HCS Study Notes: Haryana's Art & Culture

By SATISH KUMAR GUPTA|Updated : October 12th, 2018

HCS Study Notes: Haryana's Art & Culture

Festivals and Fairs

Teej: It is celebrated at the start of the rainy season to welcome it. Flying the kites is the main part of the celebration and the sky seems full of thousands of colorful and different kites flying in every direction. Pooja and different foodstuff are served.

Festival of Gardens:  It is a three-day festival and also called as Rose festival. It is organized by the Haryana State Tourism Board. This festival is celebrated to raise the awareness and to popularize the gardens in the state by the people.

Mango Festival:  It is held at Yadavindra Gardens in Pinjore. Every year it is celebrated in the month of June or July as summers are always the season of mango feast.

Geeta Jayanti: It is the celebration of the epic Mahabharata and Lord Krishna that begins at Kurukshetra. Several events and Poojas including Aarti and deep at the Brahmin Sarovar holy water tank are held.

Guga Navami: This festival is dedicated to Snake God every year on the ninth day of Krishna Paksha in Bhadrapad month.

Dance:

Jhumar Dance: Jhumar dance is a folk dance popular in the Haryana state of India. It takes its name from an ornament named Jhumar. The ornament is generally worn by young married women to decorate their forehead. 

Khoria Dance: The Khoria dance is a famous folk dance in Haryana. This dance is performed at auspicious instances like weddings, and other important festivities. There is a group of dancers who perform this dance and the speed is the most important feature of this dance. In fact, this is one of the fastest of the folk dances.

Sapela Dance: Sapela Dance is mainly performed by the women folk of Haryana. In this colorful dance form, one acts the part of the village belle and at the same time, others act as the snake charmer.

Loor Dance: It is famous around the Bangar and Bagar parts of the state and is performed around the Holi festival. Only girls will perform this dance. In this, the dancers stand in two rows facing each other, in the form of a semi-circle.

Phag Dance: This dance is performed by the woman wearing colorful traditional clothes and men displaying their colorful turbans. The dance is accompanied by the beats of ‘Tasha’, ‘Nagada’, and ‘Dhol’.

Art and Crafts

Pottery

  • Pottery is one of the most popular occupations in the rural parts of Haryana.
  • Since the state mainly has a rural economy so this popular form of craft is considered with much importance in Haryana.
  • The unique feature of the earthenware is that they are painted with rich and bright colors.
  • Pottery involves the main potter and a helper who will help him to prepare the mix. These works are generally done by the men of the village.
  • After these earthenware are given shape, bright and colorful patterns are painted on them. This work is generally done by a female member of the potter's family.
  • Thus Pottery in Haryana involves a collective effort of many people.

Embroidery and Weaving:

Phulkari Art: In this the motifs – flower design is stitched on the reverse side of the cloth with darning needles over the colored fabrics.

Bagh Art: It is a type of handicraft mostly done by the Muslims which has geometrical designs. Animals, Plants, Nature are used as designs in this art.

Durries: Panipat is the durries hub. This art uses geometrical designs made of blue-colored cloth with white-colored triangle designs.

Music

  • Haryana is very popular for ancient folk music that is sung beautifully to create a lively atmosphere. 
  • Especially, people drag in large numbers on the special occasions as well as the festivals.
  • The songs sung here are of two types-classical and countryside.
  • Classical form belongs to the great Legends (Mythological) Brahmas, as well as the Jaimal-Phatta and so on; while, Countryside music includes songs with varied ragas, that is sung in the Hindustani Style, especially during the celebrations and varied seasons. 
  • These ragas comprise of Pahari style, Kafi, as well as the Bhairavi and Malhar style of music, and much more.

Historic Places

Kurukshetra

Nestled at the banks of the pious River Saraswati and River Godavari, the sacred Kurukshetra city is situated in Kurukshetra district of Haryana. It is in this place where Lord Krishna narrated the divine Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna during the epic battle of Mahabharata. A trip to this city offers a wonderful opportunity to marvel at the unique culture and remarkable history of Indian civilization. Some of the popular tourist attractions of Kurukshetra that entice the visitors to the magnificent state of Haryana are:

  • Jyotisar
  • Brahma Sarovar
  • Sannehit Sarovar
  • Gurudwara Rajghat
  • Sheikh Chehli’s Tomb

Panipat

The historical city of Panipat has situated around 90 km from Delhi on the banks of the sacred Yamuna River. It is an ancient land where the battles of Panipat were fought. It is believed that the city was founded by the Pandavas during the period of the Mahabharata. Some of the popular destinations in Panipat that are frequented by the tourists are:

  • Panipat Museum
  • The Old Fort
  • Kabuli Shah Mosque
  • Grave of Ibrahim Lodhi
  • Devi Temple (a temple dedicated to the local deity)

Ambala

Ambala is one of the prominent cities of Haryana as the base of the air force and the military is located here.  There are lots of fascinating attractions in the city that entice the visitors from various parts of India and world.

  • Manji Sahib Gurudwara
  • Sis Ganj Gurudwara
  • Badshahi Bag Gurudwara
  • Municipal Park
  • Hathi Khana Mandir
  • Udyan Garden
  • Patel Park
  • Rang Mahal

Gurgaon

The city also has a historical connection because the legend has it that Guru Dronacharya gave spiritual knowledge to the Pandavas and the Kauravas here. One of the major attractions of the city is the Shitala Mata Mandir considered to be the goddess of small-pox. The temple is flocked by several tourists all around the year to get rid of the smallpox disease and to seek the blessings of the Goddess.  There are various other tourist attractions in the city, which must be on the bucket list of every tourist:

  • Damdama Lake
  • Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary
  • Leisure Valley Park
  • The Kingdom of Dreams
  • Museum of Folk and Art
  • Heritage Transport Museum
  • Sheesh Mahal

Bhiwani

Bhiwani is a spiritual place also known as ‘Chhota Kashi’ because it is replete with lots of temples devoted to various Gods and Goddesses.  The divine and holy ambience of the temples offers a great peace of mind to the visitors. The popular temples of Bhiwani are:

  • Jain Temple
  • Hanuman Mandir
  • Shri Rang Nath Mandir
  • Star Monument
  • Gauri Shankar Mandir
  • Jogi Wala Mandir
  • Shri Ram Pathshala and Sri Ram Mandir

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