Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Ellora Caves.

Key Points

• Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.
• It is located nearly 100 km away from Ajanta caves in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra.
• The temples and monasteries extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff.
• The structures were excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills.
• Ellora Caves are one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world.
• Ellora caves are a group of 100 caves at the site of which 34 caves are open to the public.
  • 17 caves out of these 34 are themed around Hinduism, 12 caves depict the themes of Buddhist, and 5 caves are of Jain faith.
• The set of caves in Ellora were developed during the period between the 5th century and 11th century A.D.
• The most remarkable of the Ellora cave temples is Kailasa Temple (Kailasanatha; cave 16).
• It features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world.
• It is named for the mountain in the Kailasa Range of the Himalayas where the Hindu god Shiva resides.

The correct answer is Tamil Nadu.

• There are 12 Jyotirlinga shrines in India.

Important Points

• The southernmost Jyotirlinga temple is located in Tamil Nadu.
• Ramanathaswamy Temple is the southernmost Jyotirlinga temple in India.
• Ramanathaswamy Temple is the Jyotirlinga temple located in Tamil Nadu.
  • It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva.
  • It was constructed during the period of the Pandya and Jaffna kings.
• Kedarnath in Uttarakhand is the northernmost Jyotirlinga temple in India. ​

Additional Information

• The 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of India are:
  • Somnath Jyotirlinga in Gir, Gujarat
  • Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
  • Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
  • Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga in Khanda, Madhya Pradesh
  • Baidyanath Jyotirlinga in Deoghar, Jharkhand
  • Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga in Maharashtra
  • Ramanathaswamy Jyotirlinga in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu
  • Nageshwar Jyotirlinga in Dwarka, Gujarat
  • Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirlinga in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
  • Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga in Nasik, Maharashtra
  • Kedarnath Jyotirlinga in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand
  • Ghrishneshwar Jyotirlinga in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

The correct answer is Ladakh.

Key Points

• Hemish festival is celebrated in Ladakh.
• Hemish Festival:
  • It is celebrated every year on the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. 
  • The Dance Festival is world-famous representing the reincarnation of Buddha.
  • The most attractive part of the festival is the mystic mask dance.
  • The mask dances of Ladakh are referred to as Chams dance.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Ustad Bismillah Khan

Important Points

• Ustad Bismillah Khan was born on 21 March 1916 in Dumraon village, Bihar.
• He settled in Varanasi with his father Prophet Bakhsh Khan at a very young age.
• Bismillah Khan was awarded the "Bharat Ratna" in 2001 by the Government of India.
• Ustad Bismillah Khan played the clarinet from the Red Fort when the country became independent in 1947.
• He died on 21 August 2006 at the age of 90.
• Anant Lal was a famous shehnai player from the Banaras Gharana.
• Pandit Ram Sahay was the shehnai player of the Banaras Gharana and was a royal musician in the court of Nawab Asafuddaula of Lucknow.
• Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan was a famous shehnai player. He was awarded the 'Bangbhushan Award' by the Government of Bengal.

The correct answer is Maharashtra.

The Aga Khan Palace is located in the state of Maharashtra.

Key Points

• The Aga Khan Palace was built in 1892 by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III in the district of Pune in Maharashtra.
• The Palace was an act of charity by the spiritual leader of the Nizari Ismaili Muslims, who wanted to help the poor in the neighboring areas of Pune, who were drastically hit by famine.
• Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III was the founder of the All India Muslims League.
• Aga Khan Palace served as the prison for Mahatma Gandhi in Pune from Aug 1942 to May 1944.
• Gandhi lived here along with his wife Kasturba, his secretary Mahadev Desai & Sarojini Naidu.
• In fact, both Kasturba Gandhi and Mahadev Desai died in the premises of this Palace turned prison.
• A corner of the Palace premises serves as the Samadhi dedicated to two of them.
• Some of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi are placed next to the two samadhis.
• Samadhis are nothing but Tulasi plants growing on top of the places where Kasturba and Mahadev Desai were cremated.

Additional Information

Maharashtra

• Maharashtra is the second most populous state in India.
• Mumbai is the financial capital of India.
• The old name of Mumbai was Bombay.
• Maharashtra is the most industrialized and most urbanized state in India.
• Maharashtra is the leading producer of electricity.
• Pune is known as the Cultural capital of Maharashtra.
• Mumbai was the first venue of the first International Film Festival of India (1952).
• The first railway line in India - Bombay to Thane (1853)
• Bombay Stock Exchange(1875) is the oldest stock exchange in India and also the first stock exchange in Asia.
• Gateway of India is situated in Mumbai.
• The headquarter of Central Railway, Western Railway, and Konkan Railway is in Mumbai.
• The headquarters of RBI, LIC, NABARD is in Mumbai.
• The first meeting of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay (1885).

Uttar Pradesh

• Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India.
• Uttar Pradesh is the 'Sugar Bowl of India'.
• Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of monuments in India.
• Uttar Pradesh has the maximum membership (80 seats) in the Lok Sabha.
• Uttar Pradesh shares its boundary with the most number of states in India (9 states - Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh including Delhi and Nepal).
• Asia's first DNA bank is in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
• Uttar Pradesh is the state through which most numbers of the National Highways pass.

Kerala

• Kerala is known as 'God's Own Country.'
• Kerala is the 'Spice Garden of India'.
• Kerala is the state having the highest literacy rate in India.
• Kerala is the first state in India to achieve 100% primary education.
• Kerala is the state having the highest sex ratio in India.
• Kerala is the first baby-friendly state in India.
• Kerala is the first total banking state in India.
• Kerala is the first state in India to set up Disaster Management Authority.

Madhya Pradesh

• Madhya Pradesh is known as the 'Heart of India' and 'Tiger State of India.'
• India's biggest diamond mine Panna is in Madhya Pradesh.
• Indore is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh.
• Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest area in India.
• Madhya Pradesh has the largest scheduled tribe population in India.
• Madhya Pradesh is the first state in India to conduct an election by Panchayath Raj Act 1992.
• Madhya Pradesh is known as the 'Soya State of India'.​