Bhangra, danced to the dhol at the harvest festival of Baisakhi, is the folk dance of which state?

The correct answer is A, Assam. Bihu is danced chiefly at Rongali or Bohag Bihu, the Assamese new year festival that falls in April and opens the sowing season. Young men and women dance in rows to the dhol, the pepa made from a buffalo horn, the gogona and the taal, with quick hip movements and short steps.

Option B, Manipur, has Lai Haraoba as its old ritual festival and the drum dance Pung Cholom, while its Raas tradition is counted among the eight classical forms. Option C, Tripura, is the home of Hojagiri, danced by Reang women balancing on an earthen pitcher, and of the Garia dance. Option D, Nagaland, has tribe-wise dances such as Chang Lo of the Chang and the Zeliang dances, shown together at the Hornbill festival. All four are north-eastern states, which is exactly why the paper setter groups them, but Bihu belongs to Assam alone.

The correct answer is B, Rajasthan. Ghoomar is danced by women in a wide ghagra who move in a circle and turn on the spot, the swirl of the skirt giving the dance its name. It grew from the Bhil community and was taken up by the Rajput households of Rajasthan, where it is danced at weddings and at festivals such as Teej and Gangaur.

Option A, Gujarat, is the home of Garba and Dandiya Raas, danced during Navratri, and this is the commonest confusion because both are circular women's dances in full skirts. Option C, Haryana, has Khoria, Dhamal, Loor and Phag, and a Haryanvi form also called Ghoomar exists, but the dance asked for in examinations is the Rajasthani one. Option D, Madhya Pradesh, has Matki, Tertali, Badhai and Grida. Fix the pair as Ghoomar for Rajasthan and Garba for Gujarat.

The correct answer is C, Maharashtra. Lavani combines song and dance and is performed mainly by women in a nine-yard saree to the sharp beat of the dholki. It grew alongside Tamasha, the folk theatre of Maharashtra, and its verses range from the devotional to the sharply witty.

Option A, Goa, has Fugdi, Dekhni and Dhalo, and the song form Mando, all shorter and gentler in tempo than Lavani. Option B, Karnataka, is the home of Dollu Kunitha, Veeragase and the folk theatre Yakshagana; Yakshagana is a frequent distractor because it too is a staged form. Option D, Chhattisgarh, has Panthi of the Satnami community, Raut Nacha, the Bastar dances Gaur Maria and Gendi, and the narrative singing Pandwani made famous by its performers. The dholki and Tamasha together identify Lavani as Maharashtrian.

The correct answer is C, Jharkhand. Chhau is a martial masked dance of eastern India with three recognised styles, and Seraikella Chhau takes its name from the former princely seat of Seraikella in Jharkhand, where the royal house trained and refined it. Its masks are small and smooth, and the dance leans on stylised gesture rather than raw combat.

Option A, Odisha, is the home of Mayurbhanj Chhau, the one style danced without any mask, so the expression is carried by the face itself. Option B, West Bengal, is the home of Purulia Chhau, which uses large brightly painted masks and enacts battle episodes such as Mahishasura Mardini. Option D, Bihar, has Jat-Jatin, Jhijhiya, Paika and the folk theatre Bidesia, but no Chhau style. All three Chhau styles together were inscribed by UNESCO in 2010.

The correct answer is A, Mizoram. In Cheraw, men sit facing each other and hold long bamboo staves horizontally, clapping them together in a steady beat, while women in the Mizo puan step in and out of the closing gaps without letting a foot be caught. It is the best known dance of Mizoram and is shown at the Chapchar Kut festival.

Option B, Meghalaya, has the Khasi thanksgiving dance Ka Shad Nongkrem at Smit and the Garo harvest festival Wangala, known as the hundred drums festival. Option C, Sikkim, has Singhi Chham, the snow lion dance honouring Kanchenjunga, and Maruni. Option D, Arunachal Pradesh, has Bardo Chham of the Sherdukpen and Ponung of the Adi. Bamboo staves in the question point to Cheraw and therefore to Mizoram every time.