Art & Culture in Current Affairs: August 2016
Buddhist remains unearthed
Buddhist remains on a mound called ‘Ernamma Pallu Dibba’ have been unearthed in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. The remains include limestone pillars, two limestone panels and a fragment of a Buddha image. These remains are believed to be belonging to the 3rd Century AD (under the times of Ikshvaku rulers).
ICHR plans to create encyclopaedia of village-level folklore across the country
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is planning to document stories and legends relating to villages and towns across India into an encyclopedia. This initiative is aimed at to connect people better with the oral and folk traditions.
ICHR:
ICHR is an autonomous body of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development based in New Delhi. It has regional centers in Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Gowahati (Assam).
Satvahanas first capital is in the verge of submergence
Koti Lingala, the first capital city of Satavahana dynasty which is located on the banks of Godavari is on the verge of submergence with the level of backwaters rising from the Sripada Yellampalli project. Considering the historical importance of the place and the presence of temple shrine for Lord Shiva, historians have called for constructing a protection wall around the temple shrine of Lord shiva on the lines of Alampur temple in Mahabubnagar district. They also contend that these steps are required as the historical importance of Koti Lingala has already been damaged due to unscientific excavations carried out in the area.
Krishna Pushkaram
Krishna Pushkaram is a 12 day festival of River Krishna that comes once in every 12 years. Pushkaram is celebrated with much glory in the southern states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. The celebrations for this yera’s pushkaram started on 12 August and ended on 23 August.
River Krishna
It originates in Mahabaleswar (Maharashtra) and traverses through Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh before merging into Bay of Bengal at Hamsaladeevi in Krishna district.
3 new Indian sites make it to UNESCO World heritage site
Khangchendzonga National Park (Sikkim), the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) in Bihar and the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh has been named as world heritage sites by the World Heritage Committe (WHC) of UNESCO. This is the first time that a country got three sites inscribed in WHC at a single session of the committee meeting. The 40th session of the WHC was held at Istanbul, Turkey. Khangchendzonga National Park is the first ‘mixed’ heritage site from India to be included in the list.
- Mixed site: A mixed site is one which exhibits the qualities of both natural and cultural significance.
- Khangchendzonga National Park: KNP has one of the widest altitudinal ranges for any protected area in the world. It occupies 25% of Sikkim. It has a number of endemic, rare, threatened plant and animal species with steep valleys, lowlands including world’s third highest peak, Mt. Khangchendzonga. KNP also has cultural and religious significance. It is a unique example of coexistence between different religious traditions and practices.
- Capitol Complex in Chandigarh: It was designed by French architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. It includes the Legislative Assembly, Secretariat and High Court.
- Archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavira: The site dates back from 3rd century BCE to the 13 the century CE and has archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution. Nalanda University is the most ancient university in the Indian subcontinent, and has been imparting knowledge continuously without any interruption for a time period of 800 years.
