Art and craft information for tourists in Himachal Pradesh - Swan Tour

There are a lot of travelers who visit Himachal for art and culture , Swan Tours , one of the leading travel agents in India organises such trips on a regular basis .More information on sculpture tourism in Himachal is as below:

Himachal Pradesh Art

Himachal Pradesh Culture

For tourists who are interested in Himachali sculpture, this can be divided into three groups: the mythological and human figures; the animal figures; and the agricultural designs. The mythological figures are found in a large number of temples but human figures are very few. Human figures are generally seen in the form of ldwarpals'; 'ganas', 'gandharvas', attendants and some royal person-ages. Only in the last case the artist has worked with more freedom. In other cases, the priests prescribed the type and attributed the signs of divinities and demonic or spiritual characters and the sculptors were only allowed to interpret the fixed descriptions.

There are not many animal figures in the temples of Himachal. However, elephants, bulls, lions, birds, fishes and snakes are found in architecture and sculpture. Bulls' are associated with Shiva for Nandi is his mount. The lion is the mount of Durga and sometimes is shown as pouncing on the demon Mahishasura. The bird Garuda is the mount of Vishnu. Elephants are just decorative. Snake carvings are witnessed in many shrines but the best are in the Panchvaktra temple in Mandi. Fish have been carved in Masrur and Hatkoti temples.

PANCHVAKTRA TEMPLE

The agricultural designs, leaves, creepers and some-times flowers are carved on pillars, which have some fine specimens of pot and foliage motif.

Most of the sculptures except those of the trans-Himalayan belt have the Brahmanical faiths as their base. Shiva and Vishnu along with their consorts, Parvati and Lakshmi, and at some places Durga appear in sculptures of wood, stone and metal. The style has greatly inclined toward the classic art of the later Gupta period. But it has also a touch of the rustic strains of Rajput art intermixed with local folk tradition. The result has been an amalgam which elicits veneration from the people.

Wooden sculptures in classical style are found in Lakhna Devi temple, Brahmaur, Shakti Devi temple, Chatrari, Mrikula Devi temple, Udaipur and Shiva temples, and Hatkoti. Most of these sculptures, which depict Puranic gods and goddesses, have been carved on the ceilings, walls and door frames.

A majority of the sculptures found in the Prades1 are in stone.

Tourists are amazed by Some of their specimens having a stamp of local naivete can be seen in the reliefs of the eighth century monolithic temples of Masrur. The figures of Mahishamar-dini in temples are astounding examples of the flow of the chisel and the rhythmic lines. Nagar, Jagat Sukh, and Dashal have some outstanding sculptures of great dignity and yet are simple.

Gupta Vishnu and Laxmi found at Chamba are tenth century pieces and exhibit the majesty and stiffness of the later Gupta period combined with the Rajput down-to-earth style. Kartikeya with massive broad shoulders and inscrutable expression in a Kulu temple is a composition in severity and harmony. Kali Devi of Trilokinath temple, Mandi, Mahadev of the private temples of the erstwhile ruler, the Panchvaktra Shiva with five heads, Ardhanarishwara and many others are enduring examples of sculpture which embodies the classical tradition but is rich in local and folk content. Its strength lies not in delicate handling but in stunning ruggedness.

The metal images have not been wrought mechanically but with creative vigour and skill. Some amongst them like the Mahishamardini image of Hatkoti temple rank with the finest metal sculptures of the world. This fine piece, executed in the seventh century, combines realistic modeling with ideal dignity and each of its detail has been fixed with accuracy and perfection. The entire composition is about three meters high and one metre wide, while the principal image of Mahishamardini is slightly higher than a metre.

Hatkoti temple 

If you plan to Holiday in Chamba district, Brahmaur and Chatrari temples have some of the finest metal alloy (ashtadhatu) images done by the foremost craftsman, Gugga, of the court of Raja Meru Verman. Lakhana Devi, Shakti Devi, Ganesha, Narasingha and Nandi have been accomplished with an astounding sense of art and craftsmanship. Besides these there is the ninth century image of Vishnu executed in the Chamba style, in the Hari Rai temple in Chamba.

It is a massive ashtadhatu idol. "In the world," says Dr, Moti Chandra, "no idol of this kind is known to exist."

For more information on Himachal Pradesh Tour Packages call Swan Tours at 011-23415601

himachal pradesh tour package