Art & Culture Current Affairs MCQs

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Shad Nongkrem, also known as Nongkrem Dance, is a major indigenous religious and cultural festival of the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya. It is celebrated annually during autumn at Smit, the headquarters of Hima Khyrim, about 20 km from Shillong. The five-day festival, called Ka Pomblang Nongkrem, is dedicated to Ka Blei Synshar, seeking blessings for a good harvest and people’s prosperity. The Syiem (king) of Khyrim and high priests perform rituals and offer oblations to Lei Shyllong, the presiding deity of Shillong Peak.

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Recently, a portion of the Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha from India was enshrined at Tashichhodzong Monastery in Thimpu, Bhutan. The Piprahwa Relics were discovered in 1898 at Piprahwa Stupa, Uttar Pradesh, linked to ancient Kapilavastu, Buddha’s homeland. Relics include bone fragments of Lord Buddha, crystal caskets, gold ornaments, gemstones, and a sandstone coffer. An inscription in Brahmi script links the relics to the Sakya clan, enshrined around the 3rd century BC.

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In November 2025, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) banned tourist entry into the ‘Nata Mandap’ of the Konark Sun Temple in Puri district, Odisha. The Konark Sun Temple is located on the coastline of Odisha. It is also known as Surya Devalaya and is dedicated to the Hindu Sun God, Surya. Historical texts show that King Narasimha I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty built it around 1250 CE.

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Government of India has granted Geographical Indication (GI) registration to two traditional Lepcha musical instruments — Tungbuk and Pumtong Pulit. The instruments were registered on 5th November 2025 under the Musical Instrument category of the GI Registry. The certificates were presented during the 1st Tribal Business Conclave in New Delhi, organised by the Ministries of Culture, Tribal Affairs, and Commerce & Industry. Tungbuk is a three-string instrument, and Pumtong Pulit is a bamboo flute, both central to Lepcha folk music and spirituality.

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Recently, the Assam Chief Minister went to London to start the process of bringing back the sacred Vrindavani Vastra from the British Museum. Vrindavani Vastra is a 400-year-old Assamese textile depicting Lord Krishna’s childhood stories and divine acts in Vrindavan. It is woven in silk using the complex ‘lampas’ technique that requires two weavers working together. It uses many coloured threads like red, white, black, yellow, and green. It was created under Srimanta Sankardeva on the request of Koch king Nara Narayan. Nara Narayan had sheltered Sankardeva when he was targeted by the Ahom kingdom.

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Hilly villages of Garhwal in Uttarakhand celebrate Mangsir Bagwal, a post-Diwali folk festival rooted in agrarian life and local history. It is held in the lunar month of Mangsir (Margashirsha), about one month after Kartik Diwali, marking a delayed festival of lights. The celebration honours Garhwali commander Madho Singh Bhandari, who returned victorious from battle against Tibetan forces after Diwali. The festival coincides with the end of the winter-harvest season, when villagers gather for feasting, music and dance.

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Archaeologists in Turkey discovered new carved human faces, including the first human-faced T-shaped pillar at Karahan Tepe, dating back 11,000 years. Karahan Tepe is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site and part of Turkey’s Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) project, among 12 earliest ritual-residential settlements. It is located in Sanliurfa Province, southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, close to Gobekli Tepe. It represents one of the earliest symbolic and communal societies, predating widespread agriculture.

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India’s Deepavali (Diwali) has recently been added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising its cultural significance at the global level. The UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is designed to highlight and preserve living cultural traditions, practices, and expressions that communities consider an essential part of their identity. The list recognises and safeguards cultural practices that are actively performed and upheld by communities across the world. It aims to promote cultural diversity, strengthen community identity, and ensure the continuity of traditional knowledge.

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UNESCO has inscribed Pakistan’s Boreendo on the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding list, recognising its cultural fragility and the need for immediate preservation efforts. The Boreendo is a spherical clay vessel-flute that produces soft, mellow and breathy tones traditionally used in folk melodies, pastoral songs and winter gatherings in Sindh. It originated in Keti Mir Muhammad Lund in Sindh, and its lineage traces back to musical artefacts from Mohenjo-daro, linking it to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The instrument is handcrafted from terracotta, using sun-dried and kiln-fired clay, which makes it an environmentally sustainable musical craft.

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Ponduru Khadi, a traditional handspun and handwoven cotton fabric from Andhra Pradesh, has recently been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Ponduru Khadi is locally known as Patnulu and is produced exclusively in Ponduru village of Srikakulam district, reflecting the region’s rich textile heritage. The fabric has also been nominated under the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme for Srikakulam district, highlighting its economic and cultural importance.