State-wise Dances, Festivals and Symbols for Exams

The correct answer is C, Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi takes its name from the village of Kuchipudi in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, where the dance-drama tradition of the Bhagavatulu performers grew, and Siddhendra Yogi is remembered as the teacher who shaped it. Its best known item is the Tarangam, in which the dancer performs balanced on the rim of a brass plate, often with a pot of water on the head. Option A is wrong because the classical dance of Tamil Nadu is Bharatanatyam, which developed from the Sadir of temple dancers. Option B is wrong because Uttar Pradesh and the northern plains are the home of Kathak, with its Lucknow, Jaipur and Banaras gharanas. Option D is wrong because Kerala has two classical forms of its own, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam, and neither is Kuchipudi. Pairing each of the eight classical dances with one state is the safest way to answer this family of questions.

The correct answer is A, Assam. Sattriya grew in the sattras, the Vaishnava monasteries of Assam established in the devotional movement of Srimanta Sankardeva in the sixteenth century, where it was performed by celibate monks as part of worship. It was the last form to be recognised as classical by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, in 2000, which makes the year a favourite question. Option B is wrong because the classical dance of Odisha is Odissi, marked by the tribhanga posture and connected with the mahari dancers and gotipua boys of the Jagannath temple. Option C is wrong because Manipuri is the classical dance of Manipur, known for the Raas Leela and the Pung Cholom. Option D is wrong because West Bengal has no form on the classical list; its famous traditions are the Baul songs, Gambhira and the Purulia Chhau.

The correct answer is A, Mizoram. Cheraw is the best known dance of Mizoram, in which men sit facing each other and clap long bamboo staves together in rhythm while women dancers step in and out of the closing poles. It is performed at Chapchar Kut, the spring festival of Mizoram, and because the pattern resembles dances in south east Asia it is a standard matching question. Option B is wrong because Nagaland's dances are the Chang Lo, also called Sua Lua, and the war dances performed at the Hornbill Festival. Option C is wrong because Meghalaya has the Nongkrem dance of the Khasi, Shad Suk Mynsiem and the Garo Wangala. Option D is wrong because Tripura's dances are Hojagiri, performed balancing on an earthen pitcher, and Garia. Candidates often mark Tripura here, so fix the bamboo poles with Mizoram and the pitcher with Tripura.

The correct answer is A, Nagaland. The Hornbill Festival is held each December at the Naga Heritage Village at Kisama near Kohima, where all the major tribes of Nagaland put up their morungs and present their dances, songs, crafts, wrestling and food, which is why it is called the festival of festivals. It is named after the hornbill, the bird that appears in Naga folklore and headgear. Option B is wrong because Manipur's festivals are Yaoshang, Lai Haraoba, Ningol Chakouba and the Sangai Festival, the last named after its state animal. Option C is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh has Losar, Nyokum, Solung and Mopin, each belonging to a particular tribe. Option D is wrong because Sikkim has Saga Dawa, Pang Lhabsol and Losoong. Note the distinction from Arunachal Pradesh, whose state bird is the great hornbill.

The correct answer is A, Telangana. Bathukamma is celebrated for nine days around Mahalaya Amavasya in the monsoon, when women of Telangana stack seasonal flowers in the shape of a temple tower, sing round it in a circle each evening, and on the last day set it afloat in a tank or stream. It was adopted as the state festival of Telangana and is the usual first question on that state's culture. Option B is wrong because Karnataka's great festival is the Mysuru Dasara, with the Jamboo Savari elephant procession. Option C is wrong because Odisha has Raja Parba, Nuakhai and the Puri Rath Yatra. Option D is wrong because Madhya Pradesh is known for the Khajuraho Dance Festival and the Tansen Samaroh at Gwalior. Keep Bathukamma and Bonalu together as the two festivals of Telangana most asked about.

The correct answer is A, Tripura. Hojagiri is danced by the women of the Reang community of Tripura, who balance on the rim of an earthen pitcher and keep a bottle with a lit lamp steady on the head while moving only the lower half of the body, so the upper body stays almost still. It is performed at the Laxmi Puja held after Durga Puja. Option B is wrong because Mizoram's signature dance is Cheraw, the bamboo dance. Option C is wrong because Assam's dances are the Bihu, Bagurumba of the Bodos and the Sattriya of the monasteries. Option D is wrong because Meghalaya has the Nongkrem dance and the Garo Wangala. The balancing dances are a small family worth learning together: Hojagiri on a pitcher in Tripura, the Kuchipudi Tarangam on a brass plate in Andhra Pradesh and the Bhavai with pots in Rajasthan.

The correct answer is A, Meghalaya. Wangala is the post-harvest thanksgiving festival of the Garo people of Meghalaya, offered to Misi Saljong the sun god, and it is called the hundred drums festival because long drums are beaten together in lines while dancers in feathered headgear move in formation. Meghalaya also has Ka Pomblang Nongkrem and Shad Suk Mynsiem of the Khasi and Behdienkhlam of the Jaintia, so the state has one famous festival for each of its three main communities. Option B is wrong because Nagaland's harvest festivals are Moatsu of the Ao and Tsungrem Mong, and its great gathering is the Hornbill Festival. Option C is wrong because Mizoram's festivals are Chapchar Kut, Mim Kut and Pawl Kut. Option D is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh has Solung, Mopin, Nyokum and Losar. Match the tribe to the festival and the state follows.

The correct answer is A, Jammu and Kashmir. The hangul is a subspecies of the red deer found in the Kashmir valley, and its last substantial population survives in the Dachigam National Park near Srinagar, which is why hangul and Dachigam are always asked together. It is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir and is listed as critically endangered. Option B is wrong because the state animal of Himachal Pradesh is the snow leopard and its state bird the western tragopan, locally the jujurana or king of birds. Option C is wrong because Uttarakhand has the musk deer as state animal and the Himalayan monal as state bird. Option D is wrong because Sikkim has the red panda as state animal and the blood pheasant as state bird. Hill species cluster in this question, so pair each one with its state and its best known park.

The correct answer is A, Sikkim. The red panda, a small reddish-brown mammal of the eastern Himalayan bamboo forests, is the state animal of Sikkim, which also has the blood pheasant as state bird, the rhododendron as state tree and the noble orchid as state flower. The Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is among its habitats. Option B is wrong because the state animal of Meghalaya is the clouded leopard and its state bird the hill myna. Option C is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh has the mithun, a semi-domesticated bovine used in tribal exchange and feasts, as state animal, and the great hornbill as state bird. Option D is wrong because Nagaland also has the mithun as state animal, with Blyth's tragopan as state bird. Note the overlap: two north eastern states share the mithun, but only Sikkim has the red panda.

The correct answer is A, Rajasthan. The great Indian bustard, called Godawan in Rajasthan, is a tall grassland bird of the Thar region and is the state bird of Rajasthan, whose state animal is the chinkara, state tree the khejri and state flower the rohida. Its stronghold is the Desert National Park near Jaisalmer, and it is listed as critically endangered, so it appears in environment questions as well. Option B is wrong because the state bird of Gujarat is the greater flamingo and its state animal the Asiatic lion of the Gir forest. Option C is wrong because Maharashtra has the green imperial pigeon, the hariyal, as state bird and the Indian giant squirrel, the shekru, as state animal. Option D is wrong because Madhya Pradesh has the dudhraj, the Indian paradise flycatcher, as state bird and the barasingha as state animal.

The correct answer is A, Rajasthan. The Kalbelia are a community of Rajasthan traditionally associated with snake catching, and their women dance in long black skirts with a swirling, serpentine movement to the been and the khanjari. The Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List in 2010, in the same year as the Chhau dance and Mudiyettu of Kerala. Option B is wrong because Gujarat's entry on that list is the Garba, inscribed in 2023. Option C is wrong because Haryana has no element on the list; its dances are Khoria, Loor and Dhamal. Option D is wrong because Punjab's entry is the brass and copper utensil craft of the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, inscribed in 2014, not a dance. Keep the element, the state and the year together, because papers now ask all three.

The correct answer is A, Bihar. Chhath Puja is the great folk festival of Bihar, kept also in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, in which women observe a long fast, stand in a river or pond and offer arghya first to the setting sun and then to the rising sun on the following morning, worshipping Surya and Chhathi Maiya. Bihar's other famous gathering is the Sonepur cattle fair at the Harihar Kshetra. Option B is wrong because Punjab's festivals are Baisakhi, Lohri and Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib. Option C is wrong because Gujarat has Navratri with Garba, Uttarayan and the Rann Utsav. Option D is wrong because Kerala has Onam, Vishu and the Thrissur Pooram. Note the detail that makes Chhath unusual: the offering to the setting sun comes before the offering to the rising sun.