Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Dravida Style.

• The architecture style of temple developed by Cholas is called Dravidian or Dravida architecture style.
• The majority of the existing structures are located in the Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

The correct answer is Maharashtra.

Key Points

• The Elephanta caves:
  • They are located on Elephanta island (known as the island of Gharapuri) in Maharashtra.
  • They consist of two hills separated by a narrow valley.
  • This temple built in the caves is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
  • Rock-cut "Elephanta caves" were built between the middle of the 5th to the 6th century AD.
  • Elephanta Island is 10 km from the Gateway of India in Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra.
  • These caves have been given the status of World Heritage in 1987 by UNESCO.

Additional Information

• Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Junagadh Buddhist Caves is located in the Junagadh district of Gujarat state, India.
• Mukteshwar Mahadev Temple is located near Pathankot City on Shahpur Kandi Dam Road in the Indian state of Punjab.

The correct answer is Jhingurdah Temple.

Key Points

• Jhingurdah Temple is located on the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh border.
• It is situated in the Oadi hills in Jhingurdah near Singrauli district.
• This temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman.
• Some community believes that Lord Hanuman was born here.
• It was built 200 years ago in the South-Indian style by the Singrauli Rajgharana.
• It is the only temple in the world where coconut is sacrificed before offering ladoos, garlands, and flowers.

Additional Information

• Oadi Fair is also organized in the Jhingurdah Temple.
• This fair is organized at the time of Diwali.
• It is 10 days fair visited by a huge population.

Key Points

Mohini Attam:

• Mohiniattam or Mohiniyattam is an Indian classical dance form that evolved in the state of Kerala.
• Mohiniattam is among the two popular dance arts of the state, the other being Kathakali.
• Mohiniyattam is considered a very graceful form of dance meant to be performed as solo recitals by women.
• It is believed to have originated in the 16th century.
• It is one of the eight Indian classical dance forms recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Important Points

• Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, the doyen of classical dance form Mohiniyattam passed away in the Palakkad district of Kerala. She was 77.
• She was regarded as a matriarch of Mohiniyattam and was well-known for her experimental reforms in this classical dance form which helped to preserve and popularise the traditional art form. 

Thus, Mohini Attam is a famous dance form of Kerala.

Additional Information

Kuchipudi:

• Kuchipudi, one of the major dance forms of India was originated from Andhra Pradesh.
• It is the traditional dance of the state.
• It grew largely as a product of the Bhakti movement beginning in the 7th Century AD.
• Kuchipudi derives its name from the village Kuchelapuram, where it was nurtured by great scholars and artists who built up the repertoire and refined the dance technique.

Bharat Natyam:

• Bharata Natyam is a form of Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Tamil Nadu.
• It is known for its grace, elegance, purity, tenderness, expression and sculpturesque poses.

Kathak:

• Kathak is a North Indian dance that originated in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
• The name Kathak comes from the word "Katha" which means a story.

Kathakali:

• Kathakali is a classical Indian dance form which is a story play genre of art is the folk dance form of Kerala.
• Kathakali is the most difficult style of the traditional dance form.
• In this, the actors speak ‘sign language’ where hand gestures are used to dictate word part of the character and facial and eye movements express emotions and mood.
• Kathakali is based on the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. 

Odissi:

• Odissi is a dance of love and passion touching on the divine and the human, the sublime and the mundane.
• The Natya Shastra mentions many regional varieties, such as the south-eastern style kanharis were the chief repositories of this dance.
• The maharis, who were originally temple dancers came to be employed in royal courts which resulted in the degeneration of the art form.

The correct answer is Assam.

• Bihu is a set of three important festivals observed in the Indian state of Assam which are-
  • Rongali or Bohag Bihu observed in April
  • Kongali or Kati Bihu observed in October
  • Bhogali or Magh Bihu observed in January
• The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, the Bhogali Bihu is a harvest festival and the Kongali Bihu is an animistic festival.
• It is celebrated with great joy and abundance by all Assamese people regardless of caste, creed, and religion.