Indian Cultural Heritage Research Articles

Vedavyasa’s Vision: Shaping Indian literature, spirituality, and cultural heritage

Vedavyasa’s Vision: Shaping Indian literature, spirituality, and cultural heritage

Exploring The Future Potential Of Balneotherapy At Unapdev Hot Spring In Khandesh Of Maharashtra, India

In geography of health, geopharmacology is an emerging and novel branch of research. The word geopharmacology consists of geography and pharmacology, in which geographical components and elements are studied from pharmaceutical and medicinal point of views. These points of views are useful for the wellness of human being. So hot spring is one of the core components of geopharmacological research. Geopharmacology of hot springs in India, play and significant role in Indian cultural heritage as well as therapeutics benefits and natural beauty provinces of Maharashtra, Unapdev has been hot springs and have their socio-cultural as well geopharmacological importance. [1] The results of this study indicate that there is potential to establish a balneotherapy centre near the Unapdev hot springs. However, it is discovered that both visitors and locals have relatively little information about balneotherapy. The majority of visitors come to Unapdev hot spring for both tourism and traditional and spiritual reasons. According to research findings, Unapdev water springs have all the prerequisites to be turned into a balneotherapy facility and its application in the medical field holds great promise for the future.

Role of Artificial Intelligence in Promotion of Indian Art Culture

Both artificial intelligence (ठजप्पिप्पन्स प्ज्ञामसपहमद्बम) and culture are important hallmarks of modern times. On the one hand, while artificial intelligence attempts to mimic human intelligence, on the other hand, culture studies a person's life, language, and cultural characteristics. With the adjustment of these two, a new direction and approach is emerging in the art field which is contributing significantly to the development of our society and culture. The relationship between artificial intelligence and Indian art culture has shown a new direction that is taking Indian cultural heritage forward with modernity. This relationship not only helps in giving purpose to Indian literature and art, but also presents the diversity and richness of India to the world. The matching of artificial intelligence and Indian art culture makes it clear that the use of technology gives a new dimension to art, opening the way to artistic prosperity. This relationship has made the art more effective and unique and has also maintained the important role of Indian culture. This has not only helped in the development of Indian art culture, but has also provided a medium to take it to a higher level, through which Indian art culture can keep pace with the modern world. Artificial intelligence has also begun to be used in art culture, such as techniques for conducting cultural research on color, form, and dimension. This is giving a new direction to the diversity and richness of art and new and special forms are emerging in art craftsmanship. The modern technological contribution of this matching of artificial intelligence and art culture is opening new dimensions of art. For example, artificial intelligence is being used in painting and graphics design, creating new experiences, especially in the 3D and virtual art fields. Artificial intelligence and art culture together are opening the way to new possibilities. Both these sectors are making important contributions in building a strong and prosperous society and helping in the preservation, promotion and development of culture. The presented research article discusses in detail how artificial intelligence can play an important role in the preservation and development of Indian art culture.

Navigating the Labyrinth of Indian Cultural Tapestry and Societal Norms: An In-Depth Analysis of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Literary Canon

This article conducts a meticulous exploration of Indian cultural heritage and societal norms through an in-depth analysis of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's diverse literary works. The research scrutinizes the intricate details of Indian traditions, shedding light on the multifaceted tapestry of cultural nuances and societal expectations depicted in Divakaruni's narratives. Key thematic areas include identity, familial dynamics, gender roles, and the intersection of tradition with modernity. Through a comprehensive examination of the author's insightful narratives, this study aims to contribute to a profound understanding of the rich cultural heritage and evolving societal norms within the context of contemporary Indian literature.

Deep Learning-Based De-blurring/Denoising of Indian Heritage Images

Using the deep learning algorithms, our method comes up with the process that impedes the conservation and restores the Indian heritage images, while dealing with the obstacles like blur, noise, and obscurity of the images. In this case, neural networks that are developed themselves are used to carry out the process of denoising and reconstruction of these images but also contain intricate object detection capabilities. These multi-faceted actions, therefore, help to preserve the historically relevant aspects and make the Indian cultural heritage more colorful and accessible to the outside world. In addition, not only are we protecting them but we are also transforming them into the best images that represent India's past. Through application of deep learning principles to indigenous materials, we come up with powerful educational tools that make a deep impact in the community, promoting a profound appreciation for India's cultural heritage. By means of careful experimentation and stringent testing, we establish that the specified methodology is indeed workable in conservation applications as it has been shown to be effective. This way, we make it clear that the cultural heritage of India is not only treasures of the ancient time but the living legacy, which is welcoming for everyone and contributes to the cultural diversity and pride.

Examining the associations between control (primary and secondary) appraisals and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in Malaysian and Australian trauma survivors.

Little research has considered the influence of culture on control appraisals in the context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to investigate whether cultural group moderated the relationship between control (primary and secondary) appraisals and PTSD symptoms in trauma survivors from Western (Australian) and Asian (Malaysian) cultural contexts. Trauma survivors (107 Australian with European cultural heritage; 121 Malaysian with Malay, Indian or Chinese cultural heritage) completed an online survey assessing PTSD symptoms and appraisals of control. Cultural group moderated the association between primary control and PTSD symptoms; the positive association was significant for the Australian group but not the Malaysian group. While cultural group did not moderate the association between secondary control and PTSD symptoms, there was an indirect pathway between secondary control appraisals and PTSD symptoms through interdependent self-construal for both cultural groups. The findings indicate that cultural group and self-construal influence the associations between different types of control appraisals and PTSD. Further research exploring the role of culture and different appraisal types in PTSD is needed.

Kathakali character identification – Using deep learning techniques and web technologies for Indian cultural heritage

Technology advancements have proven to benefit every part of our life. It has shown visible results in all domains including medicine, retail, governance, entertainment to quite a few. There are several ways technology has been used for art and culture. In this paper, we examine the use of technology for a 400 year old art form Kathakali, one of the most sacred arts of Indian Cultural Heritage. Kathakali is known for hand-gestures, dance elements, music and sophisticated costumes and makeups. Kathakali is salient part of Indian Cultural Heritage. However, there haven't been much work to promote this part of Indian history. Through this paper, we aim towards taking one major step between our technological field and Indian cultural heritage. We use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as convolutional neural networks for Kathakali character identification from images. We employ different deep learning techniques for the same and evaluate the performance of our algorithms. We observe that through rigorous parameter tuning and experiments, up to 97.5% accuracy has been obtained. We have personally recorded images of Kathakali from live performances over 20 years. The data set developed for this study contains images for 6 Kathakali characters - Pacha, Kathi, Minukku-Female, Red Beard, White Beard and Kari-Male and have been made available for the public to use in future. We then develop a web platform wherein users can upload new Kathakali images and the platform uses the AI algorithm behind to identify its character type. The web platform has been designed to deploy in a cloud environment so that it can benefit the public. We show how technology advancements can help improve audience reach for such old Indian art forms through this paper.

REVISITING GENDER, MYTH AND FEMALE SUBJECTIVITY IN FOREST OF ENCHANTMENT BY DIVAKARUNI

Myths depict the social decorum, ideology and beliefs of people, moral conduct of human life. Myths are the symbols of the value system that instigates people to follow prescribed moral code. The gender biased dynamics of society did not recognize the value, sacrifice of women characters. The reinterpretation of female subjectivity in mythical literature, folktales is necessary to give a new life to the marginalized class and women characters who became victim of patriarchal dominance of power and greed. This has led a great impact on our society and human life. Divakaruni rises in the spectrum of women diaspora writer unravelling the cultural conflict women face in host land and her narration designates the grandeur of Indian cultural heritage through frequent reference to mythological folktales, characters and giving it a new form to old mythical tales. This paper examines the gender biased perspective of society toward women and how the reinterpretation of the Ramayana fromSitas perspective by Divakaruni brings out the inherent strength of women characters which remained subdued, buried under the carpet of silence in the name of traditional cultural values.

A Survey of the Metadata Element Sets Used for Digital Art Objects in the Online Collections of the Museums of India

Digital technology advancements have had a significant impact on how people learn, search for information, and evaluate it. Indian cultural heritage institutions like GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) have also embraced a number of digitisation initiatives to increase access to their wide-ranging art collections. Digital paintings and other cultural heritage information artifacts can facilitate digital humanities research in multiple ways. Using an online content analysis and observation method, this study looks at how metadata elements are used to describe the different art collections in five national museums in India. The study finds that 13 categories of art objects are made available by all the museums. Each category is described by a different number of metadata entry elements. The study also finds the metadata elements that different museums prefer for different types of art objects, as well as the common elements. The findings highlight the need for standardisation in metadata practices to improve the discoverability and accessibility of cultural objects and show how crucial metadata is in facilitating access to cultural objects. The results could help GLAMs create metadata guidelines and strategies for their digital collections, which would make digital art objects more discoverable and accessible.

Phad: The Scoping Review of Ritualistic, Performative Audio-Visual Folk Tradition of Rajasthan

Phad Tradition as a part of visual culture is a performative, ritualistic, audio-visual folk craft of Rajasthan, India. Its cult following is based on its regional Gods, such as Papuji and Devnarayan Ji. Phad Tradition can be broadly divided into three aspects as narratives (tales, myths), paintings (visual), and performance (audio). Phad Paintings has a unique visual language that is painted on muslin fabric (sacred textile) by the Chippa community from Bhilwara, Rajasthan, and are recited by priest singers locally known as Bhopa and Bhopi in form of elaborated performances. The lesser-known Phad Tradition is a part of Indian cultural heritage, yet many communities engaged in this craft-making are perhaps struggling socially and economically. The aim of the current review is to bring different literature resources and discourses on the subject matter and provide a comprehensive knowledge of the traditions with future scope of research. With this reference, the scoping review was conducted by deploying electronic (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) and non-electronic (library resources) searching. A total of 70 papers were included to achieve the intended goal. These 70 papers were further divided into three categories based on the relativity of the subject matter. The review established that there are different paradigms where the subject has not been explored extensively. Hence, the review might encourage researchers and designers to engage with the subject from different perspectives to build further knowledge.

AFRO-INDIAN CROSS-CULTURAL IDENTITY IN HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

Cross-cultural associations provide important insights which become the basis of common cultural ties and universal peace. The narrative of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun presents cross-cultural commonalities with Indian cultural ethos. The narrative reveals several cultural parallels between Indian and African traditions, culture and history. This research paper attempts to study the cross-cultural ties between Indian and African cultural heritage as revealed in the narrative of The Half of a Yellow Sun.

Web accessibility of Indian cultural heritage information: an analytical study of museum websites

PurposeThis paper compares the web accessibility of Indian museum websites assessing the level of compliance to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1). The study aims to assess the accessibility of Indian museum websites in terms of their severity.Design/methodology/approachThe accessibility evaluation of 11 Indian museum websites was conducted using Siteimprove Accessibility Checker (SAC), an automated website testing tool.FindingsThe study results indicate that the mean conformance score for the Indian museum websites for level A was 19.27, while for level AA and AAA, it came out to be 2.63 and 4.09, respectively, with the highest severity scores for error (16.3) followed by review (5.81) criteria and warning (3.81). The major findings indicate that the websites of Indian museums poorly conform to web accessibility guidelines.Practical implicationsThe study's findings will assist the museum's website creators, managers and administrators in determining the level of conformity as per standard accessibility guidelines helping them make strategic decisions to improve the accessibility.Originality/valueMost of the studies available in the field of website accessibility range from the web accessibility of educational institutions, tourism websites, municipal websites and ministerial websites, but there are very few studies investigating the accessibility of museum websites. A quantitative evaluation of different aspects of accessibility was conducted in the study, which can pave the way for the better design of web sites by addressing deficiencies.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SCREEN VERSIONS OF THE RAMAYANA EPIC IN THE CULTURE OF MODERN INDIA IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIO-POLITICAL EVENTS

The ancient Indian epic “Ramayana” despite its venerable age is of great significance to Indian cultural heritage, and the issues that are touched upon in it are still relevant in contemporary India. "Ramayana" is an integral part of modern Indian culture, a source of inspiration in various areas of creativity. In the article, the author examines and compares the ancient Indian epic Ramayana and its screen adaptations of the 20th and early 21st centuries, also reveals the changes that appeared in the context of historical reality. Particular attention is paid to gender issues, namely, the status of women in India, and the appeal of the creators of film versions to this problem. Sita and Rama, being the protagonists of the epic, are revered in India not only as gods, but also as an ideal married couple. In the course of the study, it became clear that the creators of mythological film versions, referring to the authority of the main characters, were able to show both the pressing problems of the society during the filming and to become in some way a harbinger of certain events and changes in society. To cover a wider range of issues, the authors of the films address not only the original text of the epic, but also various local versions. The material for the study was the most significant literary and film sources. The identification of the influence of historical and social processes on the plot of film versions is the main goal of the study.

The Indian diaspora, cultural heritage and cultural transformation in the Colony of Natal (1895–1960) during the period of indenture

The article chronicles diasporic cultural heritage in Natal during the period of indenture in an Indian community in colonial South Africa. Using the qualitative ethnographic research methodology the focus is on the period 1895–1960. This methodology was chosen as it is a qualitative method where observation and/or interaction has taken place in real-life environments. In this article, the Indian cultural heritage as experienced by Mrs Takurine Mahesh Singh who arrived in Port Natal in 1895 is chronicled through the reflective memories of her South African-born eldest grandson, Mr J.S. Singh (b.1930). Further to this, her life in South Africa is explored as she lived in different worlds through various political systems and this life experience extended to include a cultural transformation. During 1960, the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the indentured Indians to the Colony of Natal was commemorated. Hence, this study considers the period 1895–1960. Moving across continents, the indentured Indians arrived in the Colony to work on the sugar plantations. Cultural heritage may be viewed as a sense of one’s subjective self-perception based on one’s language, ancestry, values, rituals, traditions and religion. During the political era of colonisation and indenture, the Indian nationals became displaced. This displacement created an intrinsic emotional threat. This emotional threat compromised their cultural heritage and consequently led to other forms of cultural transformation. During the oral history interviews, it emerged that the Indian nationals and their descendants in South Africa did not experience abject deculturalisation as they were able to practise aspects of their cultural heritage without the complete loss of their identity. This is one of the findings of the article. The findings indicate that complete deculturalisation did not take place even though cultural transformations resulted in the Indian diaspora in Natal.Contribution: With a unique focus on aspects of cultural heritage in the Indian diaspora, this article contributes to the knowledge of the social memory historiography with a spotlight on descendants of Indian indentured labourers in South Africa. The overarching contribution of this article focusses on the cultural transformation during the period under review.

Historical Evidences from the illustration of Pāṇinian Aphorism: A study

Sanskrit literature have contributed immensely to the field of historical study, it is Pāṇini who in his Aṣṭādhyāyī, first set a linguistic model with historical datas for the description of language in 5th Century B.C. Kāśikā-Vṛtti of Jayāditya and Vāmana is a well-coded gloss on Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī. The present study discusses some historical evidences found in Kāśikā in the form of examples and counter examples which are supplied by its authors to illustrate the working of the aphorisms of Aṣṭādhyāyī. Throughout the world, the scholars have shown great interest in the field of language-analysis and in this respect Sanskrit grammatical literature have contributed immensely by studying language-behavior of Ancient India. Like any other ancient language of any part of the globe, Sanskrit has been the successful means of carrying reflections of the ancient Indian cultural heritage. Sanskrit grammarians too have not lagged behind in this mission. As objective recorders of facts, Indian grammarians have tried to reveal various aspects for the study of ancient Indian history. Knowledge of Panini’s grammar is essential for Sanskrit language. The name of Aṣṭādhyāyī comes before us by saying the grammar of Panini. Aṣṭādhyāyī is a composition of aphorisms. It is difficult to explain the meaning of aphorisms without the help of commentary text. The enormous commentaries are available on this. They deal with different perspectives of research and study. Kāśikā or Kāśikā-Vṛtti is a ‘gloss’ whose purpose is to precisely explain sūtras(aphorisms) without leaving any doubt in the minds of the readers. To illustrate the working of aphorisms of Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī, the author of Kāśikā supply historical data in the form of examples and counter examples. Examples of Sanskrit grammatical text constitute a livelily norms of language-use which may be considered as one of its primary aspects. The description of this aspect of language-use in society in relation to various facts of social life tends to be interesting and the legitimate goal of historical investigation. It is taken for granted that the trimuni vyākaraṇa samples and records facts of ancient India from the source of natural speech. Coming unto the time of Jayāditya and Vāmana, the natural speech might be progressing rapidly towards a theoretical possibility. Still the historical recording mainly of diachronic nature noticed in the Kāśikā Vṛtti (KV) makes it appropriate a text of historical investigation. It will not be out of place to prepare below a brief but relevant outline of the nature and necessity of historical investigation when Pāṇini is claimed to be a scholar of the science of ancient Indian history having the critical attitude of accurate recording of facts in his Aṣṭādhyāyī.

Mukul Dey’s Sacred Tree, A Symbole of Hope to Decolonize Indian Art

Dey dedicated his life to the artistic revival of Indian art and adapted the traditionally Western technique of drypoint etching to this end, creating many prints that drew on Indian cultural heritage. The artistic revival of traditional imagery helped fuel the Swadeshi movement by fostering a sense of national pride and attempting to develop a new national style.Dey’s artworks represent his hope to decolonize Indian art and restore Indian national pride.

Weaves and Voices: Tracing the Journey of the Indian Saree

Saree is one of the most popular ethnic Indian garments that enjoy the exclusivity of being reincarnated. It is an integral part of Indian cultural heritage. In the last few years there has been a grand revival of the saree as a popular cultural wear across the nation. Globalization and social media have been highly influential in this resurrection of interest in traditional wear. It all started when two Bengaluru-based friends Anju Maudgal Kadam and Ally Matthan, agreed to wear their sarees 100 times before the end of 2015 and, through social media, encouraged others to do the same. They intended to bring the traditional Indian saree back into their lives, and in the process of reviving the ethnicity they also became storytellers, recounting the histories and narratives woven into each of their sarees. Thereafter the #100sareepact became an Internet sensation, attracting media attention across the world. This paper would like to trace the journey of the Indian saree and also analyze how the saree-pact has forged virtual friendships among women in the Zuckerbergian cyberspace. Apart from creating a new fashion statement across the world it has also resulted in the revival of interest in the traditional Indian weaves.

Horse and rider: who will drive change in ethics and practices of globalised conservation on living heritage sites?

This article explores challenges that surround the implementation of conservation management strategies for living heritage in the context of two case study sites in India. Acknowledging that, in theory, ‘bottom-up’ strategies for expertise exist but are rarely constituted in practice, it presents two vivid but fragile examples where such possibilities might be observed. It first distinguishes the Indian Cultural Heritage context from many conventional conceptions of heritage, defined by its distance from the beholder. Vignettes illustrate how the complexity of simultaneous value systems and beliefs may confound precepts relating to the treatment of tangible heritage. A discussion of the role of the architect in drawing and model making in this context is promoted for the purpose of deeper documentation. It draws upon previous work, which has proposed the enhanced potential to record the ephemeral as well as the monumental using photogrammetry. Building on this, the role of 3D digital models has recently been suggested as a means to contribute to processes for mediating between contested conservation strategies. Challenges of heritage that is at risk of destruction from being overwhelmed by nature are separated from those associated with dereliction or, in this instance and most importantly, increased use. The two case studies, in north and south India – at Ajmer in Rajasthan and at Madurai in Tamil Nadu – are discussed in relation to other examples. These present the opportunity to consider in context how issues of the designation of value at a local or a global scale might relate to corresponding difficulties in terms of governance and control at local or global scales. It again emphasises the role and scope of deeper documentation for this purpose. In terms of safeguarding, it suggests that better means for deeper observation of existing practices of maintenance should specifically be incorporated in future work.

Examining Cultural Differences in the Associations between Appraisals and Emotion Regulation and PostTraumatic Stress Disorder in Malaysian and Australian Trauma Survivors.

Appraisals and emotional regulation play a central role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite research demonstrating cultural differences in everyday appraisals and emotion regulation, little research has investigated the influence of culture on these processes in PTSD. This study examined cultural differences in the associations between appraisals, emotion regulation and PTSD symptoms using trauma survivors from an individualistic Western culture (Australia) and a collectivistic Asian culture (Malaysia). Trauma survivors (N = 228; 107 Australian with European cultural heritage, 121 Malaysian with Malay, Indian or Chinese cultural heritage) completed an on-line survey assessing PTSD (PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 with Life Events Checklist), appraisals (trauma-related, fatalism, cultural beliefs about adversity) and emotion regulation (suppression, reappraisal, interpersonal). The Malaysian group reported significantly greater fatalism, cultural beliefs about adversity, suppression and interpersonal emotion regulation than the Australian group. Greater trauma-specific appraisals, greater suppression, fewer cultural beliefs about adversity, and less use of social skills to enhance positivity were generally associated with greater PTSD symptom severity, with little evidence of cultural group moderating these associations. Interdependent self-construal mediated the relationships between cultural adversity beliefs, enhanced positivity, reappraisal, perspective taking and PTSD symptoms. Independent self-construal mediated the relationships between fatalism and perspective taking and PTSD symptoms. Cultural group did not moderate these indirect effects. Interdependent self-construal mediated the associations between interpersonal regulation strategies of soothing and social modelling with PTSD symptoms for the Malaysian but not the Australian group. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering self-construal and culture in understanding factors associated with PTSD.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RURAL CULTURE IN THE SHORT FICTION OF MANOJ DAS

A brief survey of Indian Short Fiction in English indicates that there is a wide scope for its study. Manoj Das has presented a serene and simple way of life of rural community in India in his fiction which is rapidly disappearing. He is one of the foremost short story writers in Post-Independent India and an outstanding bilingual writer both in English and Oriya at ease. He depicts very effectively and skillfully the way of life of people living in villages, their values, norms, beliefs, attitudes, traditions, customs, superstitions, religion, etc., in his stories. He is a keen observer of the changing socio-political and cultural scenario in the post independent India. The stories of Manoj Das are so subtle and suggestive that they have a concealed element of didacticism, a zeal for social reform as he is keenly interested in fostering and promoting the qualitative life of the rural people of India. Hence, in this paper I presented my views and opinions from Indian perspective keeping in mind the life of the rural people with all their day to day activities and problems as portrayed by Manoj Das. In spite of their penury, the cultural values and conventional ways are not given up. Thus, the author preserves the rich Indian cultural heritage in spite of his depicting the follies and foibles of human life.