Class 7 History Chapter 7 Question Answers - The Making of Regional Cultures

Q1. How did the Cheras draw upon Sanskritic traditions?
Ans:
The Cheras also drew upon Sanskritic traditions. The temple theatre of Kerala, which is traced to this period, borrowed stories from the Sanskrit epics.

• The first literary works in Malayalam, dated to about the twelfth century, are directly indebted to Sanskrit.
• Interestingly enough, a fourteenth-century text,, the Lilatilakamt dealing with grammar and poetry, was composed in Manipravalam literally, “diamonds and corals” which refer to the two languages, Sanskrit and the regional language.

Q2. How did regional cultures grow around religious traditions?
Ans:

• In other regions, regional cultures grew around religious traditions.
• The best example of this process is the cult of Jagannatha (literally, lord of the world, a name for Vishnu) at Puri, Orissa.
• To date, the local tribal people make the wooden image of the deity, which suggests that the deity was originally a local god.
• He was later identified with Vishnu.
• In the twelfth century, one of the most important rulers of the Ganga dynasty, Anantavarman, decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannatha at Puri.
• Afterwards, in 1230, king Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity.
• He proclaimed himself as the ‘deputy’ of the god.
• With the temple gaining importance as a centre of pilgrimage, its authority in social and political matters also increased.
• All those who conquered Orissa, like the Mughals, the Marathas and the English East India Company, attempted to gain control over the temple.
• They felt that this would make their rule acceptable to local people.

Q3. What was called Rajputana by the British? Was it true?
Ans:

• In the nineteenth century, the region that forms most of present-day Rajasthan, was called Rajputana by the British.
• This suggests that this was an area that was inhabited only or mainly by Rajputs. This is only partly true.
• There were several groups who identified themselves as Rajputs in many areas of northern and central India.
• There were also several people other them Rajputs who lived in Rajasthan.
• However, the Rajputs were often recognised as contributing to the distinctive culture of Rajasthan.

Q4. How have the memories of heroes been preserved in Rajasthan? Did women find a place in these?
Ans:
The rulers of Rajasthan cherished the ideals of the hero who fought valiantly:

• Stories about them were recorded in poems and songs which were recited by specially trained minstrels.
• These preserved the memories of heroes and were expected to inspire others. The women do find a place in the stories, sometimes as the “cause” for conflicts, as men fought to “win” or “protect” the women.
• Women are also depicted as following their heroic husbands in both life and death -the stories of “sati” or “self immolation” have been preserved.

Q5. What is the origin of the term ‘Kathak’.
Ans:

• The term Kathak is derived from katha, a word used in Sanskrit and other languages for story.
• The Kathaks were originally a caste of story-tellers in temples of north India. They embellished their performances with gestures and songs.
• Kathak began evolving into a distinct mode of dance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the spread of the bhakti movement.
• The legends of Radha Krishna were enacted in folk plays called rasa lila. It is combined folk dance with the basic gestures of the Kathak story-tellers.

Q6. Describe the growth of Kathak as a dance form.
Ans:

• Under the Mughal emperors and their nobles, Kathak was performed in the court.
• In the court, it acquired its present features and developed into a form of dance with a distinctive style.
• Afterwards, it developed in two traditions or gharanas.
• One in the courts of Rajasthan (Jaipur), and
• The other in Lucknow.
• Under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, it grew into a major art form.
• By the third quarter of the nineteenth century it was firmly entrenched as a dance form not only in these two regions, but in the adjoining areas of present- day Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.
• Emphasis was laid on intricate and rapid footwork, elaborate costumes and on the enactment of stories.

Q7. Describe classical dances.
Ans:
‘‘Classical” dances:

• The question of defining any art form as “classical” is often quite complicated.
• We do not define something as classical if it deals with a religious theme.
• We also do not consider it classical because it appears to require a great deal of skill acquired through long years of training.
• It is not classical because it is performed according to rules that are laid down, and variations are not encouraged.
• It is worth remembering that many dance forms that are classified as *folk” also share several of the characteristics considered typical of “classical” forms. So, while the use of the term “classical” may suggest that these forms are superior, this need not always be literally true.

Other dance forms that are recognised as classical at present are:

• Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu)
• Kathakali (Kerala)
• Odissi (Orissa)
• Kuchipudi {Andhra Pradesh)
• Manipuri {Manipur).

Q8. Describe the art of miniature painting.
Ans.

• A tradition that developed in different ways was that of miniature painting.
• Miniatures are small-sized paintings, generally done in water colour on cloth or paper.
• The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood.
• Some of the most beautiful of these, found in western India, were used to illustrate Jaina texts.
• The Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan patronised highly skilled painters who primarily illustrated manuscripts containing historical accounts and poetry.
• These were generally painted in brilliant colours and portrayed court scenes, scenes of battle or hunting and other aspects of social life.
• They were often exchanged as gifts and were viewed only by an exclusive few— the emperor and his close associates.

Q9. Which region attracted miniature painting artists displaced due to decline of Mughal empire?
Ans:

• With the decline of the Mughal Empire, numerous painters moved out to the courts of the emerging regional states.
• It resulted in the Mughal artistic tastes influencing the regional courts of the Deccan and the Rajput courts of Rajasthan.

At the same time, they retained and developed their distinctive characteristics.

•  Portraits of rulers and court scenes came to be painted.
• They followed the Mughal example.
• Besides, themes from mythology and poetry were depicted at centres like Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh.

Q10. Give an account of miniature painting in the Himalayan foothills or Kangra Art.
Ans:

• Another region that attracted miniature paintings was the Himalayan foothills around the modern-day state of Himachal pradesh.
• By the late seventeenth century this region had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli.
• The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari.
• Nadir Shah’s invasion and the conquest of Delhi in 1739 resulted in the migration of Mughal artists to the hills to escape the uncertainties of the plains.
• Here they found ready patrons which led to the founding of the Kangra school of painting.
• By the mid-eighteenth century the Kangra artists developed a style which breathed a new spirit into miniature painting.
• The source of inspiration was the vaishnavite traditions.
• Soft colours including cool blues and greens, and a lyrical treatment of themes distinguished Kangra painting.
• Ordinary women and men painted as well on pots, walls, floors, cloth-works of art that have occasionally survived.

Q11. Trace the growth of Bangla as a regional language.
Ans:
The Growth of Bengali, a Regional Language:

• We often tend to identify regions in terms of the language spoken by the people.
• We assume that people in Bengal always spoke Bengali. However, what is interesting is that while Bengali is now recognised as a language derived from Sanskrit, early Sanskrit texts (mid-first millennium BCE) suggest that the people of Bengal did not speak Sanskritic languages.
• From the fourth-third centuries BCE, commercialities began to develop between Bengal and Magadha.
• It led to the growing influence of Sanskrit.
• During the fourth century the Gupta rulers established-political control’over north Bengal.
• They began to settle Brahinanas in this area. Thus, the linguistic and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger.
• In the seventh century the Chinese traveller Xuan Zang observed that languages related to Sanskrit were in use all over Bengal.
• From the eighth century, Bengal became the centre of a regional kingdom under the palas.
• Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, Bengal was ruled by sultans who were independent of the rulers in Delhi.
• In 1586, when Akbar conquered Bengal, it formed the nucleus of the Bengal suba.
• While Persian was the language of administration, Bengali developed as a regional language.
• Actually, in the fifteenth century the Bengali group of dialects came to be united by a common literary language.
• Bengali is derived from Sanskrit, it passed through several stages of evolution.

Q12. What were the divisions of Bengali Literature?
Ans:

• Early Bengali literature is divided into two categories-one indebted to Sanskrit and the other independent of it.
• The first includes translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Mangalakavyas and bhakti literature like the biographies of chaitanyadeva, the leader of the Vaishnava bhakti movement.
• The second includes Nath literature like the songs of Maynamati and Gopichandra, stories concerning the worship of Dharma Thakur, and fairy tales, folk tales and ballads.
• The texts belonging to the first category are easier to date, as several J manuscripts have been found indicating that they were composed between the late fifteenth and mid-eighteenth centimes.

Texts belonging to the second category circulated orally and cannot be precisely dated.

• They were particularly popular in eastern Bengal.
• Here influence of Brahmanas was relatively weak.

Q13. What was the effect of migration of people from West Bengal to South east Bengal?
Ans:

• From the sixteenth century, people began to migrate in large numbers from the less fertile westem-Bengal to the forested and marshy areas of south-eastern Bengal.
• They moved eastwards, they cleared forests and brought the land under rice cultivation.
• Gradually, local communities of fisher folk and shifting cultivators, often tribals, merged with the new communities of peasants.
• This coincided with the establishment of Mughal control over Behgal with their capital in the heart of the eastern delta at Dhaka.
• Officials and functionaries received land and often set up mosques that served as centres for religious transformation in these areas.
• The early settlers sought some order and assurance in the unstable conditions of the new settlements.
• These were provided by community leaders, who also functioned as teachers and adjudicators.
• They were sometimes ascribed with super natural powers.
• People referred to them with affection and respect as pirs.

Q14. Why were temples constructed in large numbers in Bengal?
Ans:

• From late 15th century to 19th century large number of temples were constructed in Bengal. Individuals or groups often constructed temples to show their power and piety.
• Many of brick and terracotta temples were built with support of “low ‘social groups like ‘kolu (oil pressers) and Kansari (bell metal workers).
• European trading companies created economic opportunities. As their social and economic position improved the construction of temples was further started.
• Local deities earlier worshipped in thatched huts were given recognition by the Brahmanas. Their images were being housed in temples.

Q15. Describe the fish as food.
Ans:
Fish as Food:

• Traditional food habits are generally based on locally available items of food.
• Bengal is a riverine plain which produces plenty of rice and fish.
• These two items figure prominently in the menu of even poor Bengalis.
• Fishing has always been an important occupation. ,
• Bengali literature contains several references to fish.
• Terracotta plaques on the walls of temples and Viharas (Buddhist monasteries) depict scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in baskets.
• Brahmanas were not allowed to eat non-vegetarian food.
• The popularity of fish in the local diet made the Brahmanical authorities relax this prohibition for the Bengali Brahmanas.
• The Brithaddharma purana, a thirteenth-century Sanskrit text from Bengal, permitted the local Brahmanas to eat certain varieties of fish.