Culture & Heritage

Predominant population of the district comprises of Hindus followed by Muslim, Bhudhists, Sikhs, Christians and Jains constitute the negligible proportion of the district population. The main Rajput communities in the district are Katoch, Pathania, Dogra, Jasrotia, Jaswal, Jamwal, Katwal, Guleria, Mian, Thakur, Rana, Rathi etc. Scheduled tribes population is negligible in the district. Jhamakada is a popular group dance performed in Kangra. This dance is exclusively performed by women. The dance is accompanied by a variety of percussion instruments and lyrical songs.

Kangra Paintings

Kangra painting is the pictorial art of Kangra, named after Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, a former princely state, which patronized the art. It became prevalent with the fading of Basohli school of painting in mid-18th century,and soon produced such a magnitude in paintings both in content as well as volume, that the Pahari painting school, came to be known as Kangra paintings. Though the main centres of Kangra paintings are Guler, Basohli, Chamba, Nurpur, Bilaspur and Kangra. Later on this style also reached Mandi, Suket, Kulu, Arki, Nalagarh and Tehri Garhwal (represented by Mola Ram), and now are collectively known as Pahari painting, covering the style that was patronized by Rajput rulers between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Pahari paintings, as the name suggests, were paintings executed in the hilly regions of India, in the sub-Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh. It is in the development and modification of Pahari paintings, that the Kangra School features. Under the patronage of Maharaja Sansar Chand, it became the most important center of Pahari painting. To see some of these master pieces one can visit the Maharaja Sansar Chand Museum, adjoining the Kangra Fort in Kangra Himachal. This museum has been founded by the erst-while Royal Family of Kangra.

Pragpur Heritage Village

Pragpur is a village situated in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Lying in the shadows of Dhauladhar range, and developed about 3 centuries ago, the village of Pragpur along with the nearby village of Garli, is notified as a “Heritage Village” by a State Government notification dated 9 December 1997. As per the constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Pragpur village is administrated by the sarpanch, who is the elected representative of the village. Pragpur was founded in the late 16th century by the Patials in memory of Princess Prag Dei of the Jaswan Royal family. The area of Pragpur was part of the principality of Jaswan whose chief, in the late 16th or early 17th century, charged a band of learned men, led by a Kuthiala Sood, to find a suitable place to commemorate Princess ‘Prag’ of his royal lineage.

Pragpur is an ornamental village with unchanged shops, cobblestone streets, old water tanks, mud-plastered walls and slate-roofed houses. The narrow streets, lined with fort-like houses, havelis and villas, are indicative of the area’s aged charisma. Due to its unique architecture and pristine beauty, the state government of Himachal Pradesh declared Pragpur as the country’s first Heritage Village in December 1997. Prag means “pollen” in Sanskrit and pur means “full of”, so Prag-pur means “full of pollen”, which rightly describes the area when it is ablaze with blossoms in spring.

Along with Pragpur, the nearby village of Garli is a part of the Heritage Zone. The Judges Court is a resort built in a typical Anglo-Indian style of architecture. It stands in 12 acres of greens, and is just a short walk from the village core and the Taal. Apart from the Judges Court, which was built in 1918, Mr Lal has restored his 300-year-old ancestral house.