Cultural Mosaic

Islamic architecture  | by Cultural Mosaic Written by | Gaurav Mathur , Edited By | Sneha Rajadhyaksha Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture and beyond. The principal Islamic architectural types are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace, the Fort, the School, and urban buildings. For all these types of constructions, Islamic architecture developed a rich vocabulary that was also used for buildings of lesser importance such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture. The following article, recalling salient aspects of the rich tradition of Islamic architecture, provides a brief discussion on the concept of Islamic architecture and reviews a number of its key theoretical issues circulating in the Western academic circles. Although Muslim architecture has been widely investigated, it...

Indian Culture | by Cultural Mosaic Written by | Gaurav Mathur , Edited By | Sneha Rajadhyaksha India, in the past, witnessed successive waves of migration from various foreign forces like the Persians, Arabs, British and Turks. Though, with time, all of them retreated, they left behind their indelible mark which is still reflected in the culture and traditions of India.    From one state to another, there is so much variation in the language, attire, beliefs and other demographic aspects of the denizens that it is simply mind-boggling. However, there are some very prominent features that bind all Indians to the brand 'Hindustani'.    These traditions range from the aarti done to welcome the guests to touching the feet of the elders. The cultural traditions of India have been passed on from generation to generation and have become deeply rooted in the India...

Indian Literature | by Cultural Mosaic Written by | Gaurav Mathur , Edited By | Sneha Rajadhyaksha Indian literature is generally believed to be the oldest in the world. With vast cultural diversities, there are around two dozen officially recognized languages in India. Over thousands of years, huge literature has been produced in various languages in India. It is to be noted that a large part of Indian literature revolves around devotion, drama, poetry and songs. Sanskrit language dominated the early Indian literary scene whereas languages like Prakrit and Pali too had fair share as they were the languages of the common people. It is interesting to note that the Hindu literary traditions have dominated a large part of Indian culture. These traditions are well reflected in great works like Vedas and epics such as Ramayana and ...

The Principles of Ayurveda | by Cultural Mosaic Written by | Gaurav Mathur , Edited By | Sneha Rajadhyaksha As modern science explains that the whole universe is made up of three major component ie. solid, liquid and gases, similarly Ayurveda explains about panch bhautik sidhanta. According the Ayurveda all living and non living beings are originated from panch mahabhuta. Vata Vayu (air) and Akasha (ether/space) Pitta Agni The Energy (fire) and Jal (water) Kapha Jal (water) and Prithvi (earth) Aakash It is similar to the empty space.Space is the only factor which makes the things to differentiate among themselves.Suppose there are ten stones then due to the space among these stones we can easily differentiate them separately. Now suppose they are placed in a bunch it will be difficult to count it from distance as it will look like one so the space is a factor which provides identity to a substance or work. Vayu It is similar to air. It is that factor which provides ...

Luxury Craft and Art  Industry in India | by Cultural Mosaic Written by | Gaurav Mathur , Edited By | Sneha Rajadhyaksha India’s industrialization and participation in the modern world economy is decades old. Nevertheless, millions of Indians still depend on indigenous modes of production, traditional skills and techniques to make a living based on handmade products. These craftspeople and artisans are the backbone of the non-farming rural economy. Despite some instances of well-known and avant- garde design houses using handmade products and successful crafts-based businesses like Swapnil Saundarya Label , the majority of craft production remains unorganized and informal with its full market potential untapped, especially by the artisan, who more often than not struggles for sustenance. Propelled by loss of markets, declining skills and difficulty catering to new markets, a large number of artisans have moved to urban centers in search of low, unskilled employment in industry...

The Tree 0f Life The Kabbalah | by Cultural Mosaic Written by | Gaurav Mathur , Edited By | Sneha Rajadhyaksha The kabbalah is a magical framework constructed by the Hebrews as a structure for their mystical thoughts. It is comprised of ten sephiroth, with twenty-two paths interconnecting them. This is "The Tree of Life" The word "Sephir," from which "Sephira" is derived, is usually translated as "Book" "Letter" or "Number" but the underlying idea is "Information" or "Pattern" The ideas interconnecting the Sephiroth, The Zodiac and The Elements The sephiroth operate on a numeric progression. The ideas corresponding to the number one naturally lead on to the ideas corresponding to the number two, and so on. The Sephiroth, when referred to by number, are always shown in their descending order, referring to their order of emanation. However, the task of the mystic is to move his consciousness in their reverse...