Indian Culture MCQs

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Buddhists, Jains, and Hindus have directed an almost equal attention to the Gopura or gateways o f their towns and temples. These, both in form and purpose, resemble the pylons of the Egyptian temples.

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Baul are a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. They can often be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments. Not much is known of their origin. Lalon Fakir is regarded as the most important poet-practitioner of the Baul tradition. Baul music had a great influence on Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry and on his music (Rabindra Sangeet). Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

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Chola art: The most famous of all the bronze icons is that of Nataraja, the Divine Dancer. The symbolism presents Siva as lord of the cosmic dance of creation and destruction.

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The Dashavatara Temple or Vishnu Temple also called Gupta temple at Deogarh. It was built in the Gupta Period (320 to c. 600 AD ). Archaeologists have inferred that it is the earliest known Panchayatana temple in North India. A hindu temple is a Panchayatana one when the main shrine is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines.

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Husari and Bihunas belongs to Assam. Husari is carol singing. Bihu songs and dances invariably follow the main item of Husari singing.

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The North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC), one of the seven zonal centres established by the Indian government, is situated in Dimapur in Nagaland. These cultural centres were designed to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of India. NEZCC includes Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

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Udyog Parva of Mahabharata deals with fruitless efforts to bring about peace between the Kurus and the Pandavas. There are 18 parvas.

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Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh was one of the most prominent Hindi poets, essayist, literary and political critic, and fiction writers of the 20th century.He also remained assistant-editor of journals like, Naya Khun and Vasudha.He is best known for his long poems:Brahma-rakshasa, Chand ka Muh Teda hai,Andhere Mein and Bhuri Bhuri Khak Dhul.

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The Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi and has 1,430 pages. It contains 5,894 hymns arranged into 31 musical groupings.The fifth Gurus of Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev ji laid the foundation of holy book of Sikhs , Guru Granth Sahib (or Adi granth). It is a compilation of teachings and writings by Guru Nanak dev ji and other Sikh Gurus in addition to the Hindu and  Muslim saints.

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The Langas and Manganiars are Muslim communities of traditional musicians who are known for their Sufi music. They have lived in the Thar Desert region of western Rajasthan for centuries, and also in villages along the Pakistan border. They are hereditary communities who make their livings as musical performers and genealogists for higher-caste patrons