Culture of Uttar Pradesh

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Taj Mahal, a mausoleum in Uttar Pradesh, draws many visitors

The Culture of

British Resident
's quarters, which are being restored.

Urban culture

Mathura's celebrations of the Holi
festival attract many tourists.

Thousands gather at Allahabad (Prayagraj) to take part in the annual

Badaun
is a religiously significant city whose historical monuments and tombs attract thousand of tourists annually.

The historical towns of

Lord Cornwallis, maintained by the Archaeologic survey of India
.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Uttar Pradesh

Dance and Music

Kathak
Hindustani Classical Music. Tansen, a musician in Mughal Emperor Akbar's court, was a disciple of Swami Haridas
.

Kathak is a classical dance form from Uttar Pradesh. Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was a patron and champion of Kathak. Today, the state is home to two prominent schools of this dance form, Lucknow Gharana and Banaras Gharana.

Music personalities including

Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Gopal Shankar Misra, Siddheshwari Devi, Girija Devi and Sir Cliff Richard
were originally from Uttar Pradesh.

The region's folk heritage includes songs called

Swang, Ramlila (a dramatic enactment of the entire Ramayana), Nautanki, Naqal (mimicry) and Qawwali
.

The

Bhatkhande Music Institute
is situated in Lucknow.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Uttar Pradesh

The common state-language of Uttar Pradesh is standard Hindi. While standard Hindi (

Bundeli, as well as several local dialects that do not have a formal name. Bhojpuri is the second most spoken language of Uttar Pradesh,[2]
it is spoken by almost 11% of the population. Urdu is prominent in Uttar Pradesh as Lucknow was once the centre of Indo-Persianate culture in north India. The language of Lucknow ("Lakhnavi Urdu") is a form of high literary Urdu.

Tourism

Uttar Pradesh attracts large number of visitors, both national and international; with more than 71 million domestic tourists (in 2003) and almost 25% of the All-India foreign tourists visiting Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the top tourist destinations in India. There are two regions in the state where a majority of the tourists go, the Hindu pilgrimage circuit and the Agra circuit.

The pilgrimage circuit includes the most religiously prestigious of the cities considered holy in Hinduism on the banks of the

Mathura ( the birthplace of Krishna), Vrindavan (where Lord Krishna spent his childhood), and Allahabad (Prayagraj) (the confluence or 'holy-sangam' of the Ganges-Yamuna rivers).[citation needed
]

The city of

Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". Agra Fort is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled palatial city. Fatehpur Sikri was the 16th-century capital city near Agra, built by the Mughal emperor Akbar, whose mausoleum
is in Agra.
Dayal Bagh in Agra is a modern-day temple and tourist site with lifelike marble sculptures. Agra's attractions also include Asia's largest spa as well as Asia's second 6D theatre.[citation needed
]

Prem Mandir, Vrindavan, is called the "temple of love."

Protected areas

Some of the main natural protected areas in Uttar Pradesh are:-

Some areas require a

special permit
for non-Indians to visit.

Panoramic view of a part of the Fatehpur Sikri Palace

Dress

The people of Uttar Pradesh wear a variety of native- and Western-style dress. Traditional styles of dress include colourful draped garments – such as

chooridar
on festive occasions. European-style trousers and shirts are also common among men. Young adults are most commonly found in jeans and t-shirts.

Arts and crafts

Pietra Dura marble table top (Agra
)

Uttar Pradesh's centres of art and craft include:

Festivals

Many festivals are religious in origin, although several of them are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed.

Mahashivratri
, etc.

Gallery of tourist sites

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-000-48282-9
    .
  2. ISBN 978-93-90486-72-4
    .
  3. ^ "World Heritage List". Archaeological Survey of India.
  4. ^ "Famous for its handmade carpet industry". Tehelka Magazine. 31 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011.
  5. ^ Singh, Binay (9 September 2010). "Famed Bhadohi carpet gets GI tag". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
  6. ^ "Chhath Puja 2022: Why is Chhath Puja celebrated? Know date, history, significance, celebrations of four days of Chhath". Hindustan Times. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  7. ^ "18 Popular India Festivals". Retrieved 23 December 2007.
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