“Art is immortal”, such a saying would have held value if art was still standing on the pristine pedestal that it had occupied for many a century of human history. But today art is nothing more than a commodity, to be bought and sold like goods in the market. In today’s world, art has to balance supply and demand ratios. If even one of those two pillars falls, then that art is deemed unfit for consumption and eventually dies.
India is considered to a country well endowed with its share of fine arts. After all, each and every region of India has its own special forms of art, be it in the field of music, dance, literature or painting. Not providing adequate attention towards these forms is as heinous a crime as committed by Caesar when burning down the Library of Alexandria. From the Chhau dance of Eastern India, mainly West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa to the Akam and Puram styles of Tamil poetry, these marvellous forms of art, which are in no way inferior to other popular forms, have been neglected and their practice is diminishing due to the low income available through the artforms. Here are some of the beautiful arts of India that have been forgotten and washed away by the tides of time:

1. Chhau Dance

Chhau dance is an Eastern Indian martial, tribal and folk dance practised in Purulia of West Bengal, Seraikella of Jharkhand and Mayurbhanj of Orissa. The dancers wear oversized masks and perform martial arts and acrobatics, enacting stories from Indian epics and literature.

2. Sattriya

Sattriya is an Assamese dance form originating in Krishna-centered Vaishnavism monasteries. This dance form tells stories and folktales by incorporating elements of ballads, dance and drama.

3.Baul

The Baul folksong originated in Bengal and is heavily influenced by the Bhakti and Sufi movements. They mainly encompass religious themes and the artists pour out their feeling into the songs and these brilliant pieces of improvised music are never written down but are carried forward through an oral tradition.

4.Santhal Paintings

Santhals are a tribal community native to Nepal. The themes of their paintings revolve around merry themes, including harvest times or other joy-inspiring daily activities. These paintings originated in the Aryan period but are interestingly contemporary in human figure design, which is dramatic, yet realistic and symmetrical.

5. Rhogan Painting

Rhogan painting of Kutch is the one that has taken the hardest fall with only one family in India still practising the art. In this art form, the artisans use a blunt needle to stretch a thin wire of paint which is carefully twisted on to the fabric to make different motifs and all this while the needle never touches the cloth.

Thus, we see that art can be considered as a symbol for God or the immortal deity. God is only immortal so long as humans still believe in Him or have faith in his existence. Art is immortal as long as it is remembered by the masses.