South Indian States-Unity in Diversity

 

South Indian states formed a linguistic unity in independent India and preserved the traditional culture and artwork despite of having many foreign invasions before its independence in modern age. South Indian states form the peninsular part of India, also known as Dakshin Bharat. South Indian states include Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. These South Indian states are covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau. These states are bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges - the Western Ghats Mountain Range in India and Eastern Ghats Mountain Range in India, bordering the plateau heartland. Godavari River, Krishna River, Kaveri River, Tungabhadra River and Vaigai River are important sources of water. Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Amaravati, Coimbatore and Kochi are the largest urban areas in the south Indian states with the scope to develop the economic sectors. Geography of South Indian States The peninsular India shaped like an inverted triangle is guarded by sea on all sides. It has Vindhyas and Satpura ranges running along the coastal regions while Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats meeting at the Nilgiri mountains. The low-lying coral islands of Lakshwadeep form the southwestern coast of India while the Andaman and Nicobar islands are located in the eastern coast. The Palk Strait and the chain of islands forming Rama's Bridge separate southern India from Sri Lanka. The southernmost tip of India is at Kanyakumari which is also the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea. The Deccan plateau is also an elevated region bounded by mountains and watered by many rivers and their tributaries. Climate of South Indian States Southern India has tropical climate and mostly depends on monsoon for rainfall. Some of the regions are considered warmest in the country with average daily high temperature of 33 degrees C. It is warm to hot all year round, at average water temperatures of 28 degrees C. Precipitation is comparatively less here and winter, summer, and monsoons are the main seasons.

Diversity of languages of Andhra Pradesh

 Languages of Andhra Pradesh belong to the Dravidian language group. Telugu is the official language in Andhra Pradesh including Telengana region. In October 1953, the state was constituted and Telugu was acknowledged with this status. India comprises of different linguistic communities, each sharing a common language of their own. The Indian languages belong to four classes of languages: Mon-Khmer, Sino-Tibetan, Indo-European and Dravidian. These languages are grouped on the basis of geographical locations in India.

The main languages that are spoken by people of Andhra Pradesh are Telugu, Hindi, Banjara, Urdu and English.

Telugu Language: Telugu is one of the 23 official languages of India. The subtlety of the language emphasizes the language's profundity. Telugu is an exceptionally robust language and is highly moulded by Sanskrit influence. It was also referred to as ‘Tenugu’ in the past. Amongst the Dravidian languages, Telugu is mostly spoken by the people. In terms of population, Telugu ranks second to Hindi among the Indian languages. The Telugu alphabet is called ‘Onamaalu’.

Kannada Language: Since, Telugu has a close resemblance with Tamil, Kannada and Tulu, Kannada is also one of the spoken languages in Andhra Pradesh. Though Kannada is the official language of Karnataka, it has some significant linguistic minorities in Andhra Pradesh. Kannada is considered to be one of the oldest living languages.

Jhoti Chita- Traditional art of Odisha

 Jhoti Chita is a traditional art of Odisha, which is done with rice paste on walls and floors during puja or ocassions. It is mainly drawn using fingers as well as brush and represents different patterns of religious or spiritual significance.

Jhoti Chita, also known as Rangoli, is a traditional art or painting of Odisha which is mostly found in the rural parts of the state. Jhoti Chita or Rangoli is created by making beautiful patterns on the walls or floors using an improvised brush made of cotton and stick or piece of cloth. It can also be done with bare fingers.

Painting technique of Jhoti Chita
While Rangolis are made using coloured powders, Jhoti involves line art using the traditional white coloured, semi liquid paste of rice or Pithau. The watery or semi-liquid rice paste is soaked in a piece of cloth or small cotton ball for the drawing. This cloth or cotton ball is usually surrounded with a stick or twig for better grip. The painting mainly portrays different patterns and shapes. Some of them represent religious signs or symbols while others can be just patterns for beautification.

Colours of Jhoti Chita
Several figures and flower patterns are drawn in Jhoti Chita or Rangoli. Before starting the painting, an earthy red colour named ‘dhau’ is smeared on the walls and floors and then the Jhotis are created. It provides a contrasted colour. Dhau is also used as a background colour of Jhoti drawings.

Religious significance of Jhoti Chita
Jhoti Chita is made during certain festivals like marriage, Manabasa Gurubara, Basanti, Kaartika, Dola, Jhulana, Dhanalakshmi puja, Gaja Lakshmi puja and Raja. For different festivals, different types of motifs are drawn on the walls or floors. For example, during Lakshmi puja, a stack of paddy or rice sheaves is drawn on the walls structured like a pyramid as it symbolizes goddess Lakshmi. Small foot marks of goddess Lakshmi are a must in any Jhoti. During Durga Puja, white and red dots are painted on the walls. This combination of red and white signifies the worship of Shiva and Shakti. Intricate and beautiful floral designs like the lotus, elephants, symbols used in Patachitra find place in this form of free hand drawing.

Bay of Bengal

 Bay of Bengal is a triangular shaped bay in the Indian Ocean, and has derived its name from West Bengal, which lies on the north.

 Bay of Bengal lies in the north eastern part of the Indian Ocean. It is in fact a triangular shaped salt-water sea. The bay is surrounded by the Malay Peninsula on the east, and by the Indian subcontinent on the west. The northern section of the bay borders the Bengal region, comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. As it surrounds the Bengal region, the bay has derived the name Bay of Bengal. The southern tips margin the island country of Sri Lanka, and the Indian Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many large rivers including Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Ganga and Brahmaputra flow into it.Climate of Bay of Bengal

The monsoon currents regulate the climate of the Bay of Bengal and the regions around it. During the months of January to October, the current flows towards the north in a clockwise circulation pattern and is called the East Indian Current. The Bay of Bengal monsoon moves in a northwest direction hitting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at the end of May and then the North Eastern Coast of India by the end of June. Throughout the remaining part of the year, a counter-clockwise current flows towards the southwest direction, and is called the East Indian Winter Jet. During the months of September and December the weather is very active. The monsoon season often brings in severe cyclones, which affect Eastern India as well as parts of other countries. The 1971 Orissa cyclone is one of the worst.

Palash Tree - Indian Beauty

 

Flame of the Forest/ Palash Tree is a very beautiful tree with bright crimson orange coloured flowers. This is the state flower of Madhya Pradesh as well as Jharkhand. Flame of the Forest, also known as Palash Tree is a very beautiful Indian tree with bright crimson orange coloured flowers. Flame of the Forest/Palash Tree is such a tree when it is in its fullest beauty, it can change the view of the entire forest in a very graceful way. From the month of January to March, the tree stands it all its glory with a lot of orange and vermilion flowers that covers the entire crown. Palash trees are distinct as they have more flowers than leaves. This is the state flower of Madhya Pradesh as well as Jharkhand. Different Names of Flame of the Forest/ Palash Tree The scientific name of the tree is ‘Butea Monosperma’. Its family is ‘Leguminosae’ and sub-family is ‘Papilonaceae’. It’s called in several names in Hindi language like ‘Chichra tesu’, ‘Desuka Jhad’, ‘Dhak’, ‘Palas’, ‘Chalcha’ and ‘Kankrei’. In Urdu it is called as ‘Palashpapra’. The Bengali people call it as ‘Palas’ or ‘Palashi’ and the Tamils call it as ‘Porasum’ or ‘Parasu’. It is named like ‘Muriku’ and ‘Shamata’ in Malayalam, ‘Modugu’ in Telugu, ‘Khakda’ in Gujarati and ‘Kela’ in Sinhalese. In English it has two names; ‘Flame of the Forest’ and ‘Parrot Tree’.

Wonders Of India- Ancient Varna System

 

Varna System in Ancient India formed the basic structure of Hindu society. It is among the world’s oldest forms of surviving social stratification. Varna system divided the society into four major sections based on the occupation of the people.  Varna System in Ancient India was based on occupation, but with time it turned to a rigid caste system. ‘Varna’ literally means group in Sanskrit. With the advent of the Aryans, the ancient Indian society got divided into four sections - Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra. In Hinduism, the Varna System was based on class, colour, guna, and yoga. The first 3 Varna is called twice born. It implies that they have come of age and are eligible to study Sanskrit and the Vedas and perform Vedic rituals. The thread ceremony marks the second birth among the Indian male. For girls it is during their marriage that a thread is tied round their hands to mark the second birth. Besides Hindus, this custom is also prevalent with the Jains.

Tamil Language

Tamil Language is the official language of two states: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Tamil Language is one of 22 scheduled languages of India and the first Indian language to be declared as a classical language by the government of India in 2004. This language is one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world.

Tamil language belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages. This language descends from Proto Dravidian. Tamil has the most ancient non-Sanskritised Indian literature among all Indian languages. Scholars have categorized the history of the language into three periods, Old Tamil (300 BCE - 700 CE), Middle Tamil (700-1600) and Modern Tamil (1600-present).

The Tamil dialects are:
1) Madras Tamil
2) Madurai Tamil
3) Coimbatore or Kongu Tamil
4) Tirunelveli or Nellai Tamil
5) Kanyakumari Tamil
6) Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli Tamil
7) Jaffna or Yazhpanam Tamil
8) Trincomalee or Tiriconamalai Tamil
9) Batticaloa or mattakkalappu Tamil

Tamil, along with other Dravidian languages, can be traced back to its origins in the Proto-Dravidian language. It is believed that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BC, possibly in the region near the lower Godavari river basin. Archaeological evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were associated with the Neolithic cultures of South India.
In the realm of Indian languages, Tamil boasts the most ancient non-Sanskritic Indian literature. Scholars divide the documented history of the language into three distinct periods: Old Tamil (600 BC–AD 700), Middle Tamil (700–1600), and Modern Tamil (1600–present).
The earliest surviving literary works in Tamil, along with their commentaries, hold great admiration for the Pandiyan Kings. These kings were credited for organizing the Tamil Sangams, long-term gatherings that focused on the research, development, and refinement of the Tamil language. While the language developed by these Tamil Sangams is referred to as Tamil, the exact period when the name "Tamil" came into common usage remains uncertain, as does the precise etymology of the name.
The earliest documented use of the term "Tamil" can be found in the Tholkappiyam, a literary work believed to date back to the late 2nd century BC. Additionally, the Hathigumpha inscription, attributed to Kharavela, the Jain king of Kalinga during a similar time period, makes a reference to a Tamira Samghatta, meaning a Tamil confederacy. Furthermore, the Samavayanga Sutra, which dates to the 3rd century BC, includes mention of a Tamil script called 'Damili.' These inscriptions and references provide valuable historical evidence of the existence and significance of the Tamil language during ancient times.
According to Hindu mythology, the origin of Tamil, or Tamil Thai (Mother Tamil) in personified form, can be traced back to Lord Shiva. It is believed that Lord Murugan, venerated as the Tamil God, together with the sage Agastya, bestowed the gift of Tamil language upon the people.