14. Of the fine arts, architecture, in the post-Buddhistic age, has been of the simple type, even the forts look like so much jerry-building. Sculpture and statuary have been non- existent, There are enough paintings in Panjabi manuscripts as also separately, relating to he Hindu Avataras and the Sikh Gurus to merit our patient and laborious study of them as independent products of a Panjab School of Painting. Panjabi Caligraphy has been well developed, Mural paintings of the Sikh period are of quite a high order. Multan and Rawalpindi produce good painted pottery. Taken ail in all, the Panjabis, are not an esthetic people, In villages they show the usual Indian preference for ornaments of gold and silver, Historical temples and their idols have disappeared and no idea can be formed of their nature.
15. The ideals of human beauty are simple and such ideal beauty is placed among the Jats and Khatris of the West Panjab.
16. The eye for the beauty of nature is rare. But a few big facts of Nature like the clouds, the morning birds, the rivers, and the ripened crops are observed. The grand and glorious mountainous scenery in the North-West, North and North-East fails to catch the attention of the people, The hilly people show little recognition of the wealth of beauty around them, in their tastes and habits and homes and occupations. What a sad contrast they present to the Burman Buddhists !
17. The unification, brought about consciously and unconsciously, of Hindu and Muslim cultures in all spheres is the greatest single phenomenon visible to the eye and mind of the outsider. The standards of heroism, sacrifice, chivalry, simplicity and service set both in the past and in the present by the Sikhs are a matter of universal appreciation. The upliftment of the masses by the Muslim Saints, the love of and return to Sanskrit learning re-secured to the Panjab Hindus by the Arya Samaj, the revival of Vedanta effected almost single-handed by Swami Rams Tirtha (aided by the Urdu writings of Shiv Brat Lal and Suraj Narayan Mihr) are other features of modern Panjab life.
