r/IndianArtAndThinking

I would like to know more about the cultural syncretism in Rajasthan as well as in Kerala, because it seems that this is what resulted in them both having such spiritually inundated cultural artefacts. Take for example the music in Rajasthan (the instrumentation: pungi, alghoza, the full nagada band with shankh and cymbals; and the style of singing devi ka solwa) and in Kerala (the Panchavadyam ensemble, Koodiyattam instrumentation and the style of vachika or recitation). In both cases they have a highly numinous sound world, comparable to the liturgical music of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as that of the Orthodox monastics on Mount Athos.

And that’s just to isolate one component of the two cultures. On the whole the cultures of these two states both really seem as though to originate from and call us back to this vast Original Land of the Heart. Sorry to be high falutin but I really don’t know how else to talk about these things..

The two states would seem to have in common a history of interaction with other spiritually and culturally fertile civilizations throughout their history. (Kerala’s history as trade port. And Rajasthan’s position near the silk road?). I’d appreciate more info and clarification on those histories.