Art, Architecture, Folk Culture, Fairs & Literature of Rajasthan — RPSC RAS Paper I, Unit I, Part A
Weightage: Part A of Paper I Unit I lists performing arts, handicrafts, architecture, folk traditions, fairs, festivals, heritage sites, language and literature. Most questions are pairing questions: a form with its place, a fair with its deity, a work with its author.
1. Forts, palaces and heritage sites
Rajasthan has several UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
| Site | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur | 1985 | The natural site, also a Ramsar wetland |
| Jantar Mantar, Jaipur | 2010 | Sawai Jai Singh II's observatory |
| Hill Forts of Rajasthan | 2013 | Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber and Jaisalmer |
| Jaipur City | 2019 | The planned walled city of 1727 |
Other sites to name are Mehrangarh (Jodhpur), Junagarh (Bikaner), Taragarh (Ajmer) and Hawa Mahal in Jaipur (1799). The stepwell Chand Baori at Abhaneri (Dausa) is a leading example of water architecture.
2. Temples and shrines
- Dilwara Jain temples (Mount Abu): marble temples of the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.
- Ranakpur (Pali): a fifteenth-century Jain temple with over a thousand carved pillars.
- Eklingji (Udaipur): the Guhila rulers' deity; Shrinathji at Nathdwara, the centre of the Pushtimarg tradition.
- Brahma temple, Pushkar: one of very few dedicated to Brahma.
- Osian (Jodhpur): early medieval Pratihara temples; Kiradu (Barmer) and Baroli (Kota) are other early groups.
- Ajmer Sharif dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, and the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque, built in the late twelfth century.
3. Schools of painting
Rajput painting flourished in several courts, each with a signature:
| School | Signature |
|---|---|
| Mewar | The earliest, with the 1605 Ragamala painted at Chawand; devotional and court scenes |
| Bundi | Rich colour, nature, birds and monsoon scenes |
| Kota | Hunting and wildlife scenes |
| Kishangarh | Radha-Krishna in the Bani Thani style, associated with the artist Nihal Chand and the patron Savant Singh |
| Marwar | Bold outlines and court and Nath-sect themes |
| Amber and Jaipur | Portraits and court processions under Sawai Pratap Singh |
| Bikaner | Mughal influence; the Usta tradition |
| Alwar | Mughal-influenced, including ivory work |
4. Folk art and handicrafts
Scroll and shrine art. The Phad is a long painted scroll of a folk hero, mainly Pabuji or Devnarayan, made in Bhilwara-Shahpura and narrated by bhopas. The Kavad is a portable wooden shrine from Bassi (Chittorgarh), and Pichwai cloth paintings come from Nathdwara.
Crafts. Blue pottery (Jaipur), Molela terracotta (Rajsamand), Thewa jewellery (Pratapgarh), Kundan-meenakari (Jaipur), Usta gold work on camel hide (Bikaner), Kota Doria, and block and dye textiles: Sanganeri and Bagru prints, and bandhej and leheriya tie-dye. Marble carving is centred at Makrana and Kishangarh.
5. Dance, music and theatre
| Form | Community or region | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ghoomar | Women, Bhil origin, Marwar and Mewar | Circular twirling dance |
| Kalbeliya | Kalbelia (snake-charmer) community | On UNESCO's intangible heritage list since 2010 |
| Terah Tali | Kamad community, Ramdevra | Dancers sit and strike cymbals tied to their body |
| Gair | Men, Bhil belt, around Holi | Stick dance |
| Kachhi Ghodi | Shekhawati | Dummy-horse dance |
| Chari | Ajmer and Kishangarh | Women dance with lit lamps on pots |
| Agni | Jasnathi community, Bikaner | Fire dance |
Music. The Manganiyars and Langas of the western desert are hereditary musicians, and their instruments include the kamaicha, sarangi, algoza and ravanhatha. Gavri is the Bhil folk drama of Mewar, performed for weeks after Raksha Bandhan, and Khyal is a popular folk theatre form.
6. Fairs and festivals
| Fair or festival | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Pushkar Fair | Ajmer | Kartik Purnima; cattle and camel trade |
| Ramdevra Fair | Pokaran, Jaisalmer | Ramdevji; Bhadrapad |
| Baneshwar Fair | Dungarpur | Tribal fair around Magh Purnima, called the tribal Kumbh |
| Gogamedi and Tejaji fairs | Hanumangarh; Nagaur | Folk deities tied to snakebite protection |
| Karni Mata | Deshnok, Bikaner | Temple known for its rats |
| Kolayat | Bikaner | Kartik Purnima |
| Teej and Gangaur | Jaipur, Udaipur | Women's festivals for Parvati and Gauri |
| Desert Festival | Jaisalmer | February |
7. Language and literature
Rajasthani has several dialects: Marwari, Dhundhari (Jaipur), Mewari, Hadoti, Mewati and Wagdi. The classical literature is in Dingal (a Marwari literary style) and Pingal (a Braj-based style).
Works and authors to pair:
- Prithviraj Raso (Chand Bardai), whose historical reliability scholars debate.
- Vansh Bhaskar (Suryamal Mishran of Bundi).
- Beli Krishna Rukmani Ri (Prithviraj Rathore of Bikaner).
Saints and poets include Meera Bai, Dadu Dayal (Dadu Panth), Jambheshwar (the Bishnoi Panth) and Ramcharan (Ramsnehi sect). In modern times, Vijaydan Detha collected folk tales, and Komal Kothari documented folk music.
Worked example 7.1 (a 10-mark answer, ~150 words). "Describe the main schools of Rajasthani painting."
Model answer. Rajasthani painting developed at Rajput courts from the sixteenth century, blending indigenous styles with Mughal influence.
Mewar produced the earliest and most devotional work, including the 1605 Ragamala at Chawand. Bundi and Kota, together the Hadoti school, are known for vivid colour, nature and hunting scenes. Kishangarh's Bani Thani portraits of Radha and Krishna, associated with Nihal Chand and Savant Singh, are the school's best-known images. Marwar used bold outlines, Amber and Jaipur excelled in portraits and processions, and Bikaner and Alwar show stronger Mughal influence.
Each school reflected its patron's tastes, so painting is a useful record of court life, religion and landscape. The tradition continues in Phad scroll painting and Pichwai.
Common traps RPSC sets here
- Misplacing a fair. Pair each fair with its place and deity: Ramdevra with Ramdevji, Karni Mata with Deshnok.
- Attributing Bani Thani to Bundi. It belongs to Kishangarh.
- Treating Prithviraj Raso as a settled historical source. Say that its reliability is debated.
- Listing a fort without its World Heritage year. The 2013 inscription covers six forts together.
Memory aids
- "Bani Thani belongs to Kishangarh": the best-known painting.
- "Six forts, 2013": Chittor, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber, Jaisalmer.
- "Kalbeliya 2010": the UNESCO-listed dance.
Summary
Rajasthan's heritage combines World Heritage forts and city, Jain and Hindu temples, and distinct painting schools (Mewar, Bundi-Kota, Kishangarh, Marwar, Jaipur). Folk art runs from Phad scrolls and Kavad shrines to blue pottery and block printing.
Dance and music (Ghoomar, Kalbeliya, Manganiyar), the fairs (Pushkar, Ramdevra, Baneshwar) and a rich literature in several dialects complete the section. Learn them as form-place pairs.
Exam protocol
- Give a 5-mark answer as form, place, one distinguishing feature.
- Include the year for every UNESCO item.
- Use pairs to answer quickly: fair with deity, work with author, style with court.
