41. The traditional festival called ‘Fagli’ is celebrated in which Indian state?
[A] Mizoram
[B] Nagaland
[C] Himachal Pradesh
[D] Madhya Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Himachal Pradesh]
Notes:
The traditional festival called ‘Fagli’ has been recently celebrated in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The annual festival is being celebrated for several years to observe the “victory of good over evil”. This festival is also celebrated to mark the end of winter or the beginning of spring.
The people of the state were dressed in traditional attire with masks on their faces and followed the traditional celebrations associated with the festival. This festival will continue for the next few days in the district.
42. ‘Hola Mohalla’ is a festival celebrated in which Indian state/UT?
[A] Andaman & Nicobar Islands
[B] Punjab
[C] Gujarat
[D] Maharashtra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Punjab]
Notes:
‘Hola Mohalla’ is a festival celebrated annually in Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib by the people from the Sikh community.
The festival is usually celebrated on the second day of lunar month of Chet, which will follow the day of Holi festival. This year, the ‘Hola Mohalla’ festival fell on March 10. It is celebrated to symbolise martial bravery and fighting prowess with music.
43. ‘Dharma Chakra Parvattana’ is a famous celebration of which religion?
[A] Jainism
[B] Buddhism
[C] Hinduism
[D] Sikhism
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Buddhism]
Notes:
‘Dharma Chakra Parvattana’ is a famous celebration of Buddhism, which commemorates Gautam Buddha’s first discourse to his first five disciples at Sarnath.
The International Buddhist Confederation, under the Ministry of Culture, celebrates Ashadha Poornima as Dharma Chakra Day. The Prime Minister has recently conveyed his greetings on Ashadha Poornima, also known as Guru Purnima.
44. Which Union Ministry has started the project to reprint ‘Mongolian Kanjur’ manuscripts?
[A] Ministry of Culture
[B] Ministry of Law and Justice
[C] Ministry of Communication
[D] Ministry of Science and Technology
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ministry of Culture]
Notes:
The Union Ministry of Culture has launched a project of reprinting 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).
The National Mission for Manuscripts was launched in 2003 by the Union Government, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Recently, the first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur was presented to the President Ram Nath Kovind on the occasion of Guru Purnima. Mongolian Kanjur is the most important religious text in Mongolia.
45. Which Indian state celebrates the birth anniversary of poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya as ‘Bhanu Jayanti’?
[A] Sikkim
[B] Assam
[C] Meghalaya
[D] Nagaland
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Sikkim]
Notes:
The birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya is celebrated as ‘Bhanu Jayanti’, in the state of Sikkim.
The poet is revered in Nepali Literature as ‘Adikavi’ and he is said to have laid the foundation of the Nepali literature. He had also translated several religious scripts from Sanskrit to Nepali. The Governor Ganga Prasad and Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang participated in the commemorative event.
46. Which agricultural festival has been celebrated recently in Odisha and Chhattisgarh?
[A] Nuakhai Juhar
[B] Pongal
[C] Lohiri
[D] Bihu
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Nuakhai Juhar]
Notes:
‘Nuakhai Juhar’ is the agricultural festival and one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in Odisha, Chhattisgarh. It is also celebrated in regions of neighbouring states. This festival is celebrated to welcome the new crop of the season.
‘Nua’ means new and ‘Khai’ means eat. During the festival, people worship food and farmers offer their first agriculture produce from their lands to Goddess Samaleswari.
47. Which state is to host a State Dragonfly Festival in association with WWF-India?
[A] Tamil Nadu
[B] Kerala
[C] Rajasthan
[D] Gujarat
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Kerala]
Notes:
The state of Kerala is set to host the first-ever State Dragonfly Festival named ‘Thumbimahotsavam 2020’.
This is a part of the National Dragonfly festival being organised by the WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society & Indian Dragonfly Society. It also involves the collaboration of NBB, UNDP, UNEP and IUCN- CEC. The official mascot of the festival is named ‘Pantalu’.
48. The Union Culture Ministry has announced the formation of how many new ASI circles?
[A] Three
[B] Five
[C] Seven
[D] Ten
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Seven]
Notes:
The Union Culture Ministry has announced the formation of seven new circles of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
This has been announced following the Prime Minister’s call to preserve and register archaeological monuments. The new circles are – Trichy (Tamil Nadu), Raiganj (West Bengal), Rajkot (Gujarat), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and Hampi (Karnataka). Earlier there were 29 circles of ASI in India.
49. Onam is the cultural festival of which Indian State/ UT?
[A] Assam
[B] Kerala
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] Karnataka
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Kerala]
Notes:
Onam is the most important festival celebrated in the state of Kerala. It is also called as “Thiruvonam” and is celebrated at the beginning of the month Chingam of Malayalam calendar.
One important aspect of the celebration is “Onapookolam” which is a floral carpet similar to rangoli that is decorated with flowers and petals. The celebrations also include “Vallamkali” (boat race) and “Onasadaya” (banquet).
