Question

Answer the following questions briefly.
1. How were the Alvars different from the Nayanars?
2. What was the main theme of the songs composed by Mirabai?
3. What was the legacy of the Bhakti and Sufi movements?
4. Write a brief description of Jahangir's interest in painting.
5. What are gharanas in Hindustani classical music?​

Answer 1

1. How were the Alvars different from the Nayanars?

• The devolopment of the bhakti movement took place in South India between the 7th and the 12th centuries CE, under the leadership of nayanars (who workshiped lord Shiva) and the Alvars ( who workshiped lord Vishnu).

• The Nayanars and the Alvars belonged to no particular caste,and were poet saints who travelled from one place to another composing beautiful devotional poems and setting them to music.

• They disagreed many of the teachings of Jainism and Buddhism and rejected rigid caste system.

• They believed in the idea of love and personal devotion to God as means of salvation and carried their message to various parts of south India by using the local language of the region.

• The hymns and the poems of the Nayanars and Alvars were complied in 10th century CE and set to music so that these could be used in temples of the region.

2. What was the main theme of the songs composed by Meera Bai?

• Meerabai was one of the most well-known Bakthi poet saints. Although she married to Rana of Mewar,she devoted her life to lord Krishna and even though she faced stiff resistance from her family,she never let her devotion waver.

• She composed devotional songs or bhajans, that used images from the every day life of people to express the idea of devotion. These bhajans are widely popular even today.

3. What was the legacy of the Bhakti and Sufi movements?

The Bakthi movement

• The bhakti movement began in South India between 7th and 10th century CE and emphasised on the emotional surrender of a devotee to a personal God.

• The term Bhakti means devotion in sanskrit,it focused on an individual's relationship with God, rather than one meaningless rituals and ceremonies.

The Sufi Movement

• The sufi mystics disapproved the elaborate rituals and focused, on love and personal devotion to God.

• They composed poems to express their feelings of devotion and used singing, dancing,breath control chanting a sacred name, and so on,in order the unite with God.

4. Write a brief description of Jahangir's interest in painting.

• Much like his father, Jahangir too had an inclination toward arts, which proved beneficial for the growth of Mughal art.

• The Mughal painting continued to grow under his reign. Since Jahangir was largely influenced by European painting, he ordered his painters to follow the single point perspective used by European artists.

• This gave a whole new perspective to the Mughal painting. Jahangir even used European paintings that portrayed the images of Kings and Queens as references and asked his painters to take a leaf out of these paintings.

5. What are gharanas in Hindustani classical music?

• A Gharana is a system of social organisation linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style.

• Function in guru-shishya parampara, i.e. disciples learning under a particular guru, transmitting his musical knowledge and style