Archive for the ‘Indian’ Category
Indian Dance
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009Indian dance is a new umbrella term used for different forms of art having their roots in Natya, or the sacred Hindu musical theater style, and whose theory can be traced back to the Natya Shastra (400 BC). These forms of Indian dance are the following: Agama Nartanam, or the spiritual dances performed inside the sanctum of the temple according to the rituals; Carnatakam, the intellectual dances or the dances performed in the royal courts to the accompaniment of classic music; Darbari Aattam form of dance appealed more to the common people and it was a means of education about their religion, culture and social life.
Lacking a good equivalent for these performing arts in the European culture, the British colonial authorities called them Indian dance. Even though the art of Natya includes nritta, or the dance properly, Natya can cover singing and mime acting, beside dancing. These are common features for all the Indian classical styles. A very important characteristic of the Indian dance is the use of the mudra or the hand gestures by the artists as short-hand sign language used to narrate a story and to demonstrate certain concepts such as objects, weather, nature and emotion. According to the Sangeet Natak Akademi there are several classical Indian dance forms: Bharatanatyam – Tamil Classical Dance; Odissi – Orrisa Classical dance; Kuchipudi – Telugu Classical dance; Manipuri – Manipur Classical Dance; Mohiniaattam – Kerala Classical Dance; Sattriya – Asamese Classical Dance; Kathakali – Malayalam Classical Dance.
When talking about Indian dance there should, nevertheless, be mentioned the dance in the Bollywood movies. This dance was modeled after classical Indian dance styles, more precisely those of historic northern Indian courtesans, or folk dances. Modern Bollywood movies often offer a mixture of this earlier style with Western dance patterns, although it is not unusual to have Western pop dance and pure Indian dance side by side in the same movie. Most song-and-dance acts in Indian movies present unrealistically instantaneous shifts of location and/or costume from a verse of the song to the next. Bollywood movies have always made use of what is now called item numbers; that is to say, an attractive female character, every so often totally unrelated to the main cast or plot of the movie, would perform a catchy song-and-dance number in the movie. In modern movies, the Indian dance item numbers may be inserted as discotheque sequences, celebration parties, or stage shows.
Indian Railways
Sunday, March 8th, 2009The Indian Railways, abbreviated as IR, is the state owned railway network of India. It is the fifth largest network in the world in terms of track length. The maintenance, operation and growth of the network are ensured by the Ministry of Railways, which is headed by a cabinet rank Railways Minister, while the department is managed by the Railway Board. An interesting fact is that Indian Railways is neither a private nor a public corporate body; however it has recently adopted a corporate management style.
The Indian Railways has a total monopoly on India
Indian Reservations
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009Indian reservations are areas of land managed by a Native American tribe under the US Department of the Interior
Aztec Indians
Monday, March 2nd, 2009The Aztec Indians, known also under the name of Mexicas, were the Native American people who lived in northern Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest led by Hernan Cortes in the early 16th century. As their own legends suggest, they have their origins in a place called Aztlan, somewhere in north or northwest Mexico. During that time the Aztec Indians were a small, nomadic group of tribes living at the margins of the civilized Mesoamerica. They spoke a language called Nahuatl that used pictographs to communicate though writing; some of the pictures symbolized ideas and other represented sounds and syllables.
Sometime during the 12th century the Aztecs began a period of migration, which finally ended a century later when they settled in the central basin of Mexico; nevertheless they were continually dislodged by the wars among the small city-states fighting for supremacy. They found refuge on small islands in Lake Texcoco, where they founded the town of Tenochtitlan, the nowadays Mexico City. Being a fearless and pragmatic people, the Aztec Indians created an empire during the 15th century, which was surpassed in size in the Latin America only by the empire of the Incas in Peru. As early texts and modern archaeological discoveries continue to testify, that apart from their conquests and religious practices, there was a large range of positive achievements, such as: the formation of a highly stratified society and imperial administration; the development of a very modern, sophisticated agricultural economy, and, the cultivation of an intellectual and religious outlook which envisioned society as an integral part of the universe.
Religion was an extremely important part of the Aztec Indians
Indian Names
Saturday, February 28th, 2009There are many factors or naming conventions to be considered when talking about Indian names; they vary from region to region and they are influenced by religion and caste. We should also consider the fact that India
Indian Removal Act
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009The Indian Removal Act (an Act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi) is part of the United States government policy known as the Indian Removal, which was signed into law by the President Andrew Jackson on May, 26th, 1830. In his State of the Union message in 1829, President Andrew Jackson called for an Indian Removal Act. This Act was strongly supported in the South where the states were eager to gain access to the lands inhabited by the Indian tribes. The largest state at the time, Georgia was particularly eager to do so, since it was caught in a contentious jurisdictional dispute with the Cherokee nation. President Jackson hoped that the Indian Removal Act would put an end to the Georgia situation.
The Indian Removal Act was also very controversial since the Indian removal was, in theory, supposed to be voluntary, but in practice there was great pressure on the American Indian leaders to sign the removal treaties. The great majority of the observers, be they in favor of the Removal Act policy or not, understood that the signing of the Act meant the inevitable removal of most Indians from their home states. Most white Americans were in favor of the Indian Removal Act. Nevertheless there was significant opposition, such as the Christian missionaries, most notably the missionary organizer Jeremiah Evarts, who was against the Act and was not afraid to say so. In Congress, too, there where voices, such as the ones of the New Jersey Senator Theodore Frelinghuysen and the Congressman Davis Crockett of Tennessee, who spoke against the law. Nevertheless the Removal Act was passed after bitter debate in the Congress.
The Indian Removal Act paved the way for the reluctant emigration of tens of thousands of American Indians to the West. President Jackson insisted that the enactment of his wise and humane Indian Removal Act should be applied only with the negotiated agreement of afflicted tribes. The fulfillment of the written document
Indian Motorcycle
Saturday, February 21st, 2009The Indian Motorcycle is short for the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indian was America’s oldest motorcycle brand and was once the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. The Indian motorcycle was designed and created by George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom. The 1904 signature red color was introduced by the Indian Single on the United States market, together with the entire company collection. In the years that followed, the Indian’s popularity increased, and soon enough, it became famous for its racing ability. In 1911, Indian motorcycles placed first, second, and third at the Isle of Man TT. It was on an Indian that Erwin Cannonball Baker rode across the United States in 1914, setting a record of 11 days and 12 hours. Other riders set additional records in the early twentieth century with the bike.
Other models of Indian motorcycle, the Scout and the Chief V-Twins, were introduced in the early 1920s and would become the company’s best selling models. The two models had reputations for reliability and strength over other motorcycles of the time, including Harley Davidson’s. The Indian Motorcycle of the 1930s often featured the head dress logo on the gas tank which became a much looked for emblem. During both world wars the Indian was used in order to help the soldiers move quickly over various terrains. This made it possible for the company to keep the production going during the wars, even though motorcycle racing was suspended. It should also be mentioned that besides the Indian motorcycle, the company also manufactured airplane engines, boat motors, and bicycles in the beginning years of the twentieth century.
Because of the change in leadership, the company went through a decline period during the late 1940s and in the early 1950s when the manufacturing stopped for an indefinite period of time. In the 1960s the entrepreneur Floyd Clymer began using the Indian name without purchasing the rights from the last known legitimate trademark owner. He attached the name to imported motorcycles, commissioned to Italian former pilot and engineer Leopoldo Tartarini. After Clymer
Indian Motorcycles
Thursday, February 19th, 2009The heydays of the Indian motorcycles were between the 1920s and the 1950s although the market presence of the company started at the dawn of the 20th century with the first motorcycle production in the United States. The Scout and the Chief were the two models that launched the company, the former was produced before the Second World War, while the latter was launched afterwards. In fact Indian motorcycles were widely used during the war as they helped soldiers move very conveniently over all sorts of terrain. The company that produced the vehicles was the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company with the headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Indian Chiefs were the Indian motorcycles that passed from the 1000 cc to 1200 cc engine within a year from the release. As those were the early days of motorbike manufacturing, constant improvements were added to the model that had a front brake next. By 1940, the Chief had reached such a level of development that it was considerably superior to its rival the Harley. The Chiefs were probably the most comfortable and good looking Indian motorcycles of their times with a racing capacity unparalleled at that moment; these Indian motorcycles could actually reach around 100 miles per hour when tuned. The production of the Chiefs was ceased in 1953 due to the company’s financial problems.
The Indian motorcycles in the Scout collection were smaller than the Chief, thus it started from the 596 cc version and it improved to 745 cc in 1927. The most successful year for this collection was 1928 with the 101 version. Afterwards the popularity of the Scout Indian motorcycles declined when the company decided to use the heavy Chief frame in the design. The advantage of these Indian motorcycles was that they could be ridden by common users without any difficulty because of small size.
After the disappearance of the Indian motorcycles from the market in the 70s, several other products were sold under the brand name but without any right to the name as such. In 2006, a British company announced the intention to revive the tradition of Indian motorcycles. The plan is to create a new Chief product with modern fuel injection and a different V-Twin engine. According to this very optimistic future prospects, the Indian motorcycles will be represented in around fifty dealerships around the United States by 2011. Hopefully, this will come true and we’ll see these bikes riding once again on our runways.
Indian Kokopelli
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009The Indian Kokopelli is the Southwest Native Americans
Indian Fry Bread Recipe
Saturday, February 14th, 2009The Indian fry bread is part of the Navajo tradition, and comes with a story of pain and loss of freedom. Though the tradition of the Indian fry bread recipe is common to many Southwestern tribes, it is the Navajo who developed it. The story behind the fry bread recipe is to be found in the Long Walks of the 19th century. At the time, the Navajo were placed in camps meant for four thousand to five thousand people; nevertheless there were more than nine thousand people living there, and attempts were made to starve them to death. The government sent supplies of flour, lard, salt, sugar or yeast which were often rancid. Fry bread came from these few foods provided during the Navajo captivity. Ever since, it became a popular recipe for most tribes living in the Southwest. Nowadays, the fry bread is sold at festivals, carnivals, flea markets and fairs. It is used as base for taco meat, chicken, cheese and chopped tomatoes.
There are as many different Indian fry bread recipes and ways to cook the fry bread as there are Indian aunties and grannies preparing the famous dish; some is thick, some is thin, some is yeasty, some is soda based. Nevertheless there are a few things that are important no matter what recipe one uses. The first thing is to be sure that the dough is moist enough; in order for the dough to pass the test it should slither off one
Cleveland Indians
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team having their residence in Cleveland, Ohio. They are part of the Baseball Major League and are affiliated with the American League and the Central Division. Their team is often referred to as The Tribe by fans and has a franchise record of 8075 wins and 7711 losses. They were founded in 1901 and were originally called the Blues, then the Broncos, and from 1903 to 1911 were known under the name of Naps, in honor of the player/manager Napoleon Lajoie. The official name of the team from 1912 to 1914 was the Molly McGuires, but they were still popularly called the Naps. In 1915, as a consequence of Lajoie
Indian Songs
Sunday, February 8th, 2009Indian culture is an extremely diverse one, a characteristic which applies to Indian songs as well. In order to have a grasp of what Indian songs are like, one has to listen to the folk music of India to get a realistic opinion. As part of a very complex culture, Indian folk songs represent a rustic manifestation of the great Indian civilization, having an amazing variety. Thus, every region in India offers a different music culture, therefore explaining the unbounded assortment of folk styles specific to this Far East land. Sometimes misconstrued as tribal music, Indian songs are an altogether different thing. They do not demand that the singers be formally trained, on the contrary the most famous Indian singers have learned the craft on their own.
The Indian songs are a celebration of life, and the people singing them learn how to do so from their environment. In rural India there is an abundance of songs suitable for every occasion. Whether it is engagements, marriages, births or festivals, the folk music offers an incredible range for every event. One of the most often encountered sights is the villagers singing songs during their agricultural activities. And most of these are songs expressing optimism for better agricultural results. These songs have also been used in Indian movies, usually in scenes of engagement or marriage. These Indian songs give a familiar and friendly atmosphere to the actual event.
As mentioned before, the Indian cinema industry, especially Bollywood, is mainly based on a heritage of Indian songs, sometimes transformed to sound more modern, sometimes left as they were sang in their very original form. The songs add popularity to the movies and all movies strive to have good soulful music tracks. Moreover, if the songs become popular, the movie gains in profit. In the history of the Indian songs used in movies, many of them have been chart busters and remained in the memory of the public long after the movie was forgotten. The explanation comes from the fact that Indian songs are a complete blend of emotions, actions, rhythm and music.
Indian songs are mainly accompanied instrumentally by drums but most of these drums are not refined instruments. Some instruments to enumerate as part of the overall accompaniment of popular Indian songs are Dholak, Nal, Daf, Saringda, Ektar, Dotar, Rabab, Santur, Bansuri, Kartal, Chimpta, Ghungharu, Magadi Vina, Pung, Khol, Naggada or Shankh. These instruments are made up of ordinary substances by the musicians themselves which adds charm and rustic appeal to the tradition of Indian songs.
Northwest Indians
Thursday, February 5th, 2009The Northwest Indians live along the Pacific coast from Washington State to Alaska. Within the region there are seven main tribes: Coast Salish, Nootka, Kwakiutl, Bella-Coola, Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit. These tribes are also known under the name of the people of the totem pole after the largest of the famous wood carvings made by these tribes. The land inhabited by the Northwest Indians is a world of snow covered mountains, blue ocean waters, rushing rivers, and green forests. It is a long, narrow slice of coast about a thousand miles from north to south and not much more than a hundred miles east to west. The mountains and the ocean combine to offer a moderate climate which is cool during the summer and is rather mild during the winter months. These temperature factors are good for the growth of the great redwood, cedar and fir trees.
As there can be observed from the nickname of the tribes, the totem pole is one of the things that distinguishes the Northwest Indians from other Indian tribes living in the United States. The poles became a symbol for these tribes only after the white traders brought them iron tools for carving. Then, the totem pole in front of a house would show the ancestry and the social rank of the family within the tribe. It can be said that the totem pole was for the Northwest Indians what the coat of arms was for the European aristocratic families.
The Northwest Indians believed in the unseen forces of nature. They had rituals for food and weather, they would bring thanks for everything they had or they were given. For them, everything contained spiritual force, be it man, rock, tree, or animal. The Northwest Indians were very close to nature, which they believed to be a very spiritual place, and they practiced their religion through the recognition of the forces of nature. Many of their legends or folk tales would say the story of a certain ceremony or birth of a certain power in a member of the tribe.
An important part of the heritage of the Northwest Indians is their carving craft. The houses they inhabited stand witness of their craftsmanship. They used the red cedar trees to build their houses, known under the name of Big Houses, and measuring from twenty to sixty feet in width and from fifty to a hundred and fifty feet in length. The richest and most important families had the largest houses that were built with logs and wood pegs, as they did not have nails.
Indian Movies
Sunday, February 1st, 2009The first encounter of the Indians with the world of the movies was through the famous Lumi
Indian Clothing
Thursday, January 29th, 2009India has a vast deposit of culture and tradition, but in what the Indian clothing is concerned a certain flexibility and adaptability are definitely noticeable. Traditional items that were originally worn only in some parts of India or by some members of the society, such as the salwar kameez (a long shirt worn with loose pants, with or without a scarf) which were originally considered a Muslim dress, have become popular all over India. The traditional Indian style of clothing varies with male or female differences. The tradition is still followed in rural areas but not so much in the urban areas anymore. Thus, young girls who have not reached puberty yet wear a long skirt called a langa and a short blouse called a choli on top of it. Teenage girls wear half-saris while women usually wear full saris.
The sari is maybe the best known piece of women Indian clothing. A sari is a wide strap of cloth which is several yards long, and wrapped around the body with pallu on the shoulder depending on the place where the wearer lives, their social status, and personal preference. Saris are usually made of light silk or cotton, and they are richly dyed and decorated. The art of draping and pinning a sari has been an open secret among women, and variations were created out of the desire to have comfortable clothing.
The most often encountered Indian clothing for men consists of the dhoti and kurta, which are worn mostly in the western and central regions of the country. A sherwani is a type of Indian clothing specific to special occasions. Men living in Northern India and the Punjab may wear, just as the women, salwar kameez, most often made out of plain white cotton, and the top, the kameez, matched with a dark waistcoat. The lungi, a type of garment to be wrapped around, is worn in many parts of India, but it may be restricted to indoor-wear, depending on the social habits of the region.
Indian clothing is known for its grace, elegance and, not lastly, its comfort, that is why it is so popular all over the world. Another specific element of the Indian clothing is the fact that the lines become blurred when it comes to fashion; there is more a unisex wardrobe than an exclusive line of clothes for her or him. With an emphasis on good looks, men and women are exploring different trends in Indian clothing, blending the traditional/Indian with the modern/Western style in a fusion that becomes a trademark for a style of clothing.