by the Mughals. During the colonial era, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sutradhar
in sanskrit according to legend, are the carpenters descended from Maya son of Vishwakarma. Sutradhar, also known as Sutar or Suthar is a Hindu caste within the Vishwakarma community of India. Their traditional occupation is carpentry. The great majority of Hindu sutradhars belong to the Vaishnava sect. Vishwakarma is regarded as their patron deity. Origin The word ''Sutradhar'' literally means ''thread-holder''. ''Sutra'' in sanskrit means thread (which is used to mark the course of a saw), and ''dhara'' means to hold. The names ''Sutar'' and ''Suthar'' are abbreviated versions of ''Sutrahadar''. Sutradhars, according to legend, are the carpenters descended from Maya, son of Vishwakarma. From the ''Rigveda'', Vishwakarma is the divine engineer of the universe. In the Skanda Purana he had five children — Manu, Maya, Tvastar, Shilpi and Visvajna — and these are believed by the Vishwakarma community to have been the forebears of their five sub-groups, being resp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gmelina Arborea
''Gmelina arborea'', (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane ), locally known as gamhar, is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the family Lamiaceae. Distribution and habitat ''Gmelina arborea'' grows naturally throughout India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and in southern provinces of China. It is found at altitudes from sea level to . Since the 1960s, it has been introduced extensively as fast-growing timber trees in Brazil, Gambia, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone. It is also planted in gardens and avenues. Utilization of the species The Lion Throne, the most important, and last surviving, of the eight royal thrones of Myanmar, now in the National Museum in Yangon, is carved from ''Gmelina arborea'' wood. Chemistry Lignans, such as 6" - bromo - isoarboreol, 4-hydroxysesamin, 4,8-dihydroxysesamin, 1,4-dihydroxysesamin (gummadiol), 2-piperonyl-3-hydroxyme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangifera Indica
''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian type" and the "Southeast Asian type". Description It is a large green tree, valued mainly for its fruits, both green and ripe. Approximately 500 Variety (botany), varieties have been reported in India. It can grow up to tall with a similar crown width and a trunk circumference of more than . The leaves are simple, shiny and dark green. Red-yellow flowers appear at the end of winter, and also at the beginning of spring. Both male and female flowers are borne on same tree. Climatic conditions have a significant influence on the time of flowering. In South Asia, flowering starts in December in the south, in January in Bihar and Bengal, in February in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and in February–March in northern India. The duration of flowering is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bombax Ceiba
''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of which may also refer to ''Ceiba pentandra''. This Asian tropical tree has a straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton. Its trunk bears spikes to deter attacks by animals. Although its stout trunk suggests that it is useful for timber, its wood is too soft to be very useful. Description ''Bombax ceiba'' grows to an average of 20 meters, with old trees up to 60 meters in wet tropical regions. The trunk and limb bear numerous conical spines particularly when young, but get eroded when older. The leaves are palmate with about 6 leaflets radiating from a central point (tip of pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_Copy.jpg "Click for more on -> Sutradhar")
