Ganesha Basohli miniature circa 1730 Dubost p73

Basohli (formerly Vishwasthali) is the name of tehsil and town in Kathua district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is situated on the right bank of the River Ravi, at an altitude of 1876 ft. The town was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal sometime in 1635. It was known for the palaces which are now in ruins and GI tagged Pahari miniatures paintings (the Basohli school of Pahari painting). Basohli is known for its unique ' Basohli Paintings'. In the late 17th century, Basohli emerged as a great centre of Pahari paintings. According to well known Dr. Herman Goltz, "Basohli painting are among the great achievements of Indians". Their central inspiration is Vashnavism, the themes have been taken from the spics and the

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

. The different themes of the paintings are religious ( Gita Govinda and

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

), secular, historical, contemporary and literary. Besides the paintings bring out extreme emotion combined with a lyrical sense of Basohli landscape. Basohli paintings are said to have been described as 'Poems in colours'. The paintings are marked by strikingly blazing colours bold lines, rich symbols and peculiar features giving an accumulative impact of highly sensuous environs.

Geography

Basohli is located at . It has an average elevation of 460 metres (1509 feet). Basohli is situated in the uneven lofty hills of Shiwaliks. It is situated in the right bank of Ravi river. Part of the Ranjit Sagar Dam falls in the area of Basholi.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Basohli had a population of 5433. Males constituted 52.01% of the population and females 47.99%. Basohli had an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 12% of the population was under 6 years of age.

Religion

The religious distribution of the population is as follows - Hindu 83.01%, Muslim 16.38%, other 0.61%.

Basohli painting

Basohli is widely known for its paintings, which are considered the first school of Pahari paintings, and which evolved into the much prolific Kangra paintings school by mid-eighteenth century. The painter Nainsukh ended his career in Basohli. File:Radha and Krishna in Discussion.jpg,

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

in Discussion, (An illustration from Gita Govinda) Gouache on paper (). File:Goddess Bhadrakali Worshipped by the Gods- from a tantric Devi series - Google Art Project.jpg, Goddess

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ) is an important goddess, mainly worshiped by Hindus, and is a form of Kali. She is considered to be the auspicious and fortunate form of Adi Shakti or Durga, the supreme mother who protects the good, known ...

, adored by the Gods. Basohli. India. –70. File:Maharaja Sital Dev of Mankot in Devotion.jpg, Maharaja Sital Dev of

Mankot Mankot is a Village situated in Bageshwar district in the State of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of from Bageshwar on the National Highway 309A. Mankot is a medium-sized village with total 118 families residing. History M ...

in Devotion, Ink, opaque watercolor, and silver on paper (). File:Ragaputra Velavala of Bhairava.jpg, Ragaputra Velavala of

Bhairava Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: P ...

, opaque watercolour with gold on paper ().

History

The Battle of Basoli was fought in Basohli between the

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

aided by the

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

of the hill states in 1702.Sikh History In 10 Volumes (Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer), vol. 1.

Geography

Demographics

Religion

Basohli painting

History

See also

References

Further reading