Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
Shaphee Lanphee is a traditional textile fabric woven and embroidered by Meitei women of Manipur. The fabric was, in the past, presented as a gift of honour (Mana Phee) to the soldiers for their bravery in a successful war, and to the praise-worthy chiefs of the Nagas of Manipur by the king of Manipur. 

Notes:
Raut Nacha is a ceremonial dance performed mainly by the tribal community of Chhattisgarh. It is performed during the “dev udhni ekadashi”, after the Diwali festival. It is mainly performed by Yaduvanshis. The dance form carries with itself sacred mythological and religious traditions.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
To pay a befitting tribute to the man of letters, Nobel Laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, on his 150th birth anniversary, the Government of India has set up a ‘Tagore Centre for the Study of Culture and Civilization’ (TCSCC) at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla. The objectives of the Centre include: to encourage the study of Tagore’s work; support translations of Tagore’s work into other Indian languages; promote comparative study of his work with poets, artists and writers in other parts of India and the world; study the elements of his Humanist philosophy and his cosmopolitanism; and explore his concerns regarding the relationship between science and society.

Notes:
Guru Nanak said that a man was to be honoured for his devotion to God and not for his social position. He said– “God knows man’s virtues and inquires not his caste; in the next world there is no caste.”

Notes:
The annual “Flamingo Festival” began at Sullurpeta near the Pulicat lake bird sanctuary in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The festival was being held every year to bring together the people and various departments in the task of preserving the Pulicat Lake and surroundings. Every year approximately 15,000 Greater Flamingos are reported to visit the lake along with pelicans, kingfishers, herons, painted storks, spoonbills and ducks.

Notes:
Dr M Balmuralikrishna was a famous Carnatic vocalist. He belongs to Tamil Nadu. He died in 2016.

Notes:
Shiva Tandava Stotra is sung by Ravana in Ramayana. It is a Sanskrit sloka. Ravana is king of Lanka.

Notes:
Watson’s Hotel, also known as Esplanade Mansion, is located in Mumbai. Built in 1867, it is recognized as India’s oldest surviving cast iron building. The structure showcases Victorian Gothic architecture and was originally a luxury hotel. Its unique cast iron framework was sourced from the UK, reflecting the colonial era’s architectural trends.

Notes:
Shahtoosh is the name given to a specific kind of shawl, which is woven with the down hair of the Tibetan antelope (chiru), by master weavers of Kashmir. The Shahtoosh shawl is now a banned item with possession and sale being illegal in most countries for the Chiru is an endangered species under CITES.