Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Sri Narayana Guru preached the doctrine of ‘One caste, One religion, One God.’ Its worth note that one of his athiest disciples, Sahadaran Ayyapan, changed into ‘no religion, no caste and no God for mankind.

Notes:
Tamil language holds the title as the oldest language in India. It is about 5000 years old and is still widely used in parts of India and Sri Lanka. It is a part of the Dravidian language family, distinct from the Indo-European languages like Hindi and Sanskrit that largely influenced other languages in northern parts of India.

Notes:
Amir Khusro was a Sufi mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. He was a poet as well as prolific musician. He is regarded as the “father of qawwali”. He is also credited with enriching Indian classical music by introducing Persian and Arabic elements in it, and was the originator of the khayal and tarana styles of music. Khayal later reached to its zenith during the times of Mohammad Shah Rangila and today is integral part of Hindustani classical music.

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Siddhendra Yogi from Bhamakalapam dance drama developed the classical dance of Kuchpudi. The play Bhamakalpam deals with the Hindu God, Lord Krishna and his companions Satyabhama and Rukmini.

Notes:
KK Birla Foundation awards the Vyas Samman to outstanding Hindi literature published in the last 10 years. The award was established in 1991 and carries a cash prize of Rs 4 lakh. The winner of the 2022 Vyas Samman was Gyan Chaturvedi for his satirical novel Pagalkhana.
The KK Birla Foundation also awards the Saraswati Samman and the Bihari Puraskar. The Saraswati Samman is given to literary works published in the last 10 years by Indian writers in languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The Bihari Puraskar recognizes outstanding work in Hindi or Rajasthani published in the last 10 years by a Rajasthani writer.

Notes:
Tera Tali is a famous folk dance of Rajasthan. It is Performed by the ‘Kamar’ tribe. The women folk sit on the ground while performing the Tera Tali.

Notes:
The Taj Mahal in Agra which was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) for his favourite wife Arjumand Banu Begum upon her death in 1631. Mausoleum of Arjumand Banu Begum is in the central chamber of the tomb and decorated with peitra dura.

Notes:
Tamil’s connection to Singapore actually goes way back, even beyond the Indian labourers who came to work in the British rubber plantations. Tamil is the most spoken Indian language in Singapore and the only Indian language among Singapore’s four official languages, alongside Mandarin, (the language of trade) Malay (the national language) and English (the language of administration), and 3.1% of Singapore residents speak Tamil at home.

Notes:
Lotus is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial. India is rich in flora.