Art & Culture Mixed Quiz: Set 14

The correct answer is C, Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah. Nur Jahan built it at Agra between 1622 and 1628 for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who held the title Itmad-ud-Daulah. It is the first Mughal building covered wholly in white marble and the first in which pietra dura, the inlay of cut coloured stones into marble, is used on a large scale. Its small size and delicate finish have earned it the nickname the Baby Taj, because it marks the change from the red sandstone of Akbar to the marble of Shah Jahan.

Option A, the Taj Mahal, carries pietra dura to its highest point but comes later, from 1632. Option B, the Moti Masjid in Agra Fort, is also in marble but belongs to Shah Jahan. Option D, the Buland Darwaza, is of red sandstone with only marble inlay and was built by Akbar in 1575, before the marble phase began.

The correct answer is A, Greece. The Gandhara School of Art, which grew in the north west around Taxila and Peshawar between the first and fifth centuries, was shaped by Greek or Hellenistic sculpture that had reached the region after Alexander's campaign and stayed on through the Indo Greek and Kushana rulers. That is why its Buddha figures have wavy hair, sharp features, a halo without decoration and heavy robes with deep folds, carved mostly in blue grey schist. The school also produced the first images of the Buddha in human form, alongside the Mathura school. Kanishka was its best known patron. B is wrong because Roman influence came later and in small measure, mainly through trade. C and D are wrong because Hungary and Belgium had no contact with ancient India. Exam tip: Gandhara Greek and grey schist, Mathura Indian and red sandstone, Amaravati white marble.

The correct answer is B, one-horned rhinoceros. Kaziranga National Park lies on the floodplain of the Brahmaputra in Assam and holds the largest population of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros. It was inscribed in 1985, the same year as Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan. Kaziranga is also a tiger reserve and its tall wet grassland supports wild buffalo, swamp deer and elephants, the group often called the big five of the park.

Option A, the Asiatic lion, survives only in the Gir forest of Gujarat, which is not a World Heritage Site. Option C, the snow leopard, belongs to the high Himalaya, in parks such as Khangchendzonga and the Great Himalayan National Park. Option D, the Nilgiri tahr, is a mountain goat of the Western Ghats, so it is linked to that serial site rather than to Kaziranga.

The correct answer is B, Painting. Amritlal Vegad, born in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh in 1928, was a painter and collage artist who trained at Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan under Nandalal Bose, and later taught art in Jabalpur. He is remembered for collages made from torn pieces of coloured paper, and for the sketches and paintings with which he filled his Hindi travel writing on the Narmada, a river he walked along for thousands of kilometres. That is why Madhya Pradesh papers place him with the visual arts rather than the performing arts. Option A is wrong because he worked on flat surfaces in paper and colour, not in stone or metal. Option C is wrong because he was never a singer. Option D is wrong because he had no place in music; that misreading comes from grouping every artist under the performing arts. Exam tip: Vegad, Jabalpur, painting and collage, Narmada travelogues in Hindi.

The correct answer is A, Ahmedabad. The Sidi Sayyid mosque in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, was built in 1573 in the last years of the Gujarat Sultanate. Its half circular windows carry jali screens cut from single slabs of stone, and the finest of them shows a palm and an intertwined creeper, known everywhere as the tree of life. The design has become a symbol of the city and of the Gujarat school of Indo-Islamic building, which is marked by fine stone carving borrowed from local temple craftsmen.

Option B, Jaunpur, is the seat of the Sharqi school, known for the Atala Masjid and its massive entrance screen. Option C, Mandu, is the capital of the Malwa school, known for the Jahaz Mahal and the marble tomb of Hoshang Shah. Option D, Bidar, is linked with the Bahmani sultans and the madrasa of Mahmud Gawan. Only Ahmedabad fits.

The correct answer is D, Mallika Sarabhai. She won the best actress award in 1975 for her role in the Gujarati film Meena Gurjari, early in a career that moved between cinema, theatre and dance. Trained by her mother Mrinalini Sarabhai in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, she is also known for playing Draupadi in Peter Brook's stage and screen production of The Mahabharata, and she runs the Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad. Option A is wrong because Sonal Mansingh is an Odissi and Bharatanatyam exponent honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, not a film actress. Option B is wrong because Sitara Devi was the Kathak dancer whom Rabindranath Tagore called Nritya Samragini, and her film work came in the 1940s. Option C is wrong because Shovana Narayan is a Kathak dancer who also served as an officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service. Exam tip: link Mallika Sarabhai with Darpana Academy and her mother Mrinalini Sarabhai.

The correct answer is B, ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites. When a country nominates a monument, a city or an archaeological site, ICOMOS studies the file, sends experts to the place and recommends to the World Heritage Committee whether it should be inscribed, referred back or rejected. The third advisory body named in the Convention is ICCROM, which works on the conservation and restoration of cultural property and on training.

Option A, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is the advisory body for natural sites, so it handles national parks and biodiversity nominations, not monuments. Option C, the United Nations Environment Programme, is a UN body for the environment and has no role in inscription. Option D, the World Wide Fund for Nature, is a conservation organisation but not an advisory body under the Convention.

The correct answer is B, Goa. Ranmale is a folk theatre of Goa, performed mainly in the Sattari and Sanguem areas.

It is staged at night in the open during the Shigmo festival and around Holi, in front of a village temple. Men play all the roles, including the female ones, and the episodes are taken from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, tied together by a narrator, drums and the ghumot. Goa's other well known folk forms are Jagor, Dashavatara, Kalo and Khell, and Zagor is listed among its temple traditions.

Option A is wrong because West Bengal's folk theatre is Jatra. Option C is wrong as Jharkhand is known for Chhau and Paika. Option D is wrong because Chhattisgarh's forms are Nacha and Pandavani, the ballad style made famous by Teejan Bai.

Exam tip: Ranmale, Dashavatara and Jagor - Goa; Jatra - West Bengal; Nautanki - Uttar Pradesh; Tamasha - Maharashtra; Bhavai - Gujarat.

The correct answer is C, Tughlaq dynasty. Tughlaq building is the most austere phase of the Sultanate style. It uses local grey sandstone or rubble, keeps ornament to a minimum and gives its walls a pronounced batter, that is a slope inward as they rise, which makes even a tomb look like a fort. Tughlaqabad built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, his tomb joined to the fort by a causeway, Firoz Shah Kotla and the Hauz Khas complex all show this manner.

Option A, the Slave dynasty, worked in red sandstone with rich carving taken from temple material, as at the Qutub complex. Option B, the Khalji dynasty, brought the true arch and the marble inlay of the Alai Darwaza, which is decorative rather than plain. Option D, the Lodi dynasty, is known for the double dome and for garden tombs on octagonal and square plans, with glazed tile work. The sloping wall belongs to the Tughlaqs.

The correct answer is D, Ganga. Kashi, also called Varanasi or Banaras, stands on the left bank of the Ganga in eastern Uttar Pradesh and is among the oldest living cities in the world. Its name comes from the two small streams, the Varuna and the Assi, between which the old city lies. The riverfront has some eighty-four ghats, among them Dashashwamedh and Manikarnika, and the Kashi Vishwanath temple here is one of the twelve jyotirlingas. Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, is only a few kilometres away. Option A is wrong because the Gomti flows past Lucknow and joins the Ganga near Ghazipur. Option B is wrong because the Saryu or Ghaghara flows past Ayodhya. Option C is wrong because the Yamuna passes Delhi, Mathura and Agra and meets the Ganga at Prayagraj. Exam tip: Varanasi on the Ganga, Lucknow on the Gomti, Ayodhya on the Saryu, Agra on the Yamuna.

The correct answer is C, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. This narrow gauge line in West Bengal, opened in the late nineteenth century and famous for its loops and zig zag reverses as it climbs to Darjeeling, was inscribed in 1999 and became the first railway property of India on the list. The Mountain Railways of India were then extended twice, and the site is counted as one serial property with three components.

Option A, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in Tamil Nadu, the only rack railway in India, was added in 2005. Option B, the Kalka Shimla Railway in Himachal Pradesh, with its long tunnels and arched bridges, was added in 2008. Option D, the Matheran Hill Railway in Maharashtra, is on India's Tentative List but has not been inscribed, so it is the distractor here.

The correct answer is B, Bharia. Patalkot is a deep, horseshoe-shaped valley in the Tamia area of Chhindwara district, and most of its villages are home to the Bharia tribe. The valley floor lies more than a thousand feet below the surrounding Satpura plateau, so for a long time the Bharias lived almost cut off from the outside world, depending on the forest for food and herbal medicine. The Bharias of Patalkot are one of the three Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Madhya Pradesh, along with the Baiga and the Sahariya. Option A is wrong because the Bhil, the largest tribe of the state, live mainly in western districts such as Jhabua, Alirajpur and Dhar. Option C is wrong because the Khairwar are a separate tribe and not the main community of Patalkot. Option D is wrong because the Oraon belong mainly to the Chhotanagpur region of Jharkhand. Exam tip: Patalkot, Chhindwara, Bharia tribe, one of the three PVTGs of Madhya Pradesh with the Baiga and Sahariya.

The correct answer is A, Qutb-ud-din Aibak. He began the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque at Delhi in 1192 after the second battle of Tarain, using the carved pillars and stones of temples that stood on the site, which is why its courtyard colonnade carries Indian bells, chains and foliage. Its arched screen was added in front of the prayer hall in the older corbelled manner, since the true arch had not yet arrived. Aibak also began the Qutub Minar beside it.

Option B, Balban, ruled later in the same Slave dynasty and is remembered for his tomb at Mehrauli, which shows an early experiment with the true arch. Option C, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, ruled in the fourteenth century and is known for Jahanpanah and the shifting of the capital to Daulatabad. Option D, Ibrahim Lodi, was the last Sultan of Delhi, defeated at Panipat in 1526. Only Aibak matches the date and the mosque.

The correct answer is A, Kui. Kui is the language of the Kondh (Kandha) tribe of Odisha and is grouped with Telugu and Gondi in the south-central or south-eastern branch of the Dravidian family. It is spoken mainly in Kandhamal, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Koraput and Boudh districts, is written in the Odia script, and has a rich body of oral songs and folk tales. The Odisha cabinet cleared a proposal in July 2023 recommending that Kui be placed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which began with fourteen languages in 1950 and now lists twenty-two, Odia among them. Option B is wrong because Malto is a North Dravidian language of the Rajmahal hills in Jharkhand and West Bengal. Option C is wrong because Tulu belongs to coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod in Kerala, and Karnataka has pressed its own case. Option D is wrong because Kodagu is spoken in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. Exam tip: Brahui, Kurukh and Malto are North Dravidian; Kui and Gondi sit with Telugu.

The correct answer is B, Kumbhalgarh. The Hill Forts of Rajasthan were inscribed in 2013 as a serial site of six forts: Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber, Jaisalmer and Gagron. Kumbhalgarh in the Rajsamand district stands in the Aravalli range, was built in the fifteenth century by Rana Kumbha of Mewar, and is known for a perimeter wall that is among the longest of any fort in the world. Maharana Pratap was born here.

Option A, Mehrangarh at Jodhpur, is one of the grandest forts of Rajasthan but is not part of the inscribed group. Option C, Junagarh at Bikaner, is a plains fort and is also outside the group. Option D, Lohagarh at Bharatpur, the mud fort the Jats held against attack, is likewise not inscribed. Only the six named forts count.

The correct answer is D, Assam. Muga silk is produced only in Assam and is the state's best known textile.

It comes from the semi-domesticated silkworm Antheraea assamensis, which feeds on som and soalu leaves in the Brahmaputra valley. The thread has a natural golden yellow shine that grows brighter with every wash, and a Muga mekhela chador can outlast its owner. Muga silk received a Geographical Indication tag in 2007, the first such tag given to a product from Assam. India makes four kinds of silk: mulberry, tasar, eri and muga.

Option A is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh is known for its Apatani and Adi weaves, not muga. Option B is wrong as Bihar is linked with tasar silk from Bhagalpur. Option C is wrong because Maharashtra is known for Paithani sarees, made from mulberry silk.

Exam tip: Muga and eri silk - Assam; tasar - Jharkhand and Bihar; mulberry - Karnataka.

The correct answer is B, Sasaram. The tomb of Sher Shah Suri stands at Sasaram in the Rohtas district of Bihar, the town where he grew up. It is an octagonal tomb of grey sandstone, about 37 metres high, raised on a square platform in the middle of a large artificial lake so that it seems to float on the water, and it is reached by a causeway from the north. The architect was Mir Muhammad Aliwal Khan, and the work was finished in 1545 soon after Sher Shah died at Kalinjar. The design grew out of the tombs of the Lodis and is counted the high point of the Indo-Islamic style before the Mughals. A is wrong because Chausa is where Sher Shah defeated Humayun in 1539. C is wrong because Delhi holds his Purana Qila and the Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, not his grave. D is wrong because Rohtasgarh is the hill fort he captured, not his burial place. Exam tip: born in Sasaram, died at Kalinjar in 1545, buried in the lake tomb at Sasaram.

The correct answer is C, Odisha. Patachitra is the traditional cloth-scroll painting of Odisha, closely tied to the Jagannath temple at Puri. The word comes from pata, meaning cloth, and chitra, meaning picture. Artists prepare the canvas by pasting layers of cloth with tamarind seed paste, use natural colours from conch shell, lamp black and mineral stones, and paint themes from the lives of Jagannath, Krishna and Radha with bold outlines and decorative floral borders. The village of Raghurajpur in Puri district is its best known centre and Odisha Patachitra carries a Geographical Indication tag. A is wrong because Gujarat is known for Pithora painting and Patola weaving. B is wrong because Tamil Nadu is known for Tanjore painting. D is wrong because Andhra Pradesh is known for Kalamkari and Cherial scrolls. Exam tip: Patachitra with Odisha and Raghurajpur; Madhubani with Bihar; Warli with Maharashtra; Kalamkari with Andhra Pradesh.

The correct answer is D, 100 Rupee Note. The motif of Rani ki Vav appears on the back of the 100 rupee note of the Mahatma Gandhi New Series, which the Reserve Bank of India issued in 2018 in a lavender shade. Rani ki Vav is an eleventh-century stepwell at Patan in Gujarat, built by Queen Udayamati in memory of the Solanki king Bhimdev I. It goes down seven storeys, and its walls carry more than five hundred large sculptures, many of them of the avatars of Vishnu. UNESCO placed it on the World Heritage list in 2014. A is wrong because the 50 rupee note shows the stone chariot of Hampi. B is wrong because the 10 rupee note shows the Sun Temple at Konark. C is wrong because the 200 rupee note shows the Sanchi Stupa. Exam tip: 10 Konark, 50 Hampi, 100 Rani ki Vav, 200 Sanchi, 500 Red Fort.

The correct answer is D, Golconda. Golconda Fort near Hyderabad in Telangana was first raised as a mud fort by the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal in the thirteenth century. The Bahmani sultans took it later, and the Qutb Shahi kings rebuilt it in granite in the sixteenth century, adding the long walls, the eight gates and the palaces seen today. The fort is famous for its acoustics: a clap at the Fateh Darwaza can be heard at the pavilion on the hilltop, a signal once used to warn the garrison. The diamond mines around it, such as Kollur, made Golconda a great market for stones like the Koh-i-Noor and the Hope diamond. A is wrong because Panhala in Kolhapur is linked with the Shilaharas and later with Shivaji. B is wrong because Raigad was Shivaji's capital fort in Maharashtra. C is wrong because Neemrana in Rajasthan was a Chauhan fort. Exam tip: Golconda, a Kakatiya mud fort rebuilt by the Qutb Shahis, known for diamonds and acoustics.