Art & Culture Mixed Quiz: Set 7

The correct answer is B, classifying ragas under ten thaats. Bhatkhande travelled across India collecting compositions and then arranged the ragas of Hindustani music under ten parent scales or thaats, among them Bilawal, Kalyan, Khamaj, Bhairav, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi and Todi. He also set down a system of notation and wrote at length on the practice of the music, which is why the classification carries his name.

Option A is wrong because the Pancharatna Kritis, the five gem compositions, were written by Tyagaraja in the Carnatic tradition. Option C is wrong because the pakhawaj is an old barrel drum with no single named inventor, and certainly not a nineteenth-century scholar. Option D is wrong because the Gwalior gharana is the oldest khayal gharana and long predates him. Remember Bhatkhande alongside Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, his contemporary, who did most to bring the music out of private patronage and into public schools and concerts.

The correct answer is D, Golconda Fort. Golconda in Hyderabad was the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, which ruled the Golconda Sultanate from 1518, when Quli Qutb Shah broke away from the Bahmani kingdom. The fort stands on a granite hill and is famous for its acoustics, since a clap at the Fateh Darwaza can be heard at the pavilion on top, and for the diamond trade that passed through it, including the Koh-i-Noor. In 1591 Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah founded the city of Hyderabad and built the Charminar, moving the capital there; Aurangzeb finally took Golconda in 1687. Option A is wrong because Chiktan Fort stands in Ladakh. Option B is wrong because Rajgad in Maharashtra was an early capital fort of Shivaji. Option C is wrong because the Red Fort was built by Shah Jahan in Delhi. Exam tip: Qutb Shahi rulers held Golconda and then Hyderabad; the Charminar was built by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591.

The correct answer is A, Bansuri. The bansuri is the bamboo transverse flute, a sushira vadya with no reed, in which the player changes notes by covering the finger holes. Hariprasad Chaurasia is its best known modern exponent, and before him Pannalal Ghosh is credited with making the longer bass flute fit for full classical performance.

Option B, the sarangi, is a bowed string instrument played with the fingernails pressing against the strings, whose great name is Ram Narayan. Option C, the mridangam, is the barrel drum of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, associated with Palghat Mani Iyer and Umayalpuram Sivaraman. Option D, the rudra veena, is the deep stick zither of the dhrupad tradition, played by Asad Ali Khan and by members of the Dagar family. All four are classical instruments with clear artist pairs, which is what this question tests.

The correct answer is A, Buddhism. The Great Stupa at Sanchi, in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, is one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in India. It was first built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE as a brick mound over relics of the Buddha, and was later enlarged with a stone casing. Four richly carved gateways, or toranas, were added around the 1st century BCE; they show Jataka tales and scenes from the Buddha's life, in which the Buddha himself appears only through symbols such as the Bodhi tree, a wheel or footprints. The Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989. B is wrong because the stupa is not a Hindu shrine; famous Hindu temple sites include Khajuraho and Konark. C is wrong because famous Jain sites include Dilwara and Shravanabelagola. D is wrong because famous Islamic monuments include the Qutub Minar and the Jama Masjid. Exam tip: Sanchi stupa = Ashoka = Buddhism = Madhya Pradesh = UNESCO 1989.

The correct answer is A, Akbar. Tansen was counted among the navratnas, the nine jewels of Akbar's court, and had earlier served the ruler of Rewa. He was a disciple of Swami Haridas, and tradition credits him with Miyan ki Malhar, Miyan ki Todi and Darbari Kanada. He is buried at Gwalior beside the tomb of Muhammad Ghaus, and the Tansen Samaroh is held there in his memory every year.

Option B, Shah Jahan, ruled two generations later and is remembered in the syllabus for architecture rather than for Tansen. Option C, Krishnadevaraya, was the Vijayanagara ruler of the early sixteenth century, a patron of Telugu literature, not of Tansen. Option D, Wajid Ali Shah, was the last Nawab of Awadh and a real patron of music, but of thumri and kathak in Lucknow, three centuries after Tansen. Every option is a genuine patron of the arts, which is what makes the question worth setting.

The correct answer is D, a - iv, b - i, c - ii, d - iii. The Champakkulam Moolam boat race is held on the Pampa river in Alappuzha, Kerala, and is the oldest snake-boat race in the state. The Somnath fair is held at the Somnath temple in Gujarat on Kartik Purnima, where pilgrims gather at the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas. The Surajkund crafts fair takes place every February at Surajkund in Faridabad, Haryana, and brings craftspeople from India and abroad together under a theme state each year. The Baneshwar fair is a tribal fair of the Bhils held at Dungarpur in Rajasthan, where the Som and Mahi rivers meet. Option A is wrong because it sends the Somnath fair to Rajasthan and the Baneshwar fair to Haryana. Option B is wrong because it places the boat race in Rajasthan. Option C is wrong because it moves the Somnath fair to Haryana and Surajkund to Gujarat. Exam tip: Champakkulam - Kerala, Somnath - Gujarat, Surajkund - Haryana, Baneshwar - Rajasthan.

The correct answer is B, Rajasthan. The ravanahatha is an ancient spike fiddle with a coconut shell resonator, played with a horsehair bow that usually carries small bells, and it belongs to the folk musicians of Rajasthan, where it accompanies the ballad of Pabuji. The kamaicha of the Manganiyar communities and the pungi of the snake charmers come from the same desert tradition.

Option A, Punjab, has the tumbi with its single string, the paired flutes called algoza, the chimta and the dhol of bhangra. Option C, West Bengal, has the dotara of the Baul singers, the ektara and the dhak of Durga Puja. Option D, Manipur, has the pena, a small bowed fiddle, and the pung drum. State examinations are especially fond of this pairing, so the instrument and its home state should be memorised together.

The correct answer is C, Kharosthi. Kharosthi was written from right to left, like the Aramaic script from which it grew. It was the script of Gandhara in the north-west, now in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and was used roughly from the third century BCE to the third century CE, mostly for Prakrit. That is why two of Ashoka's major rock edicts, at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra, are in Kharosthi, while almost all his other edicts are in Brahmi. It spread along the Silk Road into Central Asia and then died out. Option A is wrong because Brahmi runs left to right and is the parent of Devanagari and most other Indian scripts. Option B is wrong because Sharada, the old script of Kashmir, grew out of Brahmi and is also written left to right. Option D is wrong because Nandinagari, a southern form of Nagari used for Sanskrit manuscripts, runs left to right as well. Exam tip: Kharosthi is the odd one out, right to left and found in the north-west; Brahmi is left to right and found almost everywhere else.

The correct answer is B, Patiala. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan is the best known singer of the Patiala gharana, a school marked by fast and intricate taans, a free use of thumri alongside khayal, and a bright open tone. His renderings of thumris in ragas such as Bhairavi and Pilu are still treated as models of the form.

Option A, Kirana, is the gharana of Abdul Karim Khan, and later of Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal; it is known for slow, elaborate treatment of individual notes. Option C, Jaipur-Atrauli, was shaped by Alladiya Khan and carried on by Kesarbai Kerkar and Mallikarjun Mansur, and is known for complex compound ragas. Option D, Mewati, is the gharana of Pandit Jasraj. All four are real khayal gharanas of the same era, so the pairing of singer to gharana has to be learnt as a list.

The correct answer is A, Rajasthan. Dabu is a mud resist hand block printing craft of Rajasthan, practised mainly at Akola in Chittorgarh and at Bagru and Sanganer near Jaipur. A paste of clay, gum, lime and wheat chaff is stamped on the cloth with wooden blocks; the covered portions resist the dye, usually indigo, and stay pale while the rest takes colour. The cloth is washed and the mud falls away, leaving the pattern, and the steps are repeated for more colours. Rajasthan is also home to Bandhani tie and dye, Bagru and Sanganeri prints and Kota Doria weaving. Option B is wrong because Odisha is known for Ikat or Bandha tie and dye and Pattachitra painting. Option C is wrong because Andhra Pradesh is known for Kalamkari, printed and painted with a bamboo pen. Option D is wrong because Assam is known for Muga and Eri silk weaving. Exam tip: Dabu means mud resist, Bandhani means tie and dye, Kalamkari means pen work.

The correct answer is A, Thavil. The nadaswaram is a long double reed wind instrument, the loudest of the classical wind instruments, and in Tamil Nadu it is played as a pair with the thavil, a barrel drum struck with one hand and a stick, at temple processions and weddings. The ensemble of the two is called the periya melam.

Option B, the pakhawaj, is the barrel drum of the Hindustani dhrupad tradition, played with chautaal and dhamar. Option C, the dholak, is the two-headed drum of folk and light music across north India, used at weddings and in bhajan and qawwali. Option D, the khol, is the clay-bodied drum of Vaishnava kirtan in Assam, Bengal and Odisha. The nadaswaram and thavil pairing is the southern counterpart of the shehnai with the nagada in the north, and both pairs are asked.

The correct answer is B, Jainism. Jainism holds that souls (jiva) live not only in humans, animals and plants but also in earth, water, fire and air. Jain thought ranks living beings by the number of senses they have. The lowest group, the one-sensed beings, includes earth-bodies, water-bodies, fire-bodies, air-bodies and plants, so even a stone or running water has a soul. This is why Jain monks practise ahimsa so strictly, sweeping the path and straining water so that they harm as few beings as possible. Mahavira taught that each jiva is bound by karma and is freed only through right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, the three jewels. Option A is wrong because Buddhism denies a permanent soul through its doctrine of anatta. Option C is wrong because Shaivism centres on devotion to Shiva and does not give souls to rocks. Option D is wrong because Vaishnavism centres on devotion to Vishnu and his avatars. Exam tip: souls in stones and water with the strictest ahimsa means Jainism; no soul (anatta) means Buddhism.

The correct answer is B, Sitar. Ravi Shankar played the sitar, the long-necked fretted instrument with a gourd resonator and sympathetic strings that ring on their own. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan of Maihar, did more than anyone to make Indian classical music known abroad, and received the Bharat Ratna in 1999.

Option A, the sarod, was the instrument of Ali Akbar Khan, the son of the same teacher, and of Amjad Ali Khan. Option C, the tabla, is associated with Alla Rakha, who often accompanied Ravi Shankar, and with Alla Rakha's son Zakir Hussain. Option D, the violin, came to India from Europe and is now the standard melodic accompaniment in Carnatic music, played by Lalgudi Jayaraman and L. Subramaniam, with N. Rajam known for it in the Hindustani style. Because these musicians performed together, the paper counts on candidates mixing them up.

The correct answer is C, Odisha. Pattachitra is the old cloth-scroll painting of Odisha, and the name itself explains it: patta means cloth and chitra means picture. The painters, called chitrakars, treat a cloth with chalk and tamarind paste, then draw gods and legends on it with natural colours and a fine brush, keeping a decorated border around the scene. Most works show Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra of Puri, Krishna's life or scenes from the epics. The village of Raghurajpur near Puri is famous for this craft and has a GI tag for Odisha Pattachitra. A is wrong because Andhra Pradesh is known for Kalamkari, drawn and dyed with a pen. B is wrong because Rajasthan is known for Phad paintings and the miniature schools of Kishangarh, Mewar and Bundi. D is wrong because Bihar is known for Madhubani or Mithila painting. Exam tip: Pattachitra is Odisha, Madhubani is Bihar, Kalamkari is Andhra Pradesh, Warli is Maharashtra.

The correct answer is B, Mizoram. The khuang is a hollow wooden drum of the Mizo people, made from a single log with animal hide stretched over both ends and slung from the shoulder while being played with the hands. No Mizo festival is complete without it: it sets the beat for Cheraw, the bamboo dance, and for the Chapchar Kut, Mim Kut and Pawl Kut festivals, and Mizos speak of it as the soul of their music. Other Mizo instruments include the darbu and darmang gongs, the tuium flute and the tingtang, a string instrument. Option A is wrong because Assam's best known instruments are the dhol, pepa, gogona and taal that accompany Bihu. Option C is wrong because Jharkhand's tribal music uses the mandar, nagara and dhak. Option D is wrong because West Bengal is associated with the ektara, dotara and khol, the drum of kirtan. Exam tip: khuang and Cheraw dance - Mizoram; pepa and Bihu - Assam; ektara and Baul songs - West Bengal.

The correct answer is B, Abhaya Mudra. Early Mathura Buddhas show the right hand raised with the palm facing out, the gesture that says "fear not". The Mathura School flourished under the Kushanas in the first centuries CE, at the same time as the Gandhara school of the north-west. Mathura sculptors worked in the local spotted red sandstone and gave the Buddha a round smiling face, a shaven head with a spiral top-knot and a strong, fleshy body, a style that was wholly Indian. The seated Buddha from the Katra mound, now in the Mathura Museum, is a well-known example with the right hand in abhaya. Option A is wrong because the dhyana mudra of meditation, with hands resting in the lap, is typical of Gandhara images. Option C is wrong because the dharmachakra mudra of teaching became famous later, as in the Gupta-period Buddha of Sarnath. Option D is wrong because the varada mudra of giving, with the palm lowered, is seen more often in later images. Exam tip: Mathura means red sandstone and abhaya; Gandhara means grey schist and dhyana.

The correct answer is B, Sitar. Ustad Ilyas Khan was a sitar player. He was born in Lucknow in 1924 into a family of musicians and belonged to the Etawah or Imdadkhani gharana, the school built up by Imdad Khan and carried forward by Enayat Khan and Vilayat Khan. He played for decades on All India Radio, performed across the country and trained many students of the instrument. The sitar itself is a long-necked plucked instrument with movable frets and extra sympathetic strings that give it its ringing tone, and Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan carried it to audiences around the world. Option A is wrong because the tabla is a pair of drums, its famous names being Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain. Option C is wrong because the veena is the plucked instrument of Carnatic music, linked with the goddess Saraswati. Option D is wrong because the mridangam is the barrel drum that keeps time in Carnatic concerts. Exam tip: the Etawah gharana means sitar, while Lucknow also has well known gharanas of kathak and tabla.

The correct answer is A, Bundi style. The Bundi school of the Hadoti region is the one that fills its pictures with birds, animals and thick green forest. Its painters loved nature: mango and banana groves, lotus tanks, monsoon clouds with lightning, elephants, tigers, squirrels, parrots and peacocks all crowd the background, and human figures are shown with round faces and small noses against them. Bundi work began under Rao Surjan Singh with help from Chunar artists, and its offshoot at Kota went further, making hunting scenes in dense jungle its speciality. Option B is wrong because the Nathdwara school paints Shrinathji, mostly on cloth as pichhwai hangings. Option C is wrong because Kishangarh is remembered for the graceful Bani-Thani face and the Krishna-Radha themes of Nihal Chand, not for animals. Option D is wrong because Bikaner painting carries Mughal and Deccani influence, with pale colours and artists who signed their work. Exam tip: Bundi and Kota mean nature and hunting; Kishangarh means Bani-Thani.

The correct answer is C, Shehnai. Ustad Bismillah Khan was the shehnai player who lifted that instrument from wedding processions to the concert stage. Born in 1916 at Dumraon in Bihar, he settled in Varanasi and played at the Vishwanath temple, and he performed from the Red Fort on the eve of independence in 1947 and again on the first Republic Day. He was given the Bharat Ratna in 2001, becoming the third musician after M.S. Subbulakshmi and Ravi Shankar to receive it, and he had earlier received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. Option A is wrong because the santoor, a struck box zither of Kashmir, is linked with Shivkumar Sharma. Option B is wrong because the sitar is associated with Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan. Option D is wrong because the tabla brings to mind Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain. Exam tip: match instrument to artist, shehnai with Bismillah Khan, sarod with Amjad Ali Khan, flute with Hariprasad Chaurasia and santoor with Shivkumar Sharma.

The correct answer is D, Lord Shiva. The Ramappa temple is dedicated to Shiva, worshipped there as Ramalingeswara. It stands at Palampet in the Mulugu district of Telangana and was built in the thirteenth century under the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva by his general Recharla Rudra. The temple is unusual in being named after its sculptor, Ramappa. It is raised on a star shaped platform of sandstone, its tower uses bricks so light and porous that they are said to float on water, and its polished black basalt pillars and bracket figures of dancers are finely carved. UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List in 2021 as the Kakatiya Rudreshwara temple. Option A is wrong because Rama is worshipped at temples such as Bhadrachalam, not here. Option B is wrong because the great Vishnu temples of the region are Tirupati and Simhachalam. Option C is wrong because temples dedicated to Indra are almost unknown in India. Exam tip: link Ramappa temple with Palampet, the Kakatiya dynasty, floating bricks and the 2021 UNESCO listing.