Brief documentation on the state - karnataka

1. ByApurva Jain
Mridu Agarwal
Section C

2. Karnataka

 Karnataka is a tapestry of colours, cultures, flavours,
landscapes, timelessness and heart- stopping beauty. A place
where vibrant worlds seamlessly meld into one another, every
few hundred kilometres. Sedate plains suddenly rise to
dizzying mist-covered hilly heights, and then plunge with
careless abandon in a whitewater freefall, to become languid
rivers that flow past cities - cities where time has stopped
altogether, and cities where time rushes a relentless rush to
keep up with the world; cities that sometimes escape into the
deep quiet of thick forests and sometimes, stretch their arms
wide open to embrace the sea. Host to some of India's largest
and most powerful dynasties, the state has across the centuries,
carried a legacy of art and culture as varied as its geography making it, by all means, a 191,791 square kilometre trail of
whimsy.

3. Map of Karnataka

4. Architecture

 The Architecture of Karnataka can be traced to 345 with that of
the Kadamba Dynasty. Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India
originally known as the State of Mysore. Over the centuries, architectural
monuments within the region displayed a diversity of influences, often
relaying much about the artistic trends of the rulers of twelve different
dynasties. Its architecture ranges dramatically from majestic monolith,
such as the Gomateshwara, to Hindu and Jain places of worship, ruins of
ancient cities, mausoleums and palaces of different architectural
hue. Mysore Kingdom rule has also given an architectural master
structure in the St. Philomena's Church at Mysore which was completed in
1956, in addition to many Dravidian style architectural temples. Two of the
monuments are listed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of 22
cultural monuments in India.Styles of IndoSaracenic, Renaissance, Corinthian, Hindu, Indo-Greek and Indo-British
style palaces were built in Mysore, the city of palaces.Sikh
architecture at Bidar (1512) and also in Bangalore in 1956 can also be cited
as having an impact on the architectural composition of the state.

5. Bangalore Palace
Built by a Wodeyar king in 1887, the Bangalore Palace features the Tudor style of
architecture marked by Gothic windows, battlements and turrets.

6. Mysore Palace
Built in Indo-Saracenic architectural style, Mysore Palace or the Maharajah's Palace
in Mysore is one of the most attractive historical monuments in Karnataka.

7. Srirangapatna Fort (Tipu's Palace)
This historical Fort marks the place from where legendary warrior Tipu Sultan
fought the British soldiers.

8. Statue of Gomateshwara, Sravanabelagola
A much revered Jain pilgrim center, Sravanbelgola houses the colossal monolithic
statue of Jain saint - Gomateswara.

9. Ugra Narasimha Statue Hampi
The Ugra Narasimha Statue at Hampi - the ancient seat of Vijayanagar Empire in
Karnataka, is a colossal rock idol cut to form the image of Narasimha.

10. Rich Architecture

 People with high profile in Karnataka generally own
mansions or high profile flats.

11. Medium profile
Architecture

 Medium class families prefer to live in societies, flats
and apartments, rented houses, although there are
people who own medium size 2BHK houses.

12. Low profile Architecture

 People with low income generally own a small
house, and live in the slums.

13. Cuisine

 Karnataka is a gracious host and
offers a spread that appeals to
every palate. Traditional
Kannadiga cuisine is typically
South Indian with a little bit of
sweetness for added measure.
The feast of the land includes
Udupi, Mangalorean, Kodava ,
Kannadiga, which again is a
journey in itself - it varies with
the geography. Even cereals vary
and are consumed in every
imaginable and unimaginable
form. To the uninitiated, some of
the preparations might come
across as bewildering, but no less
delicious.A highly evolved sweet
tooth, and you get the deliriously
wonderful concoctions, which are
like nothing else in the world.

14. Breakfast
As far as standard breakfast eats
are concerned, you can choose from
the popular uppittu (roasted
semolina laced with chillies,
coriander leaves, mustard and
cumin seed), idli-sambar , thatte
idlis (flat idlis), masala dosa , set
dosa, rava dosa, puri palya,
uthapam, vada sambar or kesari
bhath and lots more.

15.  The traditional culinary fare of
Karnataka is a sumptuous
spread that includes several
essential menu items. These
include protein-rich cereal
salads like kosambri, palyas
,gojju, tovve, huli and pappad.
A complete range of rice-based
dishes, including chitranna
vangibhath and pulliyogare
form an integral part of the
traditional repertoire. The most
distinctive Karnataka dish,
however, is the celebrated
bisibelebhath, a unique
combination of rice, dal,
tamarind, chilli powder, and a
dash of cinnamon. In rural
areas, ragi mudde served either
with mutton curry or soppina
saaru make the staple diet.
Traditional Fare

16. Dessert
To end your meal, you may wish to
indulge in sweets like chiroti (a light
flaky pastry sprinkled with
granulated sugar and soaked in
almond milk) Mysore pak, obbattu or
holige (a flat, thin, wafer-like chappati
filled with a mixture of jaggery,
coconut or copra and sugar, and fried
gently on a skillet) and shavige
payasa (made of milk, vermicelli,
sugar and cardamom pods).

17. Influence on cuisine

 The cuisine is influenced from the neighboring South
Indian regions and from the north Maharashta.
 A typical Kannadiga meal includes dishes in the order
specified and is served on a banana leaf:Salt,kosambri
Pickle, Palya, Gojju, Raita, Dessert (Yes, it is a tradition to
start your meal with a dessert - Paaysa), Thovve,
Chitranna, Rice and Ghee.
 Rice ,Joli and Ragi are the main cereals in Karnataka.
 Influence of coconut is also there.
 generous use of jaggery, palm sugar and little use of chilli
powder.

18. Udupi Cuisine

 Udipi cuisine forms the integral part of karnataka cuisine.
 Dishes in Udupi cuisine are generally prepared from
fruits, vegetables, grains and beans.
 No onion or garlic are in the dishes. Neither is any dish
made from meat or fish.
 Some of the major ingredients used here are gourds,
coconut, jackfruit, colocasia leaves, raw green bananas,
mango pickle and red chillies.
 Sajjige, bajiil, Saaru, Sambhar, different types of rices and
Uddinahittu are few of the major dishes in Udupi cuisine.

19. Clothing

 Karnataka dresses portray elegance of South Indian
clothing. The dresses of Karnataka show grace and
decency which are integral to the cultural spirit of
the state. The men wear shirts or kurtas along with a
lungi on the upper and lower body respectively.
Although there is not much of a variation of the
men’s dresses in Karnataka, yet the dresses follow
strict codes of custom laid down by tradition since
the ancient times. Sarees have been the traditional
dress for women in Karnataka.

20. Draping
The Coorgi style of draping a saree in
Karnataka involves tying the pleats on
the back instead of the front and a small
portion of the pallu is placed over the
shoulder. Mysore silk sarees are made
with lustrous zari and rich silk. The
extraordinary sheen of the fabric and the
purity of the zari make these saree an
elegant women dress. The Kornadu saris
are a mix of cotton and silk. The Konrad
sarees are woven with a blue cotton yarn
and silk yarn in several colors other than
blue. The motifs at border are varied and
the body of the sari has checks or stripes.

21. Casual Wear

 Casual wear in Karnataka is same as any other Metro
city. People now prefer wearing western clothes.
 Though majority still prefers wearing Indian
clothing such as kurtas and suit.
 Fashion still stays with the youngsters in this area.

22. Traditional wear

 Men drape a piece of cloth known as an angavastram around their
shoulders and also wear a wraparound skirt called a lungi.
 on special occasions, men might dress themselves in ornate
versions of their traditional costume, the Panche, which is Dhotilike apparel.
 Kanchipurram, Silk Saree is a hand-woven creation, he silk yarn is
dyed to bring the desired colour and afterwards Jari is interleaved
into the yarn. Pure Jari is a silk thread, intertwined with a thin
silver wire and then gilded with pure gold. They usually turn out
to be the bridal costume of Karnataka.
 Yakshagana is a traditional dance of Karnataka where the dancers
wear colourful costumes. The traditional costume for this dance
comprises of dhoti, a pyjama, a jacket and a loose gown. Most of
the costumes of the dancers who perform the traditional ritualistic
dances of Karnataka, are eye catching, colourful and bright.

24.  Kasuti embroidery is a
special craft practiced
mainly in Uttara Kanara
district or North Kanara
district of Karnataka. The
motifs on Irkal saris
include architectural
designs, cradle, elephant,
squirrel among others.
The Mysore crepe silk
sarees are used as office
wear sarees due to their
light-weight, and easy to
care nature.
Embroidery

25. Jewellery

 Tulunad, which is a cast-brass two-part belt, having its top
edged with cobra heads with long-drawn-out hoods and has a
cobra clutch at front.
 The silver lingam caskets or Gundgurdgi lingam caskets are
worn on the left arm or by a Lingayat Jangam priest under a
cloth cap on the head. These are often pot shaped and each
contains a movable jangama or lingam.
 Lingayat women wear a gold fertility necklace for obtaining
male offspring that consists of thirty pendants set in gold, each
with a symbolic meaning connected with fertility.
 Gemstone like black and red coral are set onto the chain.. For
the worship of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the Lingayats
use a specifically designed polychrome wood necklace.

26. Jewellery

 Children mainly wear protective tiger-claw amulets or
vyaghranakhas pendants set in gold and suspended on a
gold chain. Belts of bells around their hips are also worn
to frighten away evil spirits.
 The other ornaments worn by children are bell-anklets
also called painjani and a silver amulet box on a chain
that has a central figure of a makara or kirtimukha
flanked by birds and bands of floral creepers.
 Kamardani or silver loop-in-loop belt which has a hooked
closing is another popular piece of jewellery in this
region. The silver ankle/ foot/ toe ornaments worn by the
bride at a Coorgi marriage ceremony are popular among
the people of Kodagu or Coorg.

28. Importance of women in
Karnataka

 Karnataka women have played an important part in the
cultural and political history of the state. From Gangubai
Hangal to Ashwini Nachappa, from Shakuntala Devi to
Aishwarya Rai, women from Karnataka continue to make a
mark in India's cultural scene. Modern women in Karnataka are
self-assured and educated professionals who participate
actively in every sphere of human activity.
 However, a disparity of the condition among Karnataka women
in the urban and the rural areas cannot be altogether denied.
Incidents of gender discrimination has not been uncommon in
Karnataka, especially in the rural areas and among the urban
poor. The Karnataka State Women's Commission has recently
formed a panel to initiate an in-depth study of the conditions of
Karnataka's women. That would be followed by sure and
planned steps to alleviate their plight.

29. Importance of women in
Karnataka

 Karnataka women in the recent times have been extremely
proactive in their upliftment in society. The formation of selfhelp groups to elevate their positions among the urban poor
have been particularly noteworthy. With the support of he
Asian Development Bank (ADB), these Karnataka women are
working to eradicate the evils of alcoholism, borrowing and
joblessness of their male counterparts. These poor women in
Karnataka have also been active to become economically selfsufficient. This is dove mainly through small scale
entrepreneurship, skilled labor, etc.
 The various urban centers of Karnataka now sees women in
various professional spheres. The high literacy rate among the
women of Karnataka has seen them emerge as very competent
performers in the various industrial sectors and high-profile
public spheres.

30. Festivals

 Karnataka's millennia-long tryst with royalty has left an indelible mark on
its celebrations. Revelry that's complete in every way, with dance, music,
great food and a riot of colours is a tradition here. From remembering the
glorious past with art, music and poetry like the Hampi Festival does to
frenzied bovine energy amidst muddy fields of the Kambala buffalo races the spectrum is quite wide.
The festival of Dasara has the entire city of Mysore in raptures, while the
scion of the royal family, once again dons his purple robes to pay a
centuries-old extravagant homage to the guardian goddess. The many
harvest festivals celebrated in various parts of the state are commemorated
in ways that they deem befitting - from making an offering of groundnuts
to the resident deity to firing a single shot to summon a god to making
sugar idols - there's never a want for ceremony in these parts. And then
you have the ceremony to end all ceremonies - the once-in-twelve-years
larger than life religious ceremony that's the Maha Mastakabhisheka,
during which the 52-foot statue of Bahubali is bathed in milk, sandalwood,
vermillion, curd and what not. The festivals here are definitely the stuff of
spectacular.

31.  Dasara, Mysore (October November)
Tula Sankramana, Coorg
(October)
Hampi Festival, Hampi (January
- February)
Vairamudi Festival, Melkote
(March)
Kambala (Buffalo Race),
Southern Coastal Karnataka
(November - March)
Karaga, Bangalore (March April)
Kadalekayi Parishe, Bangalore
(November)
Huthri, Coorg (November December)
Banashankari Fair (February March)
Maha Mastakabhisheka,
Shravanabelagola (Every once in
12 years, next one in 2018)
Bengaluru Habba (December)
Festivals celebrated

32. Artifacts

 The woods used for ornamental work in India are
Walnut, and Sandalwood, with its delicate natural
fragrance is used in Mysore and a few other places in
South India. Sal, Teak, Sheesham, Deodar, Redwood,
Rosewood, Red Cedar, Ebony to name a few are
extensively used by Indian craftsmen, as they focus
on the fine decorative carving and inlay work. Over
the centuries, each region in India developed its
unique style of wooden structures, carvings and
inlay work.

33. Sandalwood
We are offering the best Sandalwood Artifacts of Mysore in Karnataka. The Sandalwood Artifacts in Mysore
are intricately designed and have got a unique aesthetic appeal. Sandalwood can simply be described as a
fragrant piece of wood. The 'true' sandalwood is the wood of trees in the genus Santalum; found in Southern
India and Sri Lanka, Hawaii, and many South Pacific Islands.

34. Rosewood
We have come up with attractive Rosewood Artifacts of Mysore, Karnataka. These Rosewood Artifacts are
carved out with the use of best quality Rosewood and are completely resistant to termites and other harmful
factors. These Rosewood Artifacts are crafted by talented craftsmen who have years of experience and with their
unmatched artistic ability they put life in the Rosewood Artifacts.

35. Bidriware
Pretty designs are engraved on growing chisel, thereafter it is inlaid with pure silver
which is then polished with buffing machine.

36. Doll Making
Evenly arranged on the wooden platform, decorated and displayed on the ninth
day of Dusshera.

37. Ivory Carving
Articles carved delicately without excessively ornate image adjoining the figures,
mostly showcasing the figures of god and goddess.

38. Karnataka-Mysore Paintings
Arts and crafts are never comprehensive without a reference to traditional Mysore
paintings.

39. Stone carvers
Shilpis the stone carvers in Karnataka are supreme of all.

40. Language

 The state of Karnataka has a strong cultural and historical
background which is manifested in the rich development
of language and literature of the region. The official
language of the state of Karnataka is Kannada.
 However English is widely used.
 The Kannada language has no influence of Urdu.
 Kannada language has many rich literary creations that
reflect the culture and tradition of the people of the state.
 The three gems Pampa, Ponna and Ranna also made
immense contribution to the development of Kannada
literature. Harihara, Raghavanka and Kereya Padmarasa
were devotees of Lord Shiva who composed many
literary marvels in praise of the Supreme Being.

41. Folk music

 Carnatic classical music lies at the very center of
Karnataka music and dance traditions. From ancient
times, Karnataka has contributed largely in ascertaining
its structure and form. It has also presented the world
with some of its major composers and performers. The
veena along with violin and mridangam form the chief
musical instruments. Unlike most states of southern India,
the contribution of Karnataka to the world of North
Indian Classical music has also been noteworthy.
Kuchipudi is the original dance form with its origin in
Karnataka. However, other classical dance forms like the
Bharatanatyam also form important parts within the
tradition of music and dance of Karnataka.

42. Folk dances

 There are various dance forms in Karnataka.
 Yakshgana and Dollu being the most admired and
famous forms.

43.  The original form of Yakshgana
involves the use of recitative
modes of poetry sung in loud
voice, melodies of music,
rhythm, and dance techniques
and above all, costuming and
graceful make up. It is
distinctly differs in many ways
from the norms of the Sanskrit
stage, as it does not contain a
highly elaborate language of
hand gestures and eyegestures. But it should be noted
that it is closely related to
developments in literature in
the adjoining states of Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and
has some affinities to literary
forms.
Yakshgana

44.  One very interesting story is told
while tracing the origins of
`Dollu` dance that is related with
the divine couple Shiva and
Parvathi. The story goes like this:
To kill time, Shiva and Parvathi
once were playing games. While
playing they bet as well. The bet
was that the loser has to leave
Kailasa Mountain to live
anonymously in `Bhuloka` i.e. on
the earth. Shiva loses in the game
and to keep to the bet, he moved
into a cave on earth and stayed
there in the form of a stone.
`Mayamurthi` Shiva`s ardent
loyalist guards the cave. As the
time passes, Parvathi fed up of
managing the universe and
therefore sends `Vayu`, the Air
god for searching to Lord Shiva.
But all efforts are in vain.
Dollu