Art & Culture Quiz: Dance, Music and Literature Festivals of India

The correct answer is B, Madhya Pradesh. The Khajuraho Dance Festival is held every February at Khajuraho in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, with the Western group of temples as its setting, and it presents the recognised classical dance styles of the country on an open-air stage. Option A, Odisha, holds the Konark Festival at its Sun Temple in early December and the Mukteshwar Dance Festival at Bhubaneswar in January, which is why it is the strongest distractor; both are temple festivals of dance, but neither is Khajuraho. Option C, Rajasthan, is the home of the Jaipur Literature Festival and of the desert and camel fairs, not of this dance festival. Option D, Tamil Nadu, holds the Mamallapuram Dance Festival and the Natyanjali Festival at Chidambaram. Fix the pair Khajuraho and Madhya Pradesh, because it is the single most asked festival in the chapter.

The correct answer is A, Odisha. The Konark Festival is held on an open-air stage beside the thirteenth century Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha, a World Heritage monument, and the classical styles of the country are performed there in the first week of December. Option B, Gujarat, is the trap, because it holds its own dance festival at a Sun Temple, the Modhera Dance Festival or Uttarardh Mahotsav at Modhera, so a candidate who remembers only the words Sun Temple can be led astray. Option C, Andhra Pradesh, is associated with Kuchipudi and with the Lepakshi and Tirupati temple traditions but not with this festival. Option D, West Bengal, holds the Dover Lane Music Conference and the Kolkata literary festivals. Pair Konark with Odisha and Modhera with Gujarat, and keep the two Sun Temples apart.

The correct answer is C, Nagaland. The Hornbill Festival is held at the Kisama heritage village near Kohima from 1 to 10 December, the days around Nagaland's statehood day, and it is called the Festival of Festivals because every major tribe of the state presents its own dances, songs, games and food in one place. The hornbill, a large bird whose feathers appear in traditional Naga headgear, gives it its name. Option A, Manipur, holds the Sangai Festival in late November, named after its brow-antlered deer, and that is the commonest confusion here. Option B, Mizoram, is associated with Chapchar Kut, its spring festival. Option D, Meghalaya, holds Wangala, the harvest festival of the Garos, also called the festival of a hundred drums. Learn the trio: Hornbill for Nagaland, Sangai for Manipur, Wangala for Meghalaya.

The correct answer is B, Madhya Pradesh. The Tansen Samaroh is held every December near Gwalior, at the tomb of Tansen, one of the nine jewels of Akbar's court and a founding figure of Hindustani classical music; the state also confers the Tansen Samman at the festival. Option A, Uttar Pradesh, is a strong distractor because Tansen is usually said to have been born near Gwalior but spent his later years at the Mughal court, and because Uttar Pradesh holds the Taj Mahotsav at Agra. Option C, Rajasthan, holds the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Pushkar and Desert fairs. Option D, Maharashtra, holds the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav at Pune and the Elephanta Festival at Mumbai. Madhya Pradesh is the state to remember for three festivals, Khajuraho for dance, Tansen for music and Kalidas Samaroh at Ujjain for literature and drama.

The correct answer is B, the Jaipur Literature Festival. It began in 2006, is held every January at the Diggi Palace in Jaipur, admits visitors free of charge and draws writers, translators and publishers from many countries, which is how it came to be called the greatest literary show on Earth. Option A, the Kerala Literature Festival, is held on the beach at Kozhikode and is the largest in the south, but it started later and has a different setting. Option C, the Kolkata Literary Meet, is held in that city in winter, alongside the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, and is strongly associated with Bengali letters. Option D, the Goa Arts and Literature Festival, is a smaller gathering that joins literature with the visual and performing arts. For the exam, hold on to the three details: 2006, Diggi Palace and Jaipur.

The correct answer is C, Lord Nataraja. The festival is held in the courtyard of the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram, where Shiva is worshipped in his dancing form as Nataraja, and dancers from across the country offer their art there over five days beginning on Maha Shivratri; the very name Natyanjali means an offering of dance. Option A, Lord Vishnu, is central to Srirangam and Tirupati but not to Chidambaram. Option B, Goddess Meenakshi, is the deity of the great temple at Madurai, where the Chithirai festival and the celestial wedding are observed. Option D, Lord Murugan, is worshipped at the six abodes in Tamil Nadu, including Palani, and his festival is Thaipusam. The link to remember is Chidambaram, Nataraja, Maha Shivratri and Bharatanatyam offered as worship rather than performance.

The correct answer is A, Haryana. The mela is held at Surajkund in the Faridabad district of Haryana, close to Delhi, and runs through the first fortnight of February; craftspeople and folk performers from across the country gather there, and each edition names a theme state and a partner country. Option B, Delhi, is the trap, because Surajkund lies just beyond the capital's border and many visitors come from the city, but the site and the organising state are Haryana. Option C, Punjab, is known for the Baisakhi harvest celebrations and the rural sports at Kila Raipur. Option D, Uttar Pradesh, holds the Taj Mahotsav at the Shilpgram in Agra, which is a similar mixture of crafts with dance and music and is therefore easy to confuse with Surajkund. Pair Surajkund with Faridabad in Haryana.

The correct answer is B, Tamil Nadu. Mamallapuram, also written Mahabalipuram, lies on the coast south of Chennai and is a World Heritage site of Pallava rock-cut architecture; the dance festival is staged there from late December into January, with the great relief called Arjuna's Penance as its backdrop. Option A, Karnataka, holds the Hampi Festival among the ruins of Vijayanagara and the Pattadakal Dance Festival at its temple complex, which is the nearest comparison and the usual distractor. Option C, Kerala, holds the Nishagandhi Dance Festival at Thiruvananthapuram and the temple festival of Thrissur Pooram. Option D, Telangana, is associated with Bathukamma and Bonalu rather than with a classical dance festival of this kind. Tamil Nadu is the state of three events to remember: Mamallapuram, Natyanjali at Chidambaram and the Thyagaraja Aradhana.

The correct answer is C, the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Established in 1953 with its seat at New Delhi, it is the national academy for the performing arts, it supports festivals, archives and training, and it is the authority whose recognition decides which dance styles are counted as classical. Option A, the Sahitya Akademi, was set up in 1954 as the national academy of letters and gives the Sahitya Akademi Award in each recognised language. Option B, the Lalit Kala Akademi, also of 1954, is the academy for the visual arts, that is painting, sculpture and graphics. Option D, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, founded in 1950, carries Indian culture abroad through cultural centres and exchanges rather than administering the arts at home. Remember the years together: 1953 for Sangeet Natak and 1954 for Sahitya and Lalit Kala.

The correct answer is B, Manipur. The Sangai, also called the dancing deer, is the state animal of Manipur and survives only in the floating meadows of the Keibul Lamjao National Park on Loktak Lake; the festival named after it is held in late November and shows the state's crafts, cuisine, indigenous sports and the Ras Lila of Manipuri dance. Option A, Assam, holds Bihu, the festival of the agricultural year, and the Kaziranga elephant festival. Option C, Tripura, celebrates Kharchi Puja and the Garia festival. Option D, Sikkim, holds the Losar and Saga Dawa observances of its Buddhist calendar. The pairing to carry into the exam is Sangai, the brow-antlered deer, Keibul Lamjao, Loktak Lake and Manipur, all four of which belong to the same state and often appear together.