Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
Bhanu Athaiya, an eminent costume designer in Indian cinema, became the first Indian to clinch an Oscar. Her ideation and implementation of costumes grace over 100 films and spans over several decades from the 1950s. She collaborated with proficient filmmakers such as Guru Dutt, Yash Chopra, Raj Kapoor, Ashutosh Gowariker, including international directors like Conrad Rooks and Richard Attenborough. She also won two prestigious National Film Awards, in 1991 and 2002, demonstrating her exceptional skills and contribution to the film industry.

Notes:
Bobbili veena, also known as Saraswathi Veena or the Ekanda Veena, is a large plucked string instrument used in Carnatic classical music. It is carved from a single piece of Jackwood. Jackwood is a rainforest tree.

Notes:
The Manipur Sangai Festival is an annual calendar mega-event of the Government of Manipur spearheaded by the Tourism Department that seeks to showcase and promote the finest of Manipur’s arts & culture, adventure sports, indigenous cuisines, handloom & handicrafts, fine arts, indigenous games & music and various other niche products to a regional, national and global audience.

Notes:
The Royal Kathina Ceremony is observed every year by Buddhist. It is observed in only one Buddhist temple outside Thailand and this year the Namphake Buddhist temple of Assam was selected. Kathina offering is an ancient Buddhist Tradition of offering special robe and other necessities to monks who maintain strict discipline of retreat during the rainy season. The main purpose of the ceremony is not merely for religious belief but also to strengthen the relationship between Thailand and other countries.

Notes:
Varkari Sect is founded by saint Tukaram. It is a vasihnavite tradition. It is geographically associated with Maharashtra.

Notes:
Correct sequence of the months is as follows:

1. Chaitra
2. Vaisakha
3. Jyestha
4. Ashadha
5. Shravana
6. Bhadrapada
7. Ashvina
8. Kartika
9. Margashirsha
10. Pausha
11. Magha
12. Phalguna

Notes:
Durga Vahini is the women’s wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation in India. The wing was founded in 1991 by Sadhvi Rithambara as a part of a larger movement to mobilize Hindu women for the protection and promotion of Hindu culture. The group trains women in self-defense and other tactical skills as part of its ideology to build a Hindu nation.

Notes:
Gauhar Jan, born as Angelina Yeoward, was of the foremost musicians in the Hindustani classical music tradition during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in India. She is known especially for her ghazal style and singing in several languages such as Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, and more. A critical performer in khyal style music, she was notable enough to perform in the first recording sessions held in India circa 1902.

Notes:
Lal Ded (Lalleswari) was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and a revered Kashmiri saint. Born in 1320 AD near Pampore, Kashmir, she was a daughter of a Kashmiri Brahman named Cheta Bhat. Lal Ded played a significant role in the history of Kashmir, notably for her profound spiritual poems and public discourses, contributing vastly to the development of the Kashmiri language and literature.

Notes:
The Khakhara Deula is altogether a different style of architecture closely appearing similar to the Dravidian Gopuran design. The word is derived from Khakharu (Pumpkin, gourd) as the crown looks like a barrel- vaulted elongated roof. It is a rectangular building with a truncated pyramid-shaped roof, like the gopuras. The temples of the feminine deities as Shakti are temple of that type. One example is the Baitala Deula of Bhubneshwar, dedicated to Chamunda. The Sakta temples are generally of Khakhara order. Brahmi temple of Chaurasi in Puri and Gouri temple of Bhubaneswar are two other glaring examples of Khakhara temple.