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Sundari (paintings)
Sundari paintings or Sundari images are a type of pin-up or erotic art that were popular in 19th-century Calcutta, in the province of Bengal in British India.''The Babu & the Bazaar: Art from the 19th & Early 20th–Century Bengal.'' Aditi Nath Sharkar, with Shatadeep Maitra. DAG Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2022. . Mostly sold as prints, the images depict women, particularly the new class of widows who took up sex work to survive, and are valuable references to understand the position of women in a society that was undergoing drastic shifts. Each Sundari, literally meaning 'beautiful woman', had a peculiar characteristic, such as playing the tabla, preparing paan, tuning the violin, or posing enticingly with roses. Sundari images depict 19th-century Bengali woman who had to occupy the conflicted identity position of the widow and the courtesan, owing to the series of socio-political disruptions happening during the period. The paintings provide a commentary on the larger social phenom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oil Painting
Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on copper, copper for several centuries. The advantages of oil for painting images include "greater flexibility, richer and denser color, the use of layers, and a wider range from light to dark". The oldest known oil paintings were created by Buddhism, Buddhist artists in Afghanistan, and date back to the 7th century AD. Oil paint was later developed by Europeans for painting statues and woodwork from at least the 12th century, but its common use for painted images began with Early Netherlandish painting in Northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance, oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced the use of egg tempera paints for panel paintings in most of Europe, though not for Orthodox icons or wall paintings, where tempera a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretary To The Government Of India
Secretary to the Government of India, often abbreviated as Secretary, GoI, or simply as Secretary, is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for the creation of this post solely rests with the Union Council of Ministers. The position holder is generally a career civil servant, usually from the Indian Administrative Service, and a government official of high seniority. The civil servants who hold this rank and post are either from All India Services (on deputation; on tenure, after empanelment) or Central Civil Services (Group A; on empanelment). All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. In the functioning of the Government of India, a secretary is the administrative head of a ministry or department, and is equivalent to chief secretaries of state governments and Vice Chief of the Army Staff, General Officers Commanding in Chief of Army Commands, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Mackenzie (civil Servant)
Sir Alexander Mackenzie, (28 June 1842 – 10 November 1902) was a British colonial official in India, who served as Chief Commissioner of the British Crown Colony of Burma from 1890 to 1895, and as Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal from 1895 to 1898. Background Mackenzie was born in Dumfries, Scotland, to Reverend John R. Mackenzie and Alexanderina Mackenzie, and as a child moved with his parents to Birmingham, where his father worked for many years. He attended King Edward's School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Upon obtaining his BA and completion of his Indian Civil Service exams, Mackenzie joined the Bengal Civil Service and went to Calcutta in 1862. Early career Mackenzie subsequently held a number of civil service appointments in the Bengal Presidency and British India. He was Secretary to the Bengali Government from 1877, and made a name for himself by compiling a history of the relations of the government with tribes on the north-east frontier of Bengal. In 1882 he w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vrindavan
Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of the main Gods in Hinduism, spent most of his childhood in this city. Vrindavan has about 5,500 temples dedicated to the worship of Krishna and his chief consort, Radha. It is one of the most sacred places for Vaishnavism, Vaishnava traditions. Vrindavan forms a part of the "Krishna pilgrimage circuit" under development by the Indian Ministry of Tourism. The circuit also includes Mathura, Barsana, Gokul, Govardhan, Kurukshetra, Dwarka and Puri. Etymology The ancient Sanskrit name of the city, (), comes from its groves of ''vṛndā'' (Ocimum tenuiflorum, holy basil) and ''vana'' (Grove (nature), grove, forest). History Vrindavan has an ancient past, associated with Hindu culture and history, and was established in the 16th and 17t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood (purohit, pandit, or pujari) at Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and the performing of rite of passage rituals, such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 125 Traditionally, Brahmins are accorded the supreme ritual status of the four social classes, and they also served as spiritual teachers (guru or acharya). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins historically also became agriculturalists, warriors, traders, and had also held other occupations in the Indian subcontinent.GS Ghurye (1969), Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakasha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kulin Brahmin
Bengali Brahmins are the community of Hindu Brahmins, who traditionally reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, currently comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. The Bengali Brahmins, along with Baidyas and Kayasthas, are regarded among the three traditional higher castes of Bengal. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks of Bengal were primarily, but not exclusively, drawn from these three castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal. History For a long period, Bengal was not part of Vedic culture. However, North Bengal was a part of the Aryan acculturation during the Mauryan era, as depicted in the Mahasthan inscription. By the end of the 3rd century C.E., the region came under the rule of the Magadha Empire under Samudragupta and remained within this empire until the mid-6th century C.E. According to contemporary historians, Brahmanism was found to have gained prominence in Bengal as early as the four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polygamy
Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more than one husband at the same time, it is called polyandry. In sociobiology and zoology, researchers use ''polygamy'' in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating. In contrast to polygamy, monogamy is marriage consisting of only two parties. Like "monogamy", the term "polygamy" is often used in a ''de facto'' sense, applied regardless of whether a State (polity), state recognizes the relationship.For the extent to which states can and do recognize potentially and actual polygamous forms as valid, see Conflict of marriage laws. In many countries, the law only recognises monogamous marriages (a person can only have one spouse, and bigamy is illegal), but adultery is not illegal, leading to a situation of ''de facto'' polygamy being allo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Child Marriage
Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative consequences for child brides and grooms. Girls who marry as children often lack access to education and future career opportunities. It is also common for them to have adverse health effects resulting from early pregnancy and childbirth. Effects on child grooms may include the economic pressure of providing for a household and various constraints in educational and career opportunities. Child marriage is part of the practice of child betrothal, often including civil cohabitation and a court approval of the engagement. Some factors that encourage child marriages include poverty, bride price, dowries, cultural traditions, religious and social pressure, regional customs, fear of the child remaining unmarried into adulthood, illiteracy, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), popularly known as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (), was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. His efforts to simplify and modernise Bengali language, Bengali prose were significant. He also rationalised and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali Sort (typesetting), type in 1780. He was renowned as one of the main proponents of the Bengal Renaissance. He was the most prominent campaigner for Hindu widow remarriage, petitioning the Legislative Council despite severe opposition, including a counter petition (by Radhakanta Deb and the Dharma Sabha) which had nearly four times as many signatures. Even though widow remarriage was considered a flagrant breach of Hindu customs and was staunchly opposed, James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, Lord Dalhousie personally finalised t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer and writer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a socio-religious reform movement in the Indian subcontinent. He has been dubbed the "Father of Indian Renaissance." He was given the title of Raja by Mughal emperor Akbar II (). His influence was apparent in the fields of politics, public administration, education and religion. He was known for his efforts to abolish the practices of sati and child marriage. Roy wrote ''Gaudiya Vyakaran'' which was the first complete Bangla grammar written book. Early life (1772–1796) Ram Mohan Roy was born in Radhanagar, Hooghly District, Bengal Presidency. His great-grandfather Krishnakanta Bandyopadhyay was a Rarhi Kulin (noble) Brahmin. Among Kulin Brahmins descendants of the five families of Brahmins imported from Kannauj by Ballal Sen in the 12th century as per popular myththose from the Rarhi d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tawaif
A ''tawaif'' () was a highly successful courtesan singer‚ dancer‚ and poet who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. Many tawaifs (" nautch girls" to the British) were forced to go into prostitution due to a lack of opportunities by the time of the British Raj. Known variously as ''tawaifs'' in North India, ''Baijis'' in Bengal and ''naikins'' in Goa, these professional singers and dancers were dubbed as “ nautch girl” during the British rule. Tawaifs were largely a North Indian institution central to Mughal court culture from the 16th century onwards and became even more prominent with the weakening of Mughal rule in the mid-18th century. They contributed significantly to the continuation of traditional dance and music forms. The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance ( mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradition, and were considered an authority on etiquette. Indian writer and scholar Pran Nevi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
