Art, music and literature of India

Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BCE to modern times.

The earliest Indian religion to inspire major artistic monuments was Buddhism.

Buddhist art first developed during the Gandhara period and Amaravati Periods around the 1st century BCE. It flourished greatly during the Gupta Periods and Pala Periods that comprise the Golden Age of India.

The building of free-standing structures began in the 5th century, while rock-cut temples continued to be excavated until the 12th century. An example is the Shore Temple, a part of the Mahabalipuram World Heritage Site.

Jewelry: The Indian subcontinent has the longest continuous legacy of jewelry-making, with a history of over 5,000 years. One of the first to start jewelry-making was the peoples of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Since pre-historic times, people in India have had a penchant for adorning themselves with jewellery. Gold, silver, stones, gems, etc. Those were the defining aspects of Indian jewellery.

The Indian jewelry is varied in styles and designs. Different states have different styles of Indian jewelry that are unique to that state and are not found anywhere else. And Indian jewelry has a variety of ornaments in different styles and designs for just about every part of the body.

Folk and tribal art: India had always been known as the land that portrayed cultural and traditional vibrancy through its conventional arts and crafts. Every region in India has its own style and pattern of art, which is known as folk art. Other than folk art, there is yet another form of traditional art practiced by several tribes or rural population, which is classified as tribal art. The folk and tribal arts of India are very ethnic and simple, and yet colorful and vibrant enough to speak volumes about the country's rich heritage. The objects can range from sculpture, masks (used in rituals and ceremonies), paintings, textiles, baskets, kitchen objects, arms and weapons, and the human body itself(Tattoos and piercings). There is a deep the symbolic meaning that is attached to not only the objects themselves but also the materials and techniques used to produce them.

The Taj Mahal built by the Mughals.

Indian Music includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. Music in India began as an integral part of socio-religious life and that Indian music is essentially melodic: sounds follow one another expressing an emotional state.

Two main traditions of classical music are Carnatic music, found predominantly in the peninsular regions, and Hindustani music, found in the northern and central regions.The basic concepts of this music includes Shruti, Swara, Alankar, Rāga, and Tāla.

In India, music is most commonly associated with film music (Bollywood). Popular Indian films, whether in Hindi, Tamil, or any of the other Indian languages, are most often described and understood in the West as "musicals", as they are seldom without songs. Indian folk music is diverse because of India's vast cultural diversity.

Music in Indian cinema is a substantial revenue generator. The major film music companies of India are Saregama, Sony Music etc. Commercially, film music accounts for 48% India's net music sales. A typical Indian film may have around 5–6 choreographed songs during the film.

Indian Literature is believed to be the oldest in the world. So The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages.

Indian literature includes religious and mundane, epic and lyric, dramatic and didactic poetry, narrative and scientific prose, as well as oral poetry and song. In the Vedas (3000 BC-1000 BC), when one finds such expressions, “I am standing in water but I am very thirsty”, one marvels at the continuity of a rich heritage which is both modern and traditional. It is, therefore, not very correct to say that ancient Indian literature includes only the religious classics of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Jain narrative literature in the Prakrit language is full of erotic stories and realism.

In the 20th century, several Indian writers have distinguished themselves not only in traditional Indian languages but also in English, a language inherited from the British. As a result of British colonisation, India has developed its own unique dialect of English known as Indian English.

Hindi literature started with religious and philosophical poetry. The most famous figures from this period are Kabir and Tulsidas.

Gujarati literature's history may be traced to the 1000 AD. Since then literature has flourished till date. One of the most popular in the Gujarati literature is Mahatma Gandhi.