Art & Culture Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Recently, the Saaral Vizha 2025 was celebrated in Courtallam, Tamil Nadu as a monsoon festival highlighting culture, tradition, and community welfare. It was inaugurated by Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran. The festival featured cultural performances, a flower exhibition, and various public competitions. The festival reflects Tamil Nadu’s commitment to inclusive cultural growth and community participation.

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The 11th Malabar River Festival, an international white-water kayaking championship, held on July 27, 2025, in Kerala. The three-day event is organized by Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) and Kozhikode District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC). It is supported by Indian Kayaking & Canoeing Association (IKCA) and local panchayats. Events are held on Iruvazhinjipuzha and Chalippuzha rivers.

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Recently, the Prime Minister offered prayers at Brihadeeswara Temple in Tamil Nadu. The Prime Minister was welcomed by temple priests with “poorana kumbham”, a traditional temple honour. Brihadeeswara Temple is also called Peruvudaiyar Kovil and is located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. It is a fine example of Dravidian architecture from the Chola Period. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, represented by a massive Lingam. It was built around 1010 AD by Chola king Rajaraja Chola I.

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Recently, a Harappan site was discovered at Ratadiya Ri Dheri in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, marking the first Indus Valley settlement in the Thar Desert region. The site belongs to the mature urban phase of Indus Valley Civilization, dated between 2600 to 1900 BCE. It is a 4,500-year-old rural Harappan settlement located near the India-Pakistan border. The discovery connects earlier Harappan sites in northern Rajasthan and Gujarat, filling a major gap in the archaeological map. It provides evidence of cultural and trade continuity across desert regions of northwest India.

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The first-ever Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Traditional Music Festival was held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. It was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) under the theme ‘SaptaSur: Seven Nations, One Melody’. Artists from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand performed. The festival celebrated the unique traditional music of all seven BIMSTEC countries.

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The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear a petition to repeal the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949. The petition demands replacing it with a central law for better governance of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar. The Mahabodhi Temple marks the site where Gautama Buddha attained Enlightenment (Bodhi). It is one of the four most sacred Buddhist sites, along with Lumbini, Sarnath, and Kushinagar. It is located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, on the banks of the Niranjana River.

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Narali Purnima was celebrated by the fishermen community especially the Kolis, in Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar. Narali Purnima marks the end of the monsoon season in Maharashtra. The Koli community, original inhabitants and mainly fishermen, observed the festival with great enthusiasm. As tradition, coconuts were offered to the sea to pray to Lord Varuna for calm waters and protection from natural calamities. Koliwadas (fishermen colonies) in Mumbai were decorated with colourful traditional rangolis. Groups of Koli men and women performed dances in traditional costumes across lanes of Koliwada.

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A Marathi-Hindi language row has emerged recently at the Vitthal-Rukhmini Temple in Pandharpur, Maharashtra. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vithoba, a form of Lord Vishnu or Krishna, and his consort Rukhmini. It is located on the banks of the river Bhima (also called Chandrabhaga). The temple is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of the Vaishnavate tradition. The temple follows Hemadpanti style architecture, rebuilt in the 17th century in Deccan style by Peshwas, Shindes, and Holkars.

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The Kodali Karuppur silk sari, once a luxury garment patronised by the Maratha kings of Thanjavur, is now facing a crisis due to declining traditional handloom weavers. It is named after Karuppur, a village near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. These handwoven saris, dhotis, and furnishings combined hand painting, block printing, and brocade weaving, popular till the 19th century. They evolved under Serfoji Raja Bhonsle Chhatrapati II (1787-1832) and were made for the Ranis of Thanjavur. The sari does not have a GI (Geographical Indication) tag.

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A newly found unidentified early hominin fossil may represent a new species. It confirms that Australopithecus and Homo species coexisted in the same African region and timeframe. Australopithecus is a genus of extinct primates, closest relatives of humans (genus Homo). They lived between 4.4 million to 1.4 million years ago during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. Fossils were discovered in eastern, north-central, and southern Africa. The name means “southern ape,” first identified in South Africa. The most famous specimen is “Lucy,” a 3.2-million-year-old fossil from Ethiopia.