Gopal, Udai, Hukma, Jiwan were associated with which school of painting?

The correct answer is D, Kolkali. Kolkali is a popular folk dance of Lakshadweep, and it is also seen in the Malabar region of Kerala, with which the islands share much of their language and custom. Twelve or more dancers move in a circle, each holding a short wooden stick in either hand, and strike their neighbours' sticks in time with the song; the circle widens and closes in as the beat quickens. It is danced by men at weddings and festivals, and the rhythm comes from the clash of the sticks as much as from the drum. Lakshadweep's other well known forms are Parichakali and Lava. A is wrong because Kathak is a classical dance of north India. B is wrong because Kuchipudi is a classical dance of Andhra Pradesh. C is wrong because Koli is the dance of the fishing community of Maharashtra. Exam tip: Lakshadweep has Kolkali, Parichakali and Lava; Koli belongs to Maharashtra.

The correct answer is D, Chhau. Chhau was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. It is a masked dance-drama of eastern India with three styles named after their homes: Seraikella in Jharkhand and Purulia in West Bengal, where masks are worn, and Mayurbhanj in Odisha, where the dancers perform without masks. The form grew out of martial training, so its steps imitate combat and the movements of birds and animals, while its stories come from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and local legend. It is danced at the spring festival of Chaitra Parva to the beat of the dhol and the dhumsa. A is wrong because Fugdi is a women's folk dance of Goa. B is wrong because Jhoomar belongs to Punjab. C is wrong because Dalkhai is a folk dance of western Odisha. Exam tip: Indian entries on the UNESCO list include Chhau (2010), Ramlila, Kutiyattam, Vedic chanting and Sankirtana.

The correct answer is C, Marwar. The Marwar school, the painting of the Jodhpur region, is the one credited with the illustrated Panchatantra series, a set painted at Pali in the early eighteenth century in which the animal fables are told frame by frame. Marwar work is known for its folk strength rather than courtly polish: bold flat colours, large staring eyes, sturdy figures and plenty of horses and camels. Alongside the Panchatantra, the school also illustrated the Dhola Maru romance and the Ragamala series. A is wrong because Bundi painting is famous for lush green landscapes, monsoon skies, lotus tanks and elephant scenes. B is wrong because Kota, which grew out of Bundi, is best known for its hunting scenes set in thick forest. D is wrong because Dhundhar, the Jaipur and Amber school, is known for large portraits, court scenes and its Ragamala and Bihari Satsai sets. Exam tip: Panchatantra and Dhola Maru go with Marwar, monsoon and greenery with Bundi, shikar with Kota.

The correct answer is A, Assam. Bodo is the language of the Bodo people of the Brahmaputra valley and is spoken mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of western Assam. It belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group, is written in the Devanagari script and is an associate official language of Assam. Bodo was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by the 92nd Amendment of 2003, along with Dogri, Maithili and Santhali. Option B is wrong because Jharkhand's main tongues are Hindi along with Santhali, Mundari and Ho. Option C is wrong because Himachal Pradesh speaks Hindi and Pahari dialects such as Kangri and Mandeali. Option D is wrong because Karnataka's official language is Kannada, a Dravidian language. Exam tip: the 92nd Amendment, 2003 added four languages — Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali — taking the Eighth Schedule to 22.

The correct answer is D, Punjabi. The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020 gives the union territory five official languages: Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English. Punjabi is spoken in parts of the region, but it was not put on that list, so it is the odd one out. Before this law Urdu alone was the official language of the old state, even though hardly any household used it as a mother tongue, and the change was made so that the languages people actually speak would be used in government work. Option A is wrong because Hindi is one of the five named in the Act. Option B is wrong because Dogri, spoken mainly in the Jammu division, is both an official language of the union territory and a language of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Option C is wrong because Urdu is official and was in fact the only official language earlier. Exam tip: remember the five as Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English.