Books that have appeared so far on the art of India confine themselves to architecture, sculpture and painting. In the present work, the coverage has been extended for the first time to include music, dance and handicrafts too. The weighty reason for this is that in traditional India, art reflected and further strengthened an integrated living. Temple architecture generally provided halls for the performance of music and dance, for these too were ways of worship. Some of the finest Indian sculptures have dances as their themes. Siva, deity and dancer, has been represented in dance postures and gestures in reliefs which are veritable manuals of dance illustrated through sculpture. Music parties and dances have figured repeatedly in painting. As for crafts, it is not elitist art that makes gracious the daily living of the masses but the art of the artisan who streamlines humble articles of daily use into timelessly enduring beauty. The textual outlines conserve the essential contours of the historical evolution of these arts and familiarize the reader with the masterpieces of the heritage which have been illustrated to the maximum extent possible.
