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by the Mughal kings. Miniature paintings are small in size but show things in great

detail. They show landscape, hunting and battles scenes, and stories from the life
of the God Krishna.

Architecture

Architecture, or the art of building, was earlier inspired

by the religion. Buddhism inspired the building of many

stupas. Emperor Ashoka and his successors build the
beautiful stupas at Sanchi and Sarnath. Sanchi Stupa, Sanchi

Several Hindu temples with beautiful carvings were built later. The Kailash Temple

at Ellora has been carved from a single stone.
The Sun Temple at Konark, Meenakshi Temple at

Madurai, Khajuraho Temples in Madhya Pradesh and
the Dilwara own style of architecture to India. The

Taj Mahal, with its dome and minarets is the best
example. The Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Jama Masjid and

Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi are few examples of their
Sun Temple, Konark grand architecture.

The British brought new styles of architecture to India.

The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, Rashtrapati Bhavan

and Parliament House in Delhi are some beautiful
buildings built by the British.

Our Festivals Victoria Memorial

You have seen that India is a land of variety. Few other countries have so many
different types of people, with different languages and religions. Naturally, we
celebrate more festivals than many others countries. We celebrate three types of

festivals.
• National days such as Independence Day (15 August) Republic Day (26

January) and Gandhi Jayanti (2 October)
• Religious festivals are such as Diwali, Eid, Christmas, Gurpurab, Ganesh

Chaturthi, Dussehra and Durga Puja, Buddh Purnima, and Mahavir Jayanti.
• Harvest festivals are celebrated when a crop is harvested. They Express the

joy of the farmers. Some of these are Onam in Kerala, Pongal in Tamil Nadu,
Bihu in Assam, Holi in Uttar Pradesh and other states of North India and
Baisakhi in Punjab.

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