The ahar-pyne traditional water harvesting system belongs to which state?
- A.Bihar
- B.Kerala
- C.Meghalaya
- D.Nagaland
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Bihar. In south Bihar the pyne is a diversion channel that takes flood water from a river, and the ahar is a catchment basin with embankments on three sides in which that water is stored for the rice crop, a system suited to the region hard soil and uneven rainfall. Option B is wrong because Kerala has the surangam, a tunnel driven into a hill slope to tap seepage. Option C is wrong because Meghalaya is famous for bamboo drip irrigation, in which spring water is carried in split bamboo to betel and areca plots. Option D is wrong because Nagaland has the zabo system, which combines a forested catchment, a pond and a cattle yard above the paddy field. These state pairs are asked in both environment and culture papers.
Read the full article: Stepwells of India: Vavs, Baolis, Kunds and Tanks
Practice Questions
View allRani ki Vav, the stepwell inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located at
- A.Patan, Gujarat
- B.Adalaj, Gujarat
- C.Abhaneri, Rajasthan
- D.Bundi, Rajasthan
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Rani ki Vav stands on the bank of the Saraswati at Patan, the old Solanki capital called Anhilwad Patan, and was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014 for its seven storeys of sculpture in the Maru-Gurjara style.
Read the full explanation →Rani ki Vav at Patan was built by which queen?
- A.Rudabai
- B.Udayamati
- C.Nathavati
- D.Ahilyabai Holkar
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Queen Udayamati had the stepwell built in the eleventh century in memory of her husband Bhimdev I of the Solanki or Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat, which is why it is described as a memorial in the form of an inverted temple.
Read the full explanation →Which stepwell is depicted on the Indian one hundred rupee currency note?
- A.Chand Baori
- B.Rani ki Vav
- C.Adalaj ni Vav
- D.Agrasen ki Baoli
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The reverse of the one hundred rupee note of the Mahatma Gandhi new series carries the motif of Rani ki Vav at Patan, chosen because it is a World Heritage Site that stands for Indian water architecture.
Read the full explanation →Chand Baori, famous for about three thousand five hundred narrow steps and thirteen storeys, is situated in which state?
- A.Gujarat
- B.Rajasthan
- C.Madhya Pradesh
- D.Karnataka
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Chand Baori is at Abhaneri in Dausa district of Rajasthan, opposite the Harshat Mata temple, and is attributed to King Chanda of the Nikumbha house in about the ninth century; its criss-cross flights descending thirteen storeys make it one of the deepest stepwells in India.
Read the full explanation →The temple tank of Karnataka and the Deccan, a stepped water body attached to a shrine, is known as
- A.Jhalara
- B.Khadin
- C.Kalyani or Pushkarni
- D.Ahar
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In Karnataka and the Deccan the stepped tank built beside a temple for ritual bathing is called a kalyani or a pushkarni, and the stepped tank at Hampi, built of fitted stone blocks, is the best known example.
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