Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
Kuruvanji, founded 300 years ago, is characterized by classical Tamil poems and songs. The first Kuruvanji was named after Thirukutarajappa Kaviyar. The basic theme is focused on love beating the heroine. Kuruvanji literally means ‘fortune teller’ who foretells the heroine. She is performed in the style of ballet dancing and Bharatnatyam is present as the main dance form in Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
Kathia is a solid instrument made up of wood, used to perform Odisha’s famous theatre form Daskathia. The origin of this folk art is often mentioned as the Ganjam district in Odisha.
The name Daskatiya is derived from the words ‘Das’ and ‘Katia’, which in Odia mean ‘devotee’ and ‘stick’ respectively. The exhibits include religious stories from the Vedas and other mythological poems about many deities. The poetry used here was composed by contemporary poets of the Daskati tradition and sung by a group of two people to the audience. One is the lead singer called ‘Gayak’, the other is his assistant, he is often called ‘Palia’.

Notes:
Mirat ul Akhbar was a Persian language journal founded and edited by Raja Rammohan Roy. The newspaper was first published on April 12, 1822. It was published weekly on Fridays. The newspaper was wrapped up on April 4, 1823.

Notes:
Cotton plays an important role in the Indian economy as the country’s textile industry is mainly cotton-based. India is one of the largest producers and exporters of cotton yarn. The Indian textile industry contributes about 5% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 14% of industrial output, and 11% of total export earnings. The industry is also the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture, providing direct employment to over 51 million people and 68 million indirectly, including unskilled women. The textile industry is also expected to reach US$ 223 billion by 2021.

Notes:
Bengali is the fifth most spoken native language and the sixth most spoken by the total number of speakers in the world.
Bengali is the official and national language of Bangladesh, with 98% of Bangladeshis using Bengali as their first language. Within India, Bengali is the official language of the Barak Valley region of the state of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam.

Notes:
The Story of My Experiments with Truth is an autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, describing his life from childhood to 1921. It is written in Gujarati. It was written in weekly instalments and was published in his journal Navajivan from 1925 to 1929. Its English translation was also published in instalments in his other journal, Young India. It was started under the pressure of Swami Anand and other close associates of Gandhi, who were encouraged to explain the background of his public campaigns.

Notes:
Kashmir gained literary prominence when Kalhana composed Rajatarangini in Sanskrit.

Notes:
At the royal house of Gwalior, Raja Mansingh Tomar (1486–1516 CE) also participated in the shift from Sanskrit to the local idiom (Hindi) as the language for classical songs. He himself penned several volumes of compositions on religious and secular themes and was also responsible for the major compilation, the Mankutuhal (“Book of Curiosity”), which outlined the major forms of music prevalent at the time. In particular, the musical form known as dhrupad saw considerable development in his court and remained a strong point of the Gwalior gharana for many centuries.

Notes:
There are seventy-two melakarta ragas, thirty six of whose madhyama (subdominant) is shuddha (perfect fourth from the tonic), the remaining thirty-six of whose madhyama (subdominant) is prati (an augmented fourth from the tonic).

Notes:
Bhogali Bihu, or Magh Bihu, is Assam’s harvest festival, beginning with Uruka, a community feast. Wangala, celebrated in Meghalaya and Assam, honors the Sun God with traditional dances in colorful attire. The Ka Pom-Blang Nongkrem festival in Meghalaya involves worshiping Goddess Ka Blei Synshar, featuring animal sacrifices and the Nongkrem dance, held in October and November to give thanks for the harvest. Odisha’s Nuakhai, meaning “new food,” is also known as Nuakhai Parab or Nuakhai Bhetghat.