Indian Culture MCQs

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Lal Ded, better known as Lalla Yogeshwari, ranks as a great mystic poetess of the 14th century. She was an ardent practitioner of Kashmir Shaivism that is also known as Trika Shastra founded by Vasu Gupta.

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Tawang monastery is the largest of its kind in the country and is one of the largest monasteries in Asia. It is said to be one of the biggest Buddhist monasteries in the world outside of Lhasa, Tibet. It is also known by another Tibetan name, ‘Galden Namgey Lhatse’, which means ‘celestial paradise in a clear night’.

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Mathura and Gandhara schools of art flourished during the Kushana era. The Mathura school of art developed in the first century AD during the reign of Kushan emperor Kanishka. The Gandhara school of art also developed in the first century AD during the reign of Kanishka. The Gandhara school of art is known for the first sculptural representations of the Buddha in human form. The school was influenced by Greek methodologies. The Gandhara school of art developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan between the 1st century BCE and the 7th century CE. The Mathura school of art achieved its pinnacle during the Gupta period (6th or 7th century). The period of Kushana King Kanishka, Huviska and Vasudeva is considered to be the golden age for the Mathura school of art

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Starting off his six-decade literary career as a bohemian poet and editor of Kritibas, a monthly poetry magazine, Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote his first novel, Athmo Prakash (Self-Revelation), at the behest of the editor of the hugely popular periodical Desh for its special Durga Puja edition. Two of the most critically acclaimed films of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray — Pratidwandi and Aranyer Din Ratri — were based on novels written by him.

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The Yājñavalkya Smrti is a Dharma-related texts of Hinduism composed in Sanskrit. It is dated to between the 3rd to 5th-century CE, and belongs to the Gupta period.

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The Elephant Festival is an annual event that is celebrated in Jaipur every year; it attracts tons of visitors from around the country. This festival of spring also signifies celebrating the colours of the season.

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Guru Nanak dev was a Nirguna Bhakti saint and social reformer, born at Rai Bhoi Ki Talvandi near Lahore in April 15, 1469 AD. He was the first Sikh Guru and the founder of Sikhism.The verses composed by him were collected in the Adi Granth, written in Gurmukhi script..

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Kalighat Paintings are hand-made drawings and sometimes machine-made. It is produced by a group of artists called ‘Patuas’, who live near the famous Kali temple at Kalighat in West Bengal.

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Kuchipudi is a classical dance form, exclusive to the South-East Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It originated in a village of Krishna district in modern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It derives its name from this village. It is a dance-drama performance art, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. Like all major classical dances of India, it was also developed as a religious art linked to travelling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs. The Kuchipudi style was conceived by Siddhendra Yogi, a talented Vaishnava poet of 17th century. It begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by Nritta (non-narrative and abstract dancing); shabdam (narrative dancing) and natya. The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music. The singer is accompanied by musical instruments like Mridangam, violin, flute and tambura. Like other classical dances, Kuchipudi also comprises pure dance, mime and histrionics but it is the use of speech that distinguishes Kuchipudi’s presentation as dance drama.

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The Kumbh Mela at Haridwar is a mela held every 12 years at Haridwar, India. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Aquarius and the sun enters Aries. An Ardh Kumbh Mela is held six years after a Kumbh Mela.