Art & Culture Current Affairs MCQs

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Thousands of devotees have gathered in Assam for the Ambubachi Mela 2025 at the Kamakhya Temple, one of the biggest religious events in Northeast India. The Ambubachi festival is held every June during the monsoon season at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya and is a key centre of Tantrik Shaktism, a Hindu spiritual tradition.

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Recently, the annual Kataragama Esala festival began in Sri Lanka with a flag hoisting ceremony. Devotees completed a long Pada Yatra, walking over 500 kilometers from Jaffna in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula to Kataragama. The festival is celebrated by people of different faiths and strengthens cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka. The main temple, Maha Devala, is dedicated to Skanda, the Hindu God of War, who has six heads, twelve arms, twenty names, and two wives. Skanda is also worshipped by Buddhists as Katharagama Deviyo, and Muslims associate the place with Hazrat Khizr.

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India’s Defence Minister recently gifted a Madhubani painting to his Chinese counterpart during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao, China. Madhubani painting, also called Mithila painting, comes from the Madhubani district in the Mithila region of Bihar. It is traditionally made by women using fingers, twigs, nib-pens, matchsticks, and brushes with natural dyes and bright earthy colours.

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Recently, the Maratha Military Landscapes of India were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming India’s 44th World Heritage Site. The landscapes include 12 forts from the 17th to 19th centuries CE, showcasing the strategic brilliance and architectural skill of the Maratha Empire. These forts are located in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and include Salher, Shivneri, Lohgad, Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg, and Gingee Fort.

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The Behdienkhlam festival recently celebrated in Jowai, Meghalaya with vibrant celebrations and religious devotion by the Pnar (Jaintia) community. It is the most important indigenous religious festival of the Jaintias tribe. and is celebrated annually in mid-July after the sowing season. ‘Behdienkhlam’ means “driving away the plague or pestilence” using sticks.

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Harela festival is celebrated in Uttarakhand, with a pledge to plant over 5 lakh saplings across the state. This traditional Hindu festival, also celebrated in parts of Himachal Pradesh, is especially popular in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region. Harela marks the beginning of the Sawan season. It symbolizes peace, prosperity, and the celebration of nature.

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Recently, more than 300 people were killed in a week of violent clashes between Syria’s Druze minority and Sunni Bedouin tribes in and around Sweida city. The Bedouins are nomadic, Arabic-speaking tribes who have lived in the Middle East and North Africa deserts for centuries. The word Bedouin comes from Arabic “badawi”, meaning “desert dweller”. They survive mainly by herding camels, sheep, and goats, moving seasonally across arid lands. Bedouin tribes are often classified based on the animal species they herd.

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Lungphun Ropui in Lianpui village, Champhai district, Mizoram, was officially declared a Monument of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on July 14, 2025. This is the second site in Mizoram to receive this recognition. The declaration came after a site visit on July 7, 2025 by ASI Director (Monuments) A.M.V. Subramanyam. The site is protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. Known for its ancient menhirs (carved stone structures), it reflects early Mizo life, rituals, and beliefs.

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The Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple in Karnataka recently welcomed the Karnataka government’s formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged mass secret burials of unidentified bodies at the pilgrimage centre. SIT was formed after public demand to investigate alleged secret burials of unidentified bodies at Dharmasthala between 1998 and 2014. The temple is a major Hindu pilgrimage site located in the town of Dharmasthala, Karnataka. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva, worshipped here as Lord Manjunatha. The temple has a history of around 800 years.

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The first-ever Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Traditional Music Festival was held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. It was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) under the theme ‘SaptaSur: Seven Nations, One Melody’. Artists from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand performed. The festival celebrated the unique traditional music of all seven BIMSTEC countries.