In new Parliament building, the story of India told through its art and craft forms

In new Parliament building, the story of India told through its art and craft forms

Subject : History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

• The answers to these have found their way into the Shilp Gallery of
• The new Parliament is  home to eight rare installations by 300-odd workers and one of three such galleries dedicated to the arts.

Galleries in Parliament:

• While the Shilp Gallery, entry to which is from the old Lok Sabha side, is completed, the Sangeet gallery for India’s dance and music traditions and the Sthapatya gallery, dedicated to the country’s architectural her- itage, are works in progress.
• From using traditional forms of storytelling to showcase the festivals of India to calligraphy to present the different scripts through poems, sayings and shloka, the gallery is a rich layer- ing of India’s numerous crafts.
• DastkariHaat Samiti, has brought together eight installations in parliament under themes that were given by the Ministry of Culture. These include — Gyan (knowledge), Prakriti (nature), Aastha (faith), Ullas (happiness), Parv (celebration), Swavlamban (self- reliance) and Yatra (journey).

Highlights of Ancient Artworks model in Parliament:

• The new building has six entrances to exhibit “guardian statues showing auspicious animals.
• These “auspicious animals” have been chosen based on their importance in Indian culture, vaastu shastra and traits such as wisdom, victory, power and success.
• Each animal chosen to be installed in the building possesses a set of affirmations, spreading well-being and harmony.
• Importance of Direction:
  • The North: Guarding the ceremonial entrance to the north is the gaja (elephant), which represents wisdom, wealth, intellect and memory.
  • According to vastu shastra, the northern direction is associated with Mercury, which is the source of higher intellect.
  • The South: The southern entrance is the ashva (horse), which is symbolic of endurance, strength, power and speed — describing the quality of governance.
  • The East: Soaring at the eastern entrance is the garuda (eagle), which symbolizes the aspirations of the people.
  • In vaastu shastra, the east is associated with the rising sun, representing victory.
  • The northeastern entrance has hamsa (swan), representing discernment and wisdom.
  • The remaining entrances showcase the Makara (a mythical aquatic creature that is a combination of the body parts of different animals), which represents unity in diversity, and the shardula (a mythical animal that is said to be the most powerful of all living beings), which symbolizes the power of the people of the country.
• Remains of India’s freedom struggle:
  • The new building will have six granite statues devoted to personalities involved in the freedom struggle and making of the Constitution, four galleries each for the two Houses, three ceremonial foyers, as many India galleries and one Constitution gall