Art & Culture Current Affairs MCQs

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Hilly villages of Garhwal in Uttarakhand celebrate Mangsir Bagwal, a post-Diwali folk festival rooted in agrarian life and local history. It is held in the lunar month of Mangsir (Margashirsha), about one month after Kartik Diwali, marking a delayed festival of lights. The celebration honours Garhwali commander Madho Singh Bhandari, who returned victorious from battle against Tibetan forces after Diwali. The festival coincides with the end of the winter-harvest season, when villagers gather for feasting, music and dance.

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Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) marked World Heritage Week with a heritage walk and clean-up drive at Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur. Brihadeeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Tamil Nadu and is also called Periya Kovil, RajaRajeswara Temple and Rajarajesvaram. It is one of India’s largest temples and a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture from the Chola period. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Great Living Chola Temples”.

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The famous Karthigai Deepam festival began at Sri Arunachaleshwar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. The ten-day festival is held during the Tamil month of Karthigai and attracts huge public participation. Karthigai Deepam festival is primarily celebrated in Tamil Nadu.

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Archaeologists in Turkey discovered new carved human faces, including the first human-faced T-shaped pillar at Karahan Tepe, dating back 11,000 years. Karahan Tepe is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site and part of Turkey’s Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) project, among 12 earliest ritual-residential settlements. It is located in Sanliurfa Province, southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, close to Gobekli Tepe. It represents one of the earliest symbolic and communal societies, predating widespread agriculture.

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India’s Deepavali (Diwali) has recently been added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising its cultural significance at the global level. The UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is designed to highlight and preserve living cultural traditions, practices, and expressions that communities consider an essential part of their identity. The list recognises and safeguards cultural practices that are actively performed and upheld by communities across the world. It aims to promote cultural diversity, strengthen community identity, and ensure the continuity of traditional knowledge.

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UNESCO has inscribed Pakistan’s Boreendo on the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding list, recognising its cultural fragility and the need for immediate preservation efforts. The Boreendo is a spherical clay vessel-flute that produces soft, mellow and breathy tones traditionally used in folk melodies, pastoral songs and winter gatherings in Sindh. It originated in Keti Mir Muhammad Lund in Sindh, and its lineage traces back to musical artefacts from Mohenjo-daro, linking it to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The instrument is handcrafted from terracotta, using sun-dried and kiln-fired clay, which makes it an environmentally sustainable musical craft.

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Italy has become the first country in the world to receive UNESCO recognition for its entire national cuisine. UNESCO inscribed “Italian cooking” on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Recognition was awarded by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage during its 20th session in New Delhi. The official title of the recognition is “Italian cooking: Between sustainability and biocultural diversity.”

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University of Patanjali has been designated a Cluster Center under the Gyan Bharatam Mission, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. University of Patanjali is the first yoga and Ayurveda-based university to receive this distinction. The university has preserved 50,000+ ancient texts, digitized 42 lakh+ pages, and republished 40 manuscripts. As a Cluster Center, it will mentor 20 associated institutions and strengthen nationwide cultural preservation efforts. The university will support research, education, and dissemination of Yoga and Ayurveda manuscripts, linking traditional wisdom with contemporary scholarship.

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The Department of Posts recently transported a priceless Thanjavur painting of Shri Ram from Bengaluru to Ayodhya via Logistics Post. Thanjavur (Tanjore) paintings originate from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, around 1600 AD, flourishing under the Nayakas of Thanjavur. It is created on wooden panels (palagai padam), usually jackfruit or teak, affixed with canvas and bound with Arabic gum. It is known for vibrant colors, including bright red, blue, green, and extensive gold leafwork.

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Recently, the Prime Minister of India praised Narsapuram Lace Craft made by self-help groups of Narsapur in Andhra Pradesh during the “Man Ki Baat” programme. Narsapuram Lace Craft is primarily made in Andhra Pradesh. Narsapur is located on the banks of the Godavari River. About 150 years ago, women from farming families began making decorative items using colourful lace. It mainly uses fine cotton threads, along with silk, rayon, synthetic threads, beads, and sequins. The main tool used is a crochet hook of different sizes. It has received the Geographical Indication tag.