Which of the following festivals is celebrated in the month of August-September?

The correct answer is A, Maharashtra. The Paithani takes its name from Paithan on the Godavari, and it is also woven at Yeola in the Nashik district. It is a silk brocade in which the border and the pallu are made by the tapestry technique, with peacocks, lotuses and vines in gold thread, and the design shows on both sides. Option B is wrong because the handloom saree of Kerala is the kasavu, plain off white cotton with a gold border. Option C is wrong because West Bengal gives Baluchari, Jamdani and tant sarees. Option D is wrong because Karnataka weaves Mysore crepe silk and the Ilkal saree with its red pallu. Hold the pair Paithan with Paithani and the peacock motif. For revision, hold Maharashtra with Paithani, Gujarat with Patola and Madhya Pradesh with Chanderi and Maheshwari.

The correct answer is A, 7 August. The date was chosen because the Swadeshi Movement was launched at the Calcutta Town Hall on 7 August 1905, calling on Indians to use cloth made in their own country, and the first National Handloom Day was observed at Chennai in 2015 to honour handloom weavers. Option B is wrong because 15 July is observed as World Youth Skills Day, which has no connection with handlooms. Option C is wrong because 2 October is Gandhi Jayanti, and although Gandhi made khadi a symbol of the freedom movement, the handloom day is not kept on his birthday. Option D is wrong because 26 November is Constitution Day. Link the day to the Swadeshi call of 1905. The observance is conducted every year by the Ministry of Textiles, which works for handloom weavers across the states.

The correct answer is B, Rajasthan. Kota Doria is woven at Kaithoon and the villages near Kota in Rajasthan, where cotton and silk yarns are alternated to make the small square checks called khat, giving a cloth so light and open that it suits the desert summer. Option A is wrong because the light sarees of Madhya Pradesh are Chanderi and Maheshwari, which are glossy and plain rather than a visible mesh of checks. Option C is wrong because Uttar Pradesh is known for Banarasi brocade and for Chikankari embroidery. Option D is wrong because Haryana has no handloom saree of this name, though it shares the Phulkari tradition of the north west. The pair to hold is Kota with Doria. The same cloth is also called Kota Masuria, and it carries a geographical indication tag of its own.

The correct answer is A, Punjab. Phulkari, meaning flower work, is the embroidery of Punjab, in which bright untwisted silk thread is worked in darn stitch from the reverse of a coarse handspun khaddar cloth, so the pattern fills the surface with flowers. The bagh is the variety in which the embroidery covers the ground completely. Option B is wrong because the story telling quilt embroidery of Bihar is Sujani, from Bhusura in Muzaffarpur, and Madhubani is its painting tradition. Option C is wrong because the counted thread embroidery of Karnataka is Kasuti, which leaves no knots at the back. Option D is wrong because Manipur is known for its handloom weaving rather than for a named embroidery of this kind. For revision, hold Punjab with Phulkari, Bihar with Sujani, Karnataka with Kasuti and West Bengal with Kantha.

The correct answer is B, Kalamkari. Kalamkari is cloth decorated with vegetable dyes, and it has two schools, both in Andhra Pradesh. At Srikalahasti the work is drawn freehand with a pen like kalam and the subjects are taken from temple mythology, while at Machilipatnam the designs are printed with carved wooden blocks. Option A is wrong because Phulkari is the bright darn stitch flower embroidery of Punjab, worked on khaddar. Option C is wrong because Kantha is the running stitch quilting of West Bengal, made from layers of old cloth. Option D is wrong because Bandhani is the tie and dye craft of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Hold the pair Kalamkari with Andhra Pradesh and remember its two towns. Note also that the word kalamkari joins kalam, meaning a pen, with kari, meaning work, which is itself a one mark question.