Patronage To Art and Literature
The contemporary writings mention Garhwal as a very prosperous state during Fateh Shah's reign. Fateh shah was a great patron of art and literature. Like Vikramaditya and Akbar, he is said to have nine illustrious figures (Navaratnas) in his court: Sureshanand Barthwal, Revatram Dhasmana, Rudridutt Kimothi, Hari Dutt Nautiyal, Vasvanand Bahuguna, Shashidhar Dangwal, Sahdev Chandola, Kirit Ram Khanthola, and Hari Dutt Thapliyal.
Some of the encomiastic works from Ratan Shah's period include:
- Fateh Shah Karna Granth by Jatadhar (or Jatashankar)
- Fateh Prakash by Ratan Kavi (or Kshem Ram)
- Vrit Vichar by Kavi Raj Sukhdev Misra
- Vrit Kaumudi or Chhandsar Pingal by Mati Ram
Ratan Kavi's eulogies state that there was perfect law and order in Garhwal during Fateh Shah's reign, and people did not lock their houses as a result. Kavi Raj Sukhdev Misra praises the Raja's gallantry. Mati Ram's Vrit Kaumudi compares the Raja's generosity with that of the Maratha king Shivaji. Ananda Coomaraswamy mentions that two painters from the Mughal court, Shyam Dass and Har Dass, accompanied Suleiman Shikoh to Garhwal; it is possible that these painters got patronage during the reign of Fateh Shah, which resulted in the birth of the Garhwali school of painting.
Read more about this topic: Fateh Shah
Famous quotes containing the words patronage, art and/or literature:
“Each of the Arts whose office is to refine, purify, adorn, embellish and grace life is under the patronage of a Muse, no god being found worthy to preside over them.”
—Eliza Farnham (1815–1864)
“The English public, as a mass, takes no interest in a work of art until it is told that the work in question is immoral.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“Our leading men are not of much account and never have been, but the average of the people is immense, beyond all history. Sometimes I think in all departments, literature and art included, that will be the way our superiority will exhibit itself. We will not have great individuals or great leaders, but a great average bulk, unprecedentedly great.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)