Indian Culture General Studies MCQs

Notes:
There is an oval ring around the original figure of Shiva Nataraja. It represents the cosmic fire he uses to destroy the universe as part of the cycle of destruction and creation. Each flame has three points. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a round circle of fire with flames of five points became typical for the Shiva Nataraja image.

Notes:
Kalighat School was a unique and delightful Blend of the Oriental and the Occidental styles of painting. Due to this exceptional combination, it gained steady acknowledgment. The artists played an important role in the Independence movement through the depiction of secular themes and personalities in their paintings. Paintings apart from depicting religious themes also portrayed different professions and costumes which were popular among the tourists. Sometimes, even contemporary events like crime were the subject of many paintings. Images of goddess were popular among Kalighat artists. Kali was the favourite goddess among all deities. The artists also portrayed themes like Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna and the exploits of Hanuman. Another theme depicted, dear to the Bengali ethos, was that of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his disciples.

Notes:
Badami cave temples are located at Badami. The red sandstone cliffs of Badami offered a spectacular setting for the excavation of four caves, three Brahmanical and one Jaina (Parshwavanath). Largest Cave is dedicated to Vishnu.

Notes:
A performance of bharatanatyam lasts for about two hours and consists of six parts

1. Allarippu: This literally means “to decorate with flowers”. It is the devotional prologue that shows off the elegance and grace of the dancer.
2. Jatisvaram: The second part is jatisvaram, a brilliant blaze of jatis (“dance phrases”) with svaras (“musical sounds”).
3. Shabdam: Shabdam is singing words that prepare the dancer to interpret through abhinaya (gesture language) interspersed with pure dance.
4. Varnam: The fourth part is varnam, a combination of expressive and pure dance.
5. Padams: Padams are songs in Telegu, Tamil, or Kannada that the dancer dramatizes by facial expressions and hand gestures. The accompanying singer chants the line again and again, and the dancer enacts the clashing and contrasting meanings. Her virtuosity consists of exhausting all possible shades of suggestion.
6. Tillana: The performance ends with tillana, a pure dance accompanied by meaningless musical syllables chanted to punctuate the rhythm. The dancer explodes into leaps and jumps forward and backward, from right and left, in a state of ecstasy. Tillana ends with three clangs of the cymbals while the dancer executes a triple blaze of jatis, thumping her feet with a jingling flourish of ankle bells.

Notes:

• Patan Patola “Patan Patola”, a double-sided saree from Gujarat.
• Channapatna toys The “Channapatna toys” are a particular form of wooden toys that are manufactured in Channapatna town in Karnataka state. The toys from this place are famous worldwide for their uniqueness. The traditional toys and dolls made of special wood in colours are protected as a geographical indication.
• Nachiarkoil brass lamp Traditional brass lamps from Nachiarkoil in Thanjavur district obtained the geographical indication (GI) tag. The traditional Nachiarkoil brass lamps are known as Nachiarkoil Kuthuvilakku. The production of the ornamental lamp is mainly done by local artisans who have domicile in and around Nachiarkoil, a town in Kumbakonam taluk. The craftsmanship is not found anywhere else. The lamps made for temples are artistically used in South India. The lamp usually consists of four parts—base (Keezhbagam), stem (kandam), oil container (Thanguli) and the apex or Prabhai. The Thanguli or oil container consists of V-shaped spouts to hold the wicks. These four parts are joined together with the help of screw threads. The lamps are suspended from the ceiling and richly decorated and always excellent in workmanship and design.

Notes:
All given have been assigned with GI protected status.

Notes:
Eastern ghats are not present in the list of UNESCO World cultural and Natural heritage sites from India.

Notes:
Both are correct statements
While the Hindustani music is based on ragas, Carnatic music is kriti-based. While the sarangi is a major accompaniment in Hindustani, the violin reigns in Carnatic.

Notes:
Dhrupad was developed as a part of worship in temples and various rituals such as yajnas. Gudiya Govarhar, Khandar, Dagar & Nauhar are four distinct gharanas of Dhrupad.

Notes:
Shadanga or six limbs of Indian Painting are as follows:
Rupabheda: The knowledge of appearances.
Pramanam: Correct perception, measure and structure/proportion.
Bhava: Action of feelings on forms.
Lavanya Yojanam: Infusion of grace, artistic representation.
Sadradhyam: likeness or verisimilitude.
Varnikabhanga: Artistic manner of using the brush and colors.