Fairs & Festivals

The arts and crafts of any region are a reflection of its environment, people and traditions. So it is in Himachal. From the upper reaches of Lahaul and Spiti down to the lowlands of Kangra – life and its shades are woven in, painted on, felt in soulful rhythms or celebrated with joyous abandon, carved in, engraved… whether it is the miniature paintings of Kangra, the thangka artefacts of Spiti, or the beautiful shawls of Kullu.

Woven Craft
It is the extreme cold winters of Himachal that necessitated wool weaving. Almost every household in Himachal owns a pit-loom and it is not unusual to find men and women spinning yarn on a spindle walking down the roads of Himachali villages. Wool is also regarded as pure and is used as a ritual cloth. The best-known woven object is the shawl, ranging from extremely fine pashmina to the coarse desar. Kullu in particular has been famous for its shawls with striking geometrical patterns and vibrant colours – the distinctive feature being stripes running along the edges. In Kinnaur, not only shawls, but also saris, trousers and pyjamas are woven in wool. The shawls woven in Rampur, known as Rampur chaddar, are famous for their soft texture and durability. In Chamba district, the weaving assumes a chequered pattern.

Besides shawls, carpets and blankets are an essential part of the Himachali lifestyle. Carpets in brilliant colours are woven with a variety of traditional motifs – there are garudas on flowering trees, dragons, swastikas, flutes symbolising happiness or lotus blooms signifying purity. Carpets are woven as furnishing, as saddles for horses and as blankets or chutkas. They are also a part of every bride's trousseau.

Metalcraft
Objects crafted with metal fulfil religious, ritualistic and everyday needs of the people of Himachal. Even in AD 600, the courts of the Himachali kings had master craftsmen who specialised in metalware, and antique metal statuettes are a feature in many temples of the state. There are fine examples of freestanding metal statues at temple entrances in Brahmaur, Chamba and the Vajreshwari Devi temple in Kangra. Gods and goddesses also appear as mohras or in metal plaques – which are used during processions and festivals. In fact, metalcraft in Himachal grew around temples and palaces. Repousse technique was used to create beautiful temple doors – temples of Vajreshwari Devi, Jwalamukhi in Kangra, Bhimkali in Sarahan and Chandika Devi in Kinnaur employ this technique to perfection. A famous canopy made of gold is the one at the Jwalamukhi temple, believed to have been gifted by emperor Akbar.

The metal artefacts of Kinnaur represent a unique synthesis of Buddhism and Hinduism. There are ritual cups, daggers, kettles, jugs, prayer wheels, conch trumpets and so on.

Brass is often used in the hills for fashioning household utensils. The Kinnaur metalsmiths also specialise in the repousse worked door handles fashioned in the form of crocodile, dragon or lion-head. All sacred buildings display these handles. Another interesting item is the dongbo or tea churner, as common as the intricately carved hookah bases in these parts.

Jewellery
Pahari jewellery is artistic and elaborate. The designs are borrowed from simple motifs like seeds, flowers and leaves and developed into exquisite patterns. While different communities wear jewellery unique to their traditions, some ornaments are worn all over. These include the hemispherical boss or chak – worn on the crown and both sides of the head. Neck ornaments are important in all districts – from collar like hansli or small pendants called toke. The Pahari variant of the torque is a long necklace of numerous chains linked together by silver plaques. Chandanhaar is a necklace comprising five or seven rows of facetted gold beads. One of the most cherished neckpieces is a coin necklace. The choker worn here is called kach and consists of silver beads and triangular plaques. The jutti is a heavy bunch of silver tassels or flowers, attached to the plait while a smaller ornament, beshtar is tied to the plait ends.

Men, women and children often wear silver amulets to ward off evil spirits – a tradition carried to the hills from the plains. In lower Himachal, there is a marked preference for gold ornaments while deeper in the villages, silver is more common.

Wood Craft
Himachal is the only area in India, besides Kerala, where wood has played an important role as a structural material. The most abundant wood in Himachal's forests is the pine and deodar, besides walnut, horse chestnut and wild back mulberry. Villages famous for woodcraft are Chamba, Chhatrarhi, Brahmaur, Koonr, Tisa (Chamba); Kalpa, Thangi, Rarang, Sapni, Batseri, Shaung, Bari and Bhaba (Kinnaur); Dungri, Banjar and Saraj (Kullu). Earliest wooden temples in Himachal date as far back as sixth century AD and are located in Brahmaur and Chhatrarhi in Chamba. Many other temples sculpted in wood lie scattered all over Himachal. Village homes too are extensively ornamented with carvings – on doors, windows, balcony panels etc – some exquisite examples may be found in villages as remote as Kamru, Sangla, Chitkul, villages in Kinnaur and Jagatsukh, Vashishta and villages around Manali and Kullu. The craft also translates into wooden idols of gods and goddesses in classical as well as rural styles.

Utilitarian objects crafted in wood can be often found in Pahari homes – these may include rectangular boxes to store grains or ornaments: the extent of carving indicates the social strata of its owner. The Gaddi households in Chamba and Brahmaur were famous for their attractive wooden utensils. Kinnauri villages still use wooden household utensils extensively.

Wood is used in rituals by way of temple chariots, low settees, sandals, wooden pipes etc. Intricately carved wooden spinning wheels were used in the past – the ornamentation has faded of late. However, at large, woodcarving is still a living tradition in Himachal.

Stone Craft
The Shivalik hills abound in fine sandstone, which is eminently suited for carving, and has played a vital role in perpetuating the stone carvers’ craft. Numerous stone temples still dot the Himachal landscape. Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, Chamba and Kullu have been traditional centres for stone carving. The capital towns of feudal states often had large stone temples – the monolithic temple of Masroor, Baijnath temple in Kangra, Shiva and Devi temples at Jagatsukh, Naggar, Nirmand and elsewhere in Kullu, the numerous shrines along the banks of the river Beas in Mandi, the temples at Brahmaur, Chhatrahi, Chamba, Bilaspur and Sirmaur date from the 7th and 13th century AD.

Fountain stones or panihars, erected as memorials near watersprings also used stone – these may be found in abundance in Chamba district. Stone slabs depicting coiled figures of snakes are seen in temples dedicated to Shiva, Durga and Gugga. Facing or flanking Shiva and Durga temples are also stone sculptures of Nandi – the consort of the gods.

Painting
Raja Sansar Chand, who ruled Kangra in the later half of the 18th century, was a renowned patron of the arts, and contributed greatly to the development of the Pahari miniature style of painting. His palaces at Nadaun, Sujanpur Tira and various temples in the area were ornamented with murals. Jewel-like miniatures of the period, depicting court life, episodes from the life of Krishna etc., painted in rich colours are still to be seen in museums in India and abroad.

In the remote valleys of Lahaul and Spiti are ancient gompas – Buddhist monasteries that form the focus of all cultural life in the area. Some of them, over a thousand years old, have exquisite painted murals, stuccoes and thangkas. Fine thangkas or scroll paintings on canvas, edged with a border of rich silk, are still created here.

Museums/Galleries:
State Museum (Shimla): Housed in a charming colonial building, Inverarm, the State museum is located atop a hill that rises above the Chaura Maidan. A selection of Himachal's rich heritage is displayed here. The galleries house Pahari miniature paintings, stone sculpture of considerable antiquity and artistic merit, assorted bronzes, arms and armour, dolls, anthropological items and numismatic finds.

Kangra Art Gallery (Dharamsala): Inaugurated in 1990, this gallery is just above the Kotwali Bazaar and represents a collection of the Kangra miniature paintings, a range of sculpture and ancient pottery.

Roerich Gallery, Naggar (Kullu): Nicholas Roerich was a Russian who settled in Naggar. His paintings are on display at his charming cottage at Naggar.

Sobha Singh's Gallery, Andretta (Kangra): A collection of paintings of the celebrated artist Sardar Sobha Singh including Sohini Mahiwal, Heer Ranjha and a several other religious paintings are on display at his old home.

Folk Dances
Weddings, harvest, festivals, local fairs, social events are all occasions for a spontaneous burst of song, dance and merriment in the hills. The Naati of Kullu is a favourite dance where dancers link hands, and move in step to varying rhythms. Earlier performed only by men who would be attired in full splendour – with swirling tunics, churidars, sashes and decorated caps – the Naati was an affair that lasted several hours. Today, the women too participate and a shorter version of the dance is performed.

Another group dance that is popular in the state is Karthi, a Kullu harvest dance performed in the open, in the light of an autumn moon. The Burah, a martial dance from Sirmaur, is performed with the waving of dangras or axes to the accompaniment of the hurki. Ballads recounting heroic battles and deeds are sung. The exhilarating Birsu and Ghugti from the upper Shimla hills are performed by the Khunds as they go to the local fairs. A martial people – they hold a sword, a dangra, a khukri or a handkerchief as they dance.

The nomadic Gaddis have a fine musical tradition too. Romantic ballads are sung late into the night as the men and women dance.

Kinnaur is famous for its folk dances – there is Kayang, where men and women dance in a semi-circle around the musicians, and the Bonyangchu, a carefree dance performed by the men. The Bakayang danced by the beautiful Kinnauri women, resplendent in layers of silver jewellery, presents a splendid spectacle.

Fascinating masked dance dramas are also performed in the Jubbal and Rohru valleys of Shimla. Known as Sih and Bura, they narrate stories with romantic and satirical themes that have been handed down orally from generation to generation.

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