CBSE Class 7 History Chapter 9 Notes Understanding The Lesson

1. India is a vast country. Its rich traditions, cultures, languages, food, clothes, poetry, dances, music and paintings also tend to associate with each region.

2. These traditions and cultures are intermixed. Thus, some traditions appear specific to some regions, others seem to be similar across regions and sometimes older practices take a new form in other regions.

3. The Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram is one of the best examples of the connection between language and region.

4. Malayalam was spoken in this area and it was used as an official language by the Chera kingdom.

5. In some regions, regional cultures grew around religious traditions. The best example of this process is the cult of Jagannatha (Vishnu) at Puri, Orissa (now Odisha).

6. Anantavarman, ruler of the Ganga dynasty decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannath at Puri.

7. Ananagabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity and proclaimed himself as the ‘deputy⁵ of the god.

8. All those who conquered Orissa, such as the Mughals, the Marathas and the English East India Company, attempted to gain control over the temple. They felt that this would make their rule acceptable to the local people.

9. Rajasthan was called Rajputana by the British. This was an area that was inhabited mainly by the Rajputs, but there were several people other than Rajputs who lived in Rajasthan.

10. State of Rajasthan was ruled by various Rajput families. Prithviraj was one such ruler. These rulers cherished the ideal of the hero who fought valiantly, often choosing death on the battlefield rather than face defeat.

11. Stories about Rajput heroes were recorded in poems and songs which were recited by specially trained minstrels. Ordinary people were also attracted by these stories which often depicted dramatic situations, and a range of strong emotions-loyalty, friendship, love, valour, anger etc.

12. Women are also depicted as following their heroic husbands in both life and death. Those who followed the heroic ideal often had to pay for it with their lives. The practice of sati or the immolation on the funeral pyre of their husbands show their devotion.

13. Kathak was associated with several parts of north India. The term kathak is derived from katha which meant story. The kathaks were originally a caste of storytellers in temples of north India, who embellished their performances with gestures and songs.

14. Kathak began evolving into a distinct mode of dance with the spread of the bhakti movement. The legends of Radha-Krishna were enacted in folk plays called rasa lila, which combined folk dance with the basic gestures of the kathak story-tellers.

15. Under the Mughal emperors, Kathak was performed in the court. It developed in two traditions, one in the courts of Rajasthan (Jaipur) and the other in Lucknow. Under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, it grew into a major art form. Kathak, like several other cultural practices, was viewed with disfavor by most British administrators.

16. Miniature painting was also developed in different ways. Miniatures are small-sized paintings and generally done in water color on cloth or paper. The earliest miniatures were on palm leaves or wood.

17. The Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan patronized highly skilled painters.

18. In the courts of the Deccan and the Rajput courts of Rajasthan, miniature painting developed their distinctive characteristics. Themes from mythology and poetry were depicted at centres such as Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh.

19. Miniature paintings also attracted the state of Himachal Pradesh and developed a bold and intense style called Basohli.

20. The language, Bengali originated from Sanskrit but later on developed its own identity and literature.

21. From 16^th century, people migrated in large numbers from less fertile western Bengal to the forested and marshy regions of south-eastern Bengal.

22. A cult of pir became popular in Bengal and their shrines can be found there. Many temples were constructed in Bengal and local deities began to worshipped in temples. Fish and rice are two important foods of the Bengalis. Brahmanas of Bengal also eat fish.

The Making of Regional Cultures Class 7 CBSE Notes Important Terms

Miniature: Miniature is a small-sized painting. These paintings are made with the help of water colour on cloth or paper.

Pir: A Persian word meaning a spiritual guide.

Sati: It is an act of immolation of wife on the funeral pyre of her husband.

Kathak: This is a form of dance together with story.

Rasa Lila: Folk plays of Radha and Krishna.

Gharana: Tradition of classical dance and music.

Lilatilakam: A text of grammar and poetics which took shape in Manipravalam.

Notes of History Class 7 Chapter 9 Time Period

1230: King Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity Purushottama Jagannatha and pro­ claimed as the deputy of the God.

1739: Nadir Shah attacked Delhi and conquered it.