Gurukul « School of Arts » Jaipur, Rajasthan (INDE)

GURUKUL is an ancient word for “school”. Synonymous of “Ashram”, we can find it in the Ramayana and in the Mahabharata, the Hindi sacred mythology (and literature). In the Gurukuls, or Ashrams scholars lived in community and learned the traditional arts. The Gurukul would be a learning institute or University of the highest order offering traditional and cultural education.

Gurukul was the best place to became skilled at any of the Traditional Arts. These institutions spread all over India often created and sustained by the Maharajas and Emperors, wanted people to benefit from this kind of instruction, have almost gone today. Modern life brought up transformations and as local and private volunteering institutions disappeared, it doesn’t exist anymore a way for the Cultural Arts to be taught to the whole Indian community.

Fortunately some artists like Guru Gurdhari Maharaj researched to study how these Arts could be revived by the future generations. Yet only a few can take advantage of it. For the above reasons, Cultural Heritage tends to disappear as the majority of the Indian people don’t have access to it. Guru Girhari Mahraj is very enthusiastic with the Gurukul project and thinks it as a positive continuity of the work he has been doing for the safeguard of the Cultural Heritage.

Bollywood, backed by strong Western influence plays a very powerful role on the younger generation who are fascinated with latest trends and progress in technology and western lifestyle. However, technological advances do not necessarily mean compromising on the richness of Cultural Heritage and tradition. Accepting this as a challenge, the Gurukul Project works towards encouraging young Bollywood generation to discover and keep alive the richness of a millennium cultural testimony of the genius of mankind.