Raja Ravi Varma

Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was born in Kilimanoor Palace as the son of Umamba Thampuratti and Neelakandan Bhattathiripad. At the age of seven years he started drawing on the palace walls using charcoal. His uncle Raja Raja Varma noticed the talent of the child and gave preliminary lessons on painting. At the age of 14, Ayilyam Thirunal Maharaja took him to Travancore Palace and he was taught water painting by the palace painter Rama Swamy Naidu. After 3 years Theodor Jenson, a British painter taught him oil painting. He achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art.


Raja Ravi Varma is most remembered for his paintings of beautiful sari clad women, who were portrayed as very shapely and graceful. He stayed in the city of Bombay in Maharashtra for some years and drew many a beautiful Maharashtrian woman. His exposure in the west came when he won the first prize in Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873. After a successful career as a painter, Raja Ravi Varma died in (1906) at the age of 58. He is generally considered as one among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

Professional life
Raja Ravi Varma came to widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873 (Citation required). He travelled throughout India in search of subjects. He often modeled Hindu Goddesses on South Indian women, whom he considered beautiful. Ravi Varma is particularly noted for his paintings depicting episodes from the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, and Nala and Damayanti, from the Mahabharata. Ravi Varma's representation of mythological characters has become a part of the Indian imagination of the epics. He is often criticized for being too showy and sentimental in his style. However his work remains very popular in India.

Prominent works
The following is a list of the prominent works of Ravi Varma.

X Village Belle
X Lady Lost in Thought
X Damayanti Talking to a Swan
X The Orchestra
X Arjuna and Subhadra
X Lady with Fruit
X The Heartbroken
X Swarbat Player
X Shakuntala
X Lord Krishna as Ambassador
X Jatayu, a bird devotee of Lord Rama is mauled by Rawana
X Victory of Meghanada
X A Family of Beggars
X A Lady Playing Swarbat
X Lady Giving Alms at the Temple
X Lord Rama Conquers Varuna
X Romancing Couple
X Draupadi Dreading to Meet Kichaka
X Shantanu and Matsyagandha
X Shakuntala Composing a Love Letter to King Dushyanta
X Girl in Sage Kanwa's Hermitage (Rishi-Kanya)


Philosophical outlook
Raja Ravi Varma's philosophical outlook is not known or documented, especially his understanding of Western Art forms, though it should be acknowledged that he received formal and systematic training. Those who seek to critically examine his contribution are severely impaired in their project by the absence of any literature written by him (one would require an interpretation of the diary maintained by his brother - also his co-worker and assistant.)

Criticism of Raja Ravi Varma
Raja Ravi Varma is often criticised for the fact that his paintings overshadowed traditional Indian art forms because of their widespread reproduction as oleographs, flooding Indian culture with his version of Indian myths, portrayed with a rather static realism. According to Dasgupta, by dispensing with stylisation in favour of stiff academicism, Ravi Varma can be considered as having in one stroke undermined traditional Indian art, which was both dynamic and rich in form and content. One can find an illustration of this argument in the figures of Durga in West Bengal or in the folk form of Madhubani Paintings. In comparison, Ravi Varma's approach clearly lacks this dynamism of expression. Moreover, his approach of frontality has severe limitations in terms of space and movement. By rejecting the traditional models of representation (for example, the Chitrasutra, the treatise on art outlined in Vishnudharmottara Purana), he has reduced mythic heroes to the level of ordinary humans, a form that has been copied in many depictions of mythic history in other media such as cinema and television. Dadasaheb Phalke, considered the father of Indian cinema, is thought to have been influenced by Ravi Varma's static realism.

Christmas

Christmas is a Christian holiday held on December 25 which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Eastern Orthodox Churches, which use the Julian Calendar to determine feast days, celebrate on January 7 by the Gregorian Calendar. The date is merely traditional and is not thought to be the actual birthdate of Jesus. Christ's birth, or nativity, is said to fulfill Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of a messiah, or savior.

The word Christmas is derived Middle English Christemasse and from Old English Cristes mæsse. It is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass". The name of the holiday is often shortened to Xmas because Roman letter "X" resembles the Greek letter ? (chi), an abbreviation for Christ

In Western countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year. The popularity of Christmas can be traced in part to its status as a winter festival. Many cultures have their most important holiday in winter because there is less agricultural work to do at this time. Examples of winter festivals that have influenced Christmas include the pre-Christian festivals of Yule (e.g. yuletide, yule log) and Saturnalia.

In Western culture, the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts being attributed to Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas and Father Frost). However, various local and regional Christmas traditions are still practiced, despite the widespread influence of American, British and Australian Christmas motifs disseminated by film, popular literature, television, and other media.

Christmas as we know it today is thus a 19th-century invention. The decorated Christmas tree, common in German countries for centuries, was introduced to Britain by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Consort. Carols were revived and many new ones written, often to traditional melodies. The custom of carol-singing, although with ancient origins, dates mainly from the 19th century.

Christmas crackers were invented in the late 19th century by an enterprising English baker, Tom Smith, who, by 1900, was selling 13 million worldwide each year, and Christmas cards only became commonplace in the 1870s, although the first one was produced in London in 1846. The familiar image of Santa Claus, complete with sled, reindeers, and sack of toys, is an American invention which first appeared in a drawing by Thomas Nast in Harper's Magazine in 1868, although the legend of Father Christmas is ancient and complex, being partly derived from St Nicholas and a jovial medieval figure, the “spirit of Christmas”. In Russia, he traditionally carries a pink piglet under his arm.

Today, Christmas is as much a secular festival as a religious one. It is a time of great commercial activity and for present-giving, family reunions and, in English-speaking countries, a “traditional” Christmas meal of turkey or goose, Christmas cakes, Christmas pudding, and mince pies. Midnight mass is celebrated in churches and cathedrals in the West. In many countries, including Germany, the custom of lighting the tree, singing carols around it, and opening presents is celebrated on December 24, Christmas Eve.

Kathakali

Kathakali is a form of Indian dance-drama. It originated in the Indian state of Kerala during the 7th century C.E. The Raja of Kottarakara is the earliest exponent of this art. It is considered to be one of the oldest dance forms in India. It is a spectacular combination of drama, dance, music and ritual. Characters with vividly painted faces and elaborate costumes re-enact stories from the Hindu epics, Mahabharatha and Ramayana.

Kathakali explicates events and stories from the Indian Epics and 'Puranas', ancient scriptures. Presented in the temple precincts after dusk falls, Kathakali is heralded by the Kelikottu or the beating of drums in accompaniment of the Chengila (gong).

The dancers adorn themselves with huge skirts and head-dress, wearing a most intricate style of make-up. The richness of this riveting mix of colour, expression, music, drama and dance is unparalleled in any other art form.


In olden days Kathakali performance mostly took place on a temple premises or at the house of a local land lord. A pandal or a canopy with a thatched roof would be erected with a green room located close by. The stage is not raised, but at the same level as the audience and is decorated with coconut leaves, bunches of areca nuts etc. The only source of light is a big bell metal lamp placed down the center stage.

At about 6 o'clock in the evening the performance is announced by a brief passage of drumming known as Kelikottu. The actual performance begins only between 9 and 10 o'clock at night. Arrangukeli, another passage of drumming, marks the commencement of the performance. This is followed by Thodayam, a piece of abstract dance, which is invocatory in nature. Junior actors in the group with simple make-up perform Thodayam. The recitation of Vandanaslokam (a chanted prayer), is followed by Purappad, a preliminary item that introduces the main character of the story in full costume and make-up. Next is the Melappadam, which is a musical piece where vocalists and the drummers are given the opportunity to show their skill without depending on the actors. Then the story or part of the stories proposed is enacted, which may go on till the wee hours. The end of the performance is marked by a piece of pure dance called Dhanasi.

The current flourishing of the form is largely due to the efforts of the poet Vallathol, one of the cultural revivalists of the Independence era. Like Bharatanatyam, Kathakali also needed a resurrection in the 1930s. The great poet Vallathol rediscovered Kathakali, establishing the Kerala Kalamandalam in 1932, which gave new life to this art form.

Festival - Vishu

Vishu is a Malayalum festival held in the state of Kerala (and adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu) in Indian on the first day in the Malayalum month of Medam (April-May). Festival of Vishu is also known as the Malayalum New Year day and thus it becomes all the more important for the Malayalees regardless of their religion or sect. Simmilarly this festival is celebrated in almost all the places in India by the Hindus but by the different names. In Assam this day is called Bihu, in Punjab Baisakhi and in Tamil Nadu Puthandu.

A Tradtional Vishu Kanni Setting
The festival is marked with offerings to the divine called Vishukanni. The offerings consists of a ritual arrangement in the puja room of auspicious articles like rice,linen, cucumber, betel leaves, matal mirror, holy text and coins in a bell metal vessel called uruli. A lighted bell metal lamp called nilavilakku is also placed alongside. This arrangement is completed by the women of the house during the previous night. On the day of Vishu, it’s a custom to wake up at dawn and go to the puja room with the eyes closed so that the first thing a person sees is the Vushukanni. The Vishukanni is later distributed among the poor.People wear new clothes for the occasion and the elders in the family distribute tokens of money to the children, servants and tenants. These tokens are called Vishukkaineetam and are usually in the form of coins. People carry out this custom believing that in this way, their children would be blessed with prosperity in the future.

Vishu is considered to be a day of feasting, wherein the edibles consist of roughly equal proportions of salt, sweet, sour and bitter items.Feast items include Veppampoorasam (a bitter preparation of neem) and Mampazhapachadi (a sour mango soup).

Festival - Onam

Onam is the biggest and the most important festival of the state of Kerala. It is a harvest festival and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm all over the state by people of all communities. According to a popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.

Onam is celebrated in the memory of King Mahabali. It was said that King Mahabali ruled Kerala a long time ago and looked after the welfare of the people. Thus Onam shows the blissful rule of the King and the freedom, which the people enjoyed under his rule. The people also believe that during Onam, the King returns to Kerala to pay a visit to his people.

The people in Kerala arrange for this festival by cleaning up their houses and decorating them. On the occasion of Onam, everybody in the family wears new clothes. Delicious sweets and dishes are prepared and served on the banana leaves. “Pookalam” a flower mat is visible outside every house. This mat is a symbol of welcoming King Mahabali. On the eve of Onam, traditional rituals are performed and the people celebrate the occasion with a grand feast. “Payasam” a sweet and tempting porridge is one of the favorite dessert served on the eve of Onam.

“Vallamkali” or a great boat race is an attractive feature of this festival. In this game hundreds of men row the boats to the beat of drums and cymbals. An interesting thing to note is that above each boat there is a scarlet silk umbrella and gold coins are hung from the umbrella. This event is extremely popular with various boats competing with each other in order to win the race.

Onam is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Christians and Muslims. It is one such festival that unites all the people regardless of race and religion.