UPSC Art & Culture Test 2 (Old Year Questions)

Ans c
The Barabar Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India These rock-cut chambers date back to the 3rd century BC, Maurya period, of Ashoka (r. 273 BC to 232 BC.) and his son, Dasaratha. These caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect, founded by Makkhali Gosala. Ellora is a World Heritage Site The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history

Ans b

Ans a
Buddha did not define Nirvana, as a state possessing few characteristics. Buddhism defines Nirvana as being free from desire, pain, pleasure etc. It is like an extinction of flame

Ans b
Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form of Indian Classical music and traces its origin to the chanting of vedic hymns and mantras. Though a highly developed classical art with a complex and elaborate grammar and aesthetics, it is also primarily a form of worship, in which offerings are made to the divine through sound or nāda. Pasted from <http://www.dhrupad.info/> Dhrupad emphasizes a slow, meditative rendition of the alap using sacred Sanskrit syllables derived from Sanskrit mantras. Pasted from <http://www.shantishivani.com/Dhrupad.htm>

Ans c
National School of Drama (NSD) is one of the foremost theatre institutions in the world and was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1959. In 1975, it became an autonomous organization, totally financed by Department of Culture. It has regional research centres at Bangalore and Pondicherry. The highest honour conferred by the Sahitya Akademi on a write is by electing him its Fellow. This honour is reserved for the ‘Immortals of Literature’ and limited to 21 at any given time. So far 66 writes have been elected Fellows.

Ans a
In Kuchipudi, you will enjoy more realistic acting and also another thing that keeps it apart from others is the occasional use of dialogues. Dialogues are something that no other classical dance form of India is based on.
The “Tarangam”, is another unique feature of Kuchipudi. In this, a dancer dances on the edge of a brass plate, matching to the rhythm of music. Sometimes, dancers also balance a pot of water on the head.

Ans c
Gatka is an Indian martial art created by the Sikhs of the Punjab region. It was used by Sikh forces against the Mughals, primarily in reaction to oppressive or aggressive policies. Though rarely used in combat today, gatka is still popular as a sport and is often shown during Sikh festivals Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar state, India. The Sindhu Darshan festival is a celebration of River Sindhu or Indus. It is held every year in June at Leh, Ladakh in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Festival aims at projecting the Sindhu was as a symbol of multi-dimensional cultural identity, communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in India.

Ans b
Amrita Shet-Gil (January 30, 1913, – December 5, 1941), was an eminent Indian painter, sometimes known as India’s Frida Kahlo, and today considered an important women painter of 21st century India, whose legacy stands at par with that of the Masters of Bengal Renaissance. Today, she is amongst Nine Masters, whose work was declared as art treasures by The Archaeological Survey of India, in 1976 and 1979 Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi is an Indian vocalists in the Hindustani classical tradition. A member of the Kirana Gharana (school), he is renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). In 2008, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour Rukmini Devi Arundale (February 29, 1904 – February 24, 1986) was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer in Indian classical dancer form of Bharatnatyam, and also an activist for animal rights, animal welfare and vegetarianism. Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ (January 22, 1896 – October 15, 1961) was one of the most famous figures of the modern Hindi literature. He was a poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer. He also drew many sketches.

Ans c
In Custody (1984) is Anita Desai’s ironic story about literacy traditions and academic illusions. The central characters are Nur, an Urhi poet, who has fallen on hard times, and Deven, a professor of Hindi, who realizes that the beloved poet is not the magical genius e has imagined. Sea of Poppies is a novel by Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2008. It is the first volume of what will be the Ibis trilogy. The story is set on the banks of the holy river Ganges and in Calcutta. The Argumentative Indian is a book written by the Indian Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen. It is a collections of essays that discuss India’s history and identity, focusing on the traditions of public debate and intellectual pluralism. It was published on June 2, 2005. Unaccustomed Earth is the latest book from Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. It was published on April, 2008. Just like her other books, Unaccustomed Earth is also a reflection of life of two separate cultures, and how people cope with each other. It made the New York Times book Review list of “10 Best Books of 2008” as chosen by the papers editors.

Ans c
Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi 350 km from Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka in southern India. The temple of dedicated to Shiva, known here as Virupaksha, as the consort of the local goddess Pampa who is associated with the Tungabhadra River. The temple continues to prosper and attracts huge crowds for the betrothal and marriage festivities of Virupaksha and Pampa in December. In the month of February the annual chariot festival is celebrated here.

Ans a
Vidyashankara Temple at Sringere is a revered pilgrimage centre located amidst the picturesque Sahyadri hills in Chikmaglur District of Karnataka on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra Rajarani temple is one of the most renowned temples in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa. It is made from the wonderful red and gold standstone, which is locally known as Rajarani and this is what gives the temple its name of ‘Raja Rani’. Rajarani temple of Bhubaneshwar is dedicated to Lord Brahma. The origin of this temple can be dated back to the eleventh century. The Kandariya Mahadeva is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It was built by Vidyadhara arguably one of the greatest Chandela kings. The temple was built around 1050 on Hindu beliefs. Bhimesvara temple is a 10th century shrine at Draksharamam. It is one among the five Arama shrines dedicated to Shiva, in Andhra Pradesh. The temple was built by the Eastern Chalukyan King Bhima of Vengi, when his kingdom was under attack by the Rashtrakootas

Ans a
Vidyashankara Temple at Sringere is a revered pilgrimage centre located amidst the picturesque Sahyadri hills in Chikmaglur District of Karnataka on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra Rajarani temple is one of the most renowned temples in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa. It is made from the wonderful red and gold standstone, which is locally known as Rajarani and this is what gives the temple its name of ‘Raja Rani’. Rajarani temple of Bhubaneshwar is dedicated to Lord Brahma. The origin of this temple can be dated back to the eleventh century. The Kandariya Mahadeva is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It was built by Vidyadhara arguably one of the greatest Chandela kings. The temple was built around 1050 on Hindu beliefs. Bhimesvara temple is a 10th century shrine at Draksharamam. It is one among the five Arama shrines dedicated to Shiva, in Andhra Pradesh. The temple was built by the Eastern Chalukyan King Bhima of Vengi, when his kingdom was under attack by the Rashtrakootas

Ans a
Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are India’s leading exponents of the Dhrupad style of Indian classical music, and are the most active young performers in that style in Indian and international circuits. Gundecha Brothers received conventional university education and learned the Dhrupad vocal art under the renowned Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and also with Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (the distinguished performer of Rudra Veena) in Dhrupad Kendra, Bhopal. They have received National Fellowship from 1987 to 89, Ustad Allauddin Khan Fellowship in 1993, Sanskriti Award in 1994 and Kumar Gandharva Award in 1998 by Govt. of Madhya Pradesh and Dagar Gharana Award by Mewar Foundation in 2001.

Ans b
Located in the valley of Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) at an altitude of 3050m, the Tabo Monastery in quiet often referred to as the Ajanta of the Himalayas. Founded by an eminent scholar Richen Zangpo in the 996 AD, as an advanced centre of learning, this is basically a complex that houses a number of small gompas, temples and monasteries. It spreads over an area of 6300 sq m and is surrounded by high boundary wall.

Ans d
The National flag is a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron (kesari) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three. In the centre of the white band is a navy blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. Each spoke depicts one hour of the day, portraying the prevalence of righteousness, all 24 hours of it.

Ans c
Sisupalgarh – Orissa Piprahwa – Uttar Pradesh Goalpara – Assam Bishnupur – Manipur

Ans c
Geeta Chandran and Leela Samon and are the exponents of Bharatanatyam dance while Swapna Sundari is an exponent of Kuchipudi.

Ans a
Raja Rao is a prominent Indian Water in English language. His literary works are Kanthapura, The Serpent and the Rope, The Cat and the Shakespeare, Comrade Kirillov.

Ans c
Hiren Bhattacharya – Puppetry Malini Rajurkar – Bharatnatyam dance Pratibha Prahlad – Hindustani vocal music Vempati Chinna Satyam – Kuchipudi dance

Ans b
Kalamandalam Kshemavaty – Mohiniattam Kottakkal Sivaraman – Kathakali Lakshmi Viswanathan – Bharatnatyam N. Madhabi Devi – Manipuri