South Asian History, Culture and Archaeology

There are varied and many-sided connections between the musical cultures of the peoples of India and Central Asia are reflected, in part, in the medieval manuscript sources. The XVIth-XIXth centuries are the richest in manuscripts. A series of specialized tracts on music in Persian appeared during the epoch of the Baburids. The unique treatise on music in the Persian language by Bāqiyā Nā’inī, Zamzame-ye Vahdat (Hummings of Unity), to which a preliminary introduction has been provided in this article. The penetration of poetry into treatises on the science of music increases noticeably in the XVI century. The basic content of Nā’inī’s treatise on music does not step out of the framework of description of the system of maqam-s and rag-s, the forms and genres related to them, and a few other questions. The most important factor which allowed Nā’inī to compare different musical cultures was that the musical culture of Northern India – one of the fundamental objects of study in his treatise – was itself for a long time historically related to the Central Asian musical traditions, and in general with the culture of the Muslim world.

Keywords: Musical cultures, Persian language, Philosophical treatise, Raga-system

Mainly people believe that Buddhism first appeared in India in the sixth century BCE. A Sakya prince named Siddhartha Gautama set out on a quest to discover life’s truths and realities. After being bathed in the holy light of explanation, Gautama chose to enlighten others rather than keep it to himself. Many people embraced the teachings that Gautama Buddha preached and propagated with great affection. However, a few individuals developed a new school of thought, Buddhism, which later became a significant religion of the globe and the Buddhist relics found by archaeological research assist us in rebuilding our history. (Shakrabarti, 2006, p. 315) It is well-known that after the Buddha’s par nirvana, numerous monarchs from different kingdoms, including Magadha, Vaisali, the Sakayas, the Bullis, the Koliyas, the Mallas, the Moriyas, and Kalinga (ancient Odisha), searched for his remains. Kern (1989: 46) the merchants, commoners, emperors, and kings extended patronage and constructed monuments, preserved artefacts, and presented presents as a way of honouring the Master Teacher. However, this historical evident is in many types of Buddhist structures erected in India. The state of Odisha’s geographical region in South Eastern India is blessed with a substantial amount of Buddhist landmarks and artefacts. The purpose of this essay is to provide an overview of various Buddhist monuments that have been found thus far, including monasteries, charities, and stupas.

Keywords: Soft Power, Cultural Diplomacy, Act East Policy, Cultural, Heritage

The tribal populations in Tripura like any other Northeastern tribes are of varied ethnic affinities and linguistic backgrounds. These diversities define their commonness they have in nature of their struggle and difficulties in their respective societies. The word ‘tribal’ imply different negative meaning such as ‘primitive’, ‘savage’ or being inferiority with low level of socio-religious and economic system, etc. The present paper seeks to explore various alternative views with reference to the Reang (Bru) community of Tripura with special issues relating to their identity. The study is of importance in the case of such tribal societies known for their economic backwardness. An attempt will therefore be made to figure out the status and rights of the Reang (Bru) community of Tripura; the only particularly vulnerable tribal group in Tripura.

Keywords: Bru, Culture, Chudri (village headman), Hojagiri, Tribal, Rai (community head).

This paper is an attempt to explain the theory and principles involved in the experiment of the iron smelting process. In the process of iron smelting, furnaces are broken, and the tuyeres are removed to recover the bloom. New furnaces may then be constructed either on the same spot as the previous one or adjacent to it. In the context of archaeological sites, several overlapping sequences of furnaces may be interpreted in diverse ways, e.g. successive cultural phases, different phases of occupation, etc. Here, we examine this question by looking at the process of furnace construction and destruction in ethnographic and experimental studies. This is then contrasted with the furnace distribution pattern at the early historic site of Iswal and Nathara-ki-Pal, Rajasthan. The study revolves around the number of furnaces and correlation with each other in terms of spatial distribution and furnaces versus demography. It also probes into the relationship of furnaces to tuyeres and the importance of the latter in terms of use/reuse.

Keywords: Archaeo-metallurgy, Experimental Archaeology, Slag, Iron Ore, Bellow.

This research aims to identify different perceptions of a UNESCO World Heritage site among tourists and local communities. The site, Mosque City of Bagerhat, is in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. By examining the demographics, their experience, satisfaction level and recommendations, this research will try to understand identifying the difference in perception is a must to determine a site’s cultural and historical value for better management of the site. This research has employed a quantitative data collection method. By using purposive sampling technique 100 participants were chosen for the survey. In-depth interviews were also conducted with the stakeholders of this site. The key finding of this research is that tourists and locals have similar different perceptions regarding the site. Tourists generally valued the site tourism spot whereas the locals mostly appreciated the site for its religious importance but also expressed concerns over the impact of tourism on their daily lives. This study also shows that both groups are partially satisfied with their experiences. This research provides a very valuable insight into heritage management and the development of tourism. Understanding the differences in perceptions among two major stakeholders can inform strategies for heritage management by ensuring the preservation of cultural heritage while promoting local community engagement and benefits in heritage sites.

Keywords: UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cultural Heritage, Mosque City of Bagerhat, Local Community, Tourist Perception, Heritage Management.

The idea of a temple originated centuries ago in the universal ancient conception of God in a human form, which required a habitation, a shelter, and this requirement soon resulted in a structural shrine. In India, basically, there are three styles of temple architecture, i.e., Nagara or north Indian temple architecture, Dravida or south India temple architecture and Vesara or Central Indian temple architecture. But an inscription in the Amritesvara temple at Holal in Karnataka (c. 1231 CE), refers to four styles of temple i.e., Nagara, Kalinga, Dravida and Vesara. Even though the Odishan temple resembles the Nagara style, its own distinctive peculiarities take the pride of giving it a separate place and hence the name of Kalinga style of temple architecture. The remarkability of a Kalinga style of temple comes from its plan and elevation. The interior ground plan of the temple is square but externally they are broken by offset projections called Pagas. Externally, the temple appears to show a cruciform plan, because of the projections. The Kalinga temple style exhibits a flexible characteristic. In course of its evolution, some changes are obvious, as the building art was passed on from one generation to the other. These stylistic changes distinguish one phase from the other. But in spite of it, a remarkable continuity is found in the development of the style which started from 6th century CE, and reached its climax with the building of the Sun temple at Konark in the 13th century CE.

Keywords: Kalinga, Nagara, Odisha, Plan & Elevation, Temple architecture.

A review in the Birupa-Chitrotpala river valley suggests that the settlements in the region during the early historic period were centered on the establishments affiliated to both Buddhist and Brahmanical religious ideologies. The Chitrotpala is a distributary of the Mahanadi flows for about 80 kms, in the present districts of Cuttack, Kendrapara and Jagatsingpur and meets Bay of Bengal near the estuary at Paradeep. The Mahanadi - the life line of Odisha, provides a number of archeological sites developed right from the early historic period and carries the legacy of a name ‘Sali’ and a small town named after as Salipur on the bank of the river Chitrotpala. The dotted archaeological sites ranges from at least third century BCE to thirteenth century CE continuously that delivers the cultural flow in a micro region, notwithstanding age or any period which is an interesting parameter to study the early historic paradigms of history, culture and trade first from agriculture, then Buddhism and Brahmanism stitching all together with trade mechanism in the river valley. A chronometric analysis is undertaken to unfold various aspects to reconstruct the cultural past of the region, otherwise contribute to understand the role of agriculture, trade and religion.

Keywords: The Chitortpala, Sali, Agriculture, Religion, Trade and Culture.

The present survey was undertaken around the Palasponga region of Keonjhar district. The survey has yielded eight sites of every culture (i.e. Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic). The area is drained by river Aradei and Jokdara and a numerous number of palaeo channels and rain gully’s. The area is dotted with many rocky undulated lands as well as low hills and raised eroded lands. The low hills of the area more or less provided with quartz, quartzite and different types of cherts. These raw materials would have been exploited or rather used by the prehistoric peoples of this region. Significantly it has been marked that the land mass are basically the habitational area of prehistoric population, the cultural remnants in shape of lithic artifacts. Recently conducted short exploration around Palasponga is to impart training in field archaeology for studying the prehistory which was undertaken in the Keonjhar district. The survey was conducted during April 2022. The prime aim was to locate new and uncharted prehistoric sites and the stratigraphic profiles of this area which lies to the north of district headquarter Keonjhar and to the eastern extent of Chhotnagpur plateau in the northern part of the state.

Keywords: Keonjhar, Survey, Aradei, Chert, Lithic, Stratigraphic.