Mandana , drawn in white chalk over a red ochre ground, is the traditional floor and wall art of:
- A.Maharashtra
- B.Assam
- C.Rajasthan
- D.Punjab
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Rajasthan, along with the Malwa and Hadoti belt of Madhya Pradesh that adjoins it. Mandana reverses the usual method: the floor or the lower wall is first washed with geru, the red ochre of the region, and the design is then laid over it in white chalk or lime, so the figure is light on a red field. Meena and Bhil women are its best known practitioners, and peacocks, tigers, footprints, the chaupad board and the swastika are its repeated motifs.
Option A is wrong because Maharashtra draws rangoli in coloured powders, including the Sanskar Bharti style. Option B is wrong because Assam has no such red ground tradition at the door. Option D is wrong because the Punjab courtyard pattern is chowk purana.
Read the full article: Floor Art of India: Rangoli, Kolam, Alpana and Mandana
Practice Questions
View allThe floor art known as kolam belongs chiefly to which state?
- A.Kerala
- B.Tamil Nadu
- C.Karnataka
- D.Odisha
Show answer
The kolam is the Tamil threshold drawing, made each morning in white rice flour on ground that has been swept and sprinkled.
Read the full explanation →Alpana, painted with a paste of ground rice, is associated with which state?
- A.West Bengal
- B.Gujarat
- C.Telangana
- D.Himachal Pradesh
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Alpana, or alpona, is applied wet: rice is soaked, ground into a white paste and painted on the floor with a cloth wick or with the fingers, which lets the artist draw flowing creepers, paddy sheaves, lotuses, owls and footprints.
Read the full explanation →The aipan art of white rice paste on a red geru ground belongs to which state?
- A.Himachal Pradesh
- B.Uttarakhand
- C.Sikkim
- D.Jharkhand
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In aipan the surface is first washed with geru, the local red ochre, and the pattern is then drawn on it with a white paste of ground rice using the fingers.
Read the full explanation →The pookalam, a carpet of flower petals laid on the ground, is made during which festival?
- A.Pongal
- B.Bihu
- C.Onam
- D.Ugadi
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A pookalam is laid in concentric rings of petals, leaves and whole flowers, and a fresh one is made on each of the ten days of the festival, growing larger as the days pass, with competitions for the best design in schools, offices and neighbourhoods.
Read the full explanation →Aripan is the traditional floor art of which state?
- A.Bihar
- B.Chhattisgarh
- C.Goa
- D.Manipur
Show answer
Aripan, also written aripana, is drawn with a paste of ground rice on the floor of the courtyard, the place of worship and the marriage pavilion.
Read the full explanation →