About the Author
Nitin Singhania is an IAS officer of 2013 batch in West Bengal Cadre and is presently posted as Joint Secretary under Government of West Bengal. He is a graduate and post graduate in Economics from Presidency College, Kolkata and is also a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary. Earlier he has worked as Assistant Secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, and as Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Purba Bardhaman District.
Additions to Third Edition
• 02 New Chapters -
1. India through the eyes of foreign travellers.
2. Buddhism and Jainism
• 01 New appendix - Current Affairs related to India Art & Culture.
• New Topics in Chapter - 1: Details of important IVC sites like Chanhudaro, Kot Diji, Suktagandor, Balu, Daimabad, Kot Bala, Kerala- no-dhoro and Maand. Details of Badami Cave temple architecture, prominent temples outside India, Derasar and Basadis, Whispering Gallaries in India, Awadh Architecture.
• New Topics in Chapter - 2: Gudahandi and Yogimatha Rock Shelter under Prehistoric paintings, Ganjifa Cards, Tikuli Art, newer and more relevant images, more flow charts.
• New Topics in Chapter - 3: Important details of more sarees like - Uppada Jamdani Saree, Venkatagiri Saree, Kotpad Saree. Table on Important Metal crafts like - Aranmula Kannadi (Metal Mirror), Netturpetti jewellery boxes, Chandi Tarkashi, Swamimalai Bronze, Leather crafts - Konglan Stitched Boots, Paabu Stitched Boots, Kolhapuri chappal, Katki chappal, Tilla Jutti, Mojari, Multani Khussa. Table on important Wood crafts like - Nirmal Painting, Kashtakari wood carving, Santalum (Sandalwood carving), Khatamband Woodcraft, Sikki Grass Craft, Shital Patti Grass mat, Khunda - Bamboo staves, Kawad Mobile shrines, Choktse Tables, etc. Embroideries like Khatwa Applique work, Lambani, Sozni (or suzani), Gara, Kimkhab, Dongaria Scarf - Kapragonda, etc. Variety of Weavings in India - Pata Weaving, Mashru Weaving, Bohra Cap weaving, Patku Weaving, Pattu Weaving, WangkheibPhee, Shaphee Lanphee, etc. Durrie (Floor mat) Weaving in India - Musallah Rug, Namda Felted Rugs, Kaleen, Khabdan, Navalgund Durrie, Jamakalam, etc. Extensive table on Tie & Dye, Cloth Painting and Cloth Printing varieties with new additions like - Paagadu Bandhu Tie & Dye, Tehlia Rumal, Ajrakh Printing, Mata Ni Pachedi, Thigma, Pichhwai, Dabu, Muthangi, Tangaliya Shawl, Dhalapathar Parda & Fabrics, Kani Shawl, etc. Table on other famous handicarfts of India.
• New Topics in Chapter - 4: Map at the end of the book, updation of 02 more recently declared UNESCO heritage sites.
• New Topics in Chapter - 5: Early exponents of Carnatic music, Trinity of Carnatic music. Addition of important folk songs - Jhumair, Borgeet, Jhoori. Musical instrument Santoor & an institution Prayag Sangeet Samiti.
• New Topics in Chapter - 6: Important Folk Dances Hulivesha, Tippani, Garadi, Tera Tali, Hojagiri, etc.
• New Topics in Chapter - 11: Details of Kumbha Mela as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.
• New Topics in Chapter - 13: Qissa-i-Sanjan, prominent Synagogues in India, elaborate details on types of Jews in India. Details of other prominent religions like Sanamahism, Ayyavazhi, Sarnaism, Bahai faith, etc.
• New Topics in Chapter - 15: Elaborate Zoroastrian literature, Ardas in
Sikh literature, Champu style of writing, additions in Medieval literature, etc.
• New Topics in Chapter - 20: Hindu festivals now placed in easy table format. Important festivals Nabakalebar, Moatsu Mong, Yemshe, Losar, Khan, etc added.
• New Topics in Chapter - 21: Inclusion of important Bharat Ratna awardees, completely new set of Mock Questions.
• New Topics in Appendix - 02: Flow chart on bhakti movement, elaborate table on bhakti saints.
• New Topics in Appendix - 04: Recent Geographical Indications added category wise and in a table format. Also, the Previous Year’s Questions of 2018, 2019 and a new set of Practice Questions have been included in the required chapters.
Along with such huge changes as mentioned above, more relevant images have been added in the book considering the need of aspirants and toughness of Civil Services and other competitive examinations.
Acknowledgements
It is a matter of immense pleasure to know that the handwritten notes developed by me in the past years have received such appreciation amongst the readers involved in the preparation of Civil Services and other competitive examinations.
I am indebted to my parents, my wife Sudipta, and siblings Nancy and Noyal for allowing me time away from them I needed to research and write. “Maa and Papaji, my deepest respect and gratitude to both of you for being my idols. When the time got demanding, your support and encouragement were the only pillars of strength for me.” My sincere thanks to Ms. Sonia Wigh, Shri Shounak Chakraborty and Shri Ankit Jalan without whose assistance this book would not have been possible. I also offer my appreciation to the learning opportunities provided by Shri R.S. Agrawal (Ranker’s Classes), Vajiram and Ravi, ALS and Vision IAS which motivated me to write this book. Acknowledgements are also due to various scholars of repute whose valuable works along with many e-sources helped enrich my knowledge in developing this piece of work.
The contribution of Gandhi Smriti Library, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie and Atul Photostat, Mukherjee Nagar had been immense as they also provided me the sources to enrich my thoughts and ideas. I also thank UPSC for providing previous year’s questions on their website which have been included in this book. For this third edition, I am particularly indebted to Shri Neeraj Rao, Shri Aritra Mondal and Ms. Nancy Singhania for their kind assistance and support. Feedbacks received from a large number of aspirants were helpful too. I am thankful to each one of them. Finally I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Shri Tanmoy Roychowdhury, Ms. Shukti Mukherjee, Ms. Jyoti Nagpal, Ms. Malvika Shah, Ms. Anjali Chakravarty, and the entire support team of McGraw Hill Education, India for their unstinted cooperation and support in making this task interesting and as trouble-free as possible. I hope that this book will help readers in gaining a better understanding of the Culture of India.
NITIN SINGHANIA
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