Indian Art

It is, however, in the masterly carved miniature sculptures unearthed at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, the two main centers of the Indus Valley civilization, that the early Indian artist's ability is shown at its best. The mastery of his skill and his feeling for his subject matter are exemplified in the small bronze figure of a dancing girl found at Mohenjo Daro. Numerous other small sculptures have been unearthed at these sites which give compelling proof of the range of the first Indian artists' artistry.

Some time between 2000-1500 BC, hordes of marauders poured in through the north-west passes. These Aryans ("noble people") attacked the peace-loving inhabitants of the fertile Indus Valley The Aryans had come looking for land and here they had found the best. Swiftly, they put an end to a civilization which had taken thousands of years to evolve. They destroyed its cities, its way of life, its arts.

The Aryans wandered the vast Indo-Gangetic plains for a thousand years, burning forests for cultivation and making more conquests; but never once turning their hands to clay, stone or metal. However, they created the most extraordinary body of literature in the world, compiled in four orally transmitted volumes of hymns known as the Vedas, which contain the essence of Hindu thought and principles. Why there was no sculpture, no architecture, or any of the other known art forms remains a mystery. But art, as such, would return — the new Indians would soon take up clay and stone and metal and also a new medium, paint. They would do so because of a new religion in the land and yet other invasions.