Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of which of the following states?

The correct answer is B, Black Pagoda. European sailors called the Konark Sun temple the Black Pagoda because its dark stone tower stood out on the Odisha coast and served them as a landmark, in contrast to the whitewashed Jagannath temple at Puri, which they called the White Pagoda. The temple was built in the thirteenth century by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in the Kalinga style. It is shaped as the chariot of Surya, the sun god, with twelve pairs of carved wheels and seven horses drawing it, and the wheels work as sundials. UNESCO placed it on the World Heritage list in 1984. A is wrong because the White Pagoda was the sailors' name for the Puri temple. C and D are wrong because no such names were used for Konark; they are only distractors. Exam tip: Konark = Black Pagoda, Narasimhadeva I, Kalinga style, UNESCO site since 1984.

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.

The correct answer is A, Rajasthan. Kalbeliya is the song and dance tradition of the Kalbeliya community of Rajasthan, who were traditionally snake charmers, and the dancer in a black swirling skirt imitates the movement of a serpent to the been and the khanjari. UNESCO inscribed the songs and dances of the Kalbeliya on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2010, the same year as Chhau and Mudiyettu.

Option B, Gujarat, has Garba, which was inscribed much later, in 2023. Option C, Punjab, has Bhangra and Giddha, neither of them on the UNESCO list, though the craft of the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru in Punjab was inscribed in 2014. Option D, Haryana, has Khoria, Dhamal and Loor, which have no UNESCO listing. Remember 2010 for Chhau, Kalbeliya and Mudiyettu together.

The correct answer is C, Karnataka. In Dollu Kunitha the dancers hang a large drum, the dollu, from the neck and beat it while moving in fast formations, and the dance belongs to the Kuruba shepherd community, who perform it in the service of their deity Beereshwara. Kunitha itself means a ritual dance offered to a deity, and Karnataka also has Veeragase, a dance of the Veerabhadra devotees, and the folk theatre Yakshagana.

Option A, Telangana, has Perini Shivatandavam, the Bathukamma dances of women and the Lambadi dance of the Banjara. Option B, Tamil Nadu, has Karagattam with a decorated pot on the head, Kolattam with sticks, Kummi and Oyilattam. Option D, Kerala, has the ritual forms Theyyam, Padayani and Mudiyettu and the women's Thiruvathirakali, danced at Onam. All four are southern states, which is why they are grouped in the options, but the drum named dollu and the Kuruba shepherd community together point only to Karnataka.

The correct answer is B, Tripura. Hojagiri is danced by women of the Reang community of Tripura, who balance on an earthen pitcher while keeping a bottle with a lit lamp on the head, and bend the upper body while the feet stay still. It is performed during the Hojagiri or Laxmi puja festival that follows Durga puja.

Option A, Nagaland, has tribe-wise dances such as Chang Lo of the Chang and the war dances shown at the Hornbill festival, none of them built on balancing. Option C, Manipur, has the martial Thang-Ta, the drum dance Pung Cholom and the ritual festival Lai Haraoba. Option D, Assam, has Bihu and the Jhumur of the tea garden communities. The pitcher, bottle and lamp together are the signature of Hojagiri, and the community named with it is the Reang.