Chapter1

Geographical, Historical and cultural background of Madhya Pradesh:

Geographical BackgroundMadhya Pradesh is gifted for its natural beauty. The whole land is decorated by
rivers like Narmada, Son, Tapi, Shipra, Betwa, Ken and valleys like Mandu,
Panchmari and Flora and Fauna and reserved forests. Three places have been
declared as World Heritage sites by UNESCO- Bhimbetka caves, Khajuraho
temples and SaanchiStupa. The state is bordered on the west by Gujarat, on the
northwest by Rajasthan, on the northeast by Uttar Pradesh, on the east by
Chhattisgarh, and on the south by Maharashtra.
The state straddles the Narmada River, which runs east and west between
the Vindhya and Satpura ranges; these ranges and the Narmada are the
traditional boundary between the north and south of India. The highest point in
Madhya Pradesh is Dhupgarh. The Narmada is the longest river in Madhya
Pradesh. It flows westward through a rift valley, with the Vindhya ranges
sprawling along its northern bank and the Satpura range of mountains along the
southern. Its tributaries include the Banjar, the Tawa, the Machna, the Shakkar,
the Denwa and the Sonbhardra rivers. The Tapti River runs parallel to Narmada,
and also flows through a rift valley. The NarmadaTapti systems carry and
enormous volume of water and provide drainage for almost a quarter of the land
area of Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh has a subtropical climate. Like most of north India, it has a hot
dry summer (AprilJune), followed by monsoon rains (JulySeptember) and a
cool and relatively dry winter.Madhya Pradesh is home to 09 National Parks,
including Bandhavgarh National Park, Kanha National Park, Satpura National
Park, Sanjay National Park, Madhav National Park, Van Vihar National
Park, Mandla Plant Fossils National Park, Panna National Park, and Pench
National Park.[23] There are also a number of natural preserves,
including Amarkantak, Bagh Caves.
Historical BackgroundIn the history of Madhya Pradesh the first thing comes in mind is Bhimbetka.
Isolated remains of Homo erectus found in Hathnora in the Narmada
Valley indicate that Madhya Pradesh might have been inhabited in the
Middle era.Painted pottery dated to the later mesolithic period has been found in
the Bhimbetka rock shelters.Chalcolithic sites belonging to Kayatha culture
(21001800 BCE) and Malwa culture (17001500 BCE) have been discovered in
the western part of the state.

Mesolithic rock painting, Bhimbetka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bhimbetka caves hold the magnificent marks, the mesolithic rock paintings, of
the peoples of 2100 BC. The Stupa of Sanchi still holds the pride of Buddhism.
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments shows the richness of nagara style
architectural symbolism and their sculptures.

Stupa no. 3, Sanchi

KandariyaMahadev, Khajuraho

The city of Ujjain arose as a major centre in the region, during the second wave
of Indian urbanization in the sixth century BCE. It served as the capital of
the Avanti kingdom. Other kingdoms mentioned in ancient epics
Malava, Karusha, Dasarna andNishada have also been identified with parts of
Madhya Pradesh.
Chandragupta Maurya united northern India around 320 BCE, establishing
the Mauryan Empire, which included all of modern-day Madhya Pradesh. Ashoka
the greatest of Mauryan rulers brought the region under firmer control. After the
decline of the MauryaEmpire, the region was contested among the Sakas,
theKushanas, the Satavahanas, and several local dynasties during the 1st to 3rd
centuries CE. Subsequently, the region came under the control of the Gupta
Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, and their southern neighbors,

the Vakataka's. The Medieval period saw the rise of the Gurjar clans, including
the Paramaras of Malwa and the Chandelas of Bundelkhand. The Chandellas
built the majestic Hindu-Jain temples atKhajuraho, which represent the
culmination of Hindu temple architecture in Central India.
The Malwa Sultanate was conquered by the Sultanate of Gujaratin 1531. In the
1540s, most parts of the state fell to Sher Shah Suri, and subsequently to Hemu.
After his defeat in the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 to Akbar, most of Madhya
Pradesh came under the Mughal rule. Between 1720 and 1760,
the Marathas took control of most of Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the
establishment of semi-autonomous states under the nominal control of
the Peshwa of Pune.
After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the British took control of the entire region.
All the sovereign states in the region became princely states ofBritish India,
governed by the Central India Agency. During the 1857 uprising, rebellions
happened in the northern parts of the state, led by leaders like Tatya Tope.
However, these were crushed by the British and the princes loyal to them. The
state witnessed a number of anti-British activities and protests during the Indian
independence movement.[20] Several notable leaders such as Chandra Shekhar
Azad, B. R. Ambedkar, Shankar Dayal Sharma and AtalBihari Vajpayee were
born in what is now Madhya Pradesh.
After the independence of India, Madhya Pradesh was created in 1950. The new
states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopalwere formed out of the
Central India Agency. In 1956, the states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh,
and Bhopal were merged into Madhya Pradesh.

Cultural BackgroundMadhya Pradesh is also recognized by its classical and folk music. There are so
many folk dance forms throughout MP. Why these much of art forms have come
from this place is because of its natural beauty and culture. The nature itself
shows the art of the creator. It contains 11 national parks, a number of natural
preserves and biosphere reserves. These forests are also there for the
conservation of tigers, leopards, elephants etc. S H Raza spent his childhood in
this environment and in his last phase of paintings he emphasized on abstract
landscape only, maybe it is the reflection of these forests, rivers, water.
Three sites in Madhya Pradesh have been declared World Heritage
Sites by UNESCO: the Khajuraho Group of Monuments(1986) including Devi
Jagadambi temple, Rewa, Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989) and the Rock
Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003).
Madhya Pradesh is noted for its classical and folk music. Some of the
noted Hindustani classical musicgharanas in Madhya Pradesh include
the Maihargharana, the Gwalior gharana and Seniagharana. Two of the medieval

India's most noted singers, Tansen and BaijuBawra, were born near Gwalior in
present-day Madhya Pradesh.
The local styles of folk singing include Faga, Bhartahari, Sanjageet,
Bhopa, Kalbelia, Bhat/Bhand/Charan, Vasdeva, Videsia, KalgiTurra, Nirgunia,
Alha, PandwaniGayan and GarbaGarbiGovalan.

Charkula Dance of Madhya Pradesh

Teratali-Dance

Maanch of Madhya Pradesh