Art and Culture Questions

The Correct Answer is Option (4) i.e 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b-

• A folk dance is a dance developed by people that reflect the life of the people of a certain country or region.
• It is performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, the birth of a child, a wedding, festivals, and some old social customs.

The incorrect pair is Mimamsa - Shankaracharya.

Key Points

• The Mimamsa Sutra or the Purva Mimamsa Sutras, written by Rishi Jaimini is one of the most important ancient Hindu philosophical texts.
• It forms the basis of Mimamsa, the earliest of the six orthodox schools (Darshanas) of Indian philosophy.

Additional Information

• Sage Kapila is traditionally known as a founder of the Samkhya school.
• The Sanskrit philosopher Kanada Kashyapa (2nd–3rd century) expounded its theories and is credited with founding the Vaisheshika Philosophy.
• Gautama Muni is the founder of Nyaya Philosophy.

The correct answer is Bihar.

• Mithila painting (also known as Madhubani Painting) originated in a small village, known as Maithili, in the Bihar state of India.

Key Points

• Themes of the Maithili painting revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi, Shiva, Durga, and Saraswati.
  • The natural themes that are used include the Sun, the Moon, and religious plants like tulsi.
• The painting was traditionally done by womenfolk on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts, but now they are also done on cloth, handmade paper, and canvas.
• One can also find paintings based on scenes from the royal courts and social events, like weddings.
  • If any empty space is left after painting the main theme, it is filled up with the motifs of flowers, animals, and birds or geometric designs.
• Mithila painting, as a domestic ritual activity, was unknown to the outside world until the massive India-Nepal border earthquake of 1934 when the houses and walls tumbled down.
  • Then British colonial officer in Madhubani District, William G. Archer, while inspecting the damage 'discovered' the paintings on the newly exposed interior walls of Mithila homes. 

The correct answer is Agra.

 Key Points

• The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah is located along the banks of the Yamuna at Agra.
• It was built by the Mughal queen Noor Jahan, wife of Emperor Jehangir.
• The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah is often regarded as a draft of the Taj Mahal.
• It is known for the first use of the pietra dura (floral design made up of semiprecious stone).
• Tomb of Jahangir in Lahore is supposed to be the result of Noor Jahan vision. 

Important Points

• Agra is known for Taj Mahal (Tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for the memory of his favourite wife).
• The Taj Mahal is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
• Ustad Ahmad Lahauri was the chief architect of Taj mahal.
• Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until1638.
• Moti Masjid inside Agra Fort was built by Mughal emperor Shah jahan.
• Moti Masjid inside Red Fort, Delhi was built by Aurangzeb.
• The tomb of Akbar is at Sikandra, approximately 8 km from the main city of Agra.
• Fatehpur Sikri is a town in the Agra District, known for Buland Darwaza, and Tomb of Salim Chishti, the city itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar to 1585.

The correct answer is Shehnai.

Key Points

• Ustad Bismillah Khan used to play the shehna
• He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2001, becoming the third classical musician after M. S. Subbalakshmi and Ravi Shankar to be awarded Bharat Ratna.
• On his 102nd birthday, Google honoured Bismillah Khan with a Google doodle.
• The Department of Posts issued a five-rupee commemorative stamp on Bismillah Khan on 21st August 2008, on the occasion of his second death anniversary.
• He had the rare honour of being invited by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to play shehnai on the ramparts of the Red Fort on the eve of 15th August 1947.
• He also heralded the first Republic Day celebrations on 26th January 1950.
• Since then the charming strain of his shehnai marked the beginning of Republic Day celebrations every year.

The correct answer is Rampurva, Bihar.

Key Points

The Bull capital of Ashoka:

• It is from Rampurva, Bihar.
• It belongs to the third century B.C.
• It is a mixture of Persian and Indian elements.
• The lotus capital is entirely formalistic.
• The motifs on the abacus are beautiful decorative elements like the rosette, palmette, and the acanthus ornaments, none of them is Indian.
• The crowning element of the bull capital, that is the bull proper, is a masterpiece of Indian craftsmanship, showing a humped bull, well modelled, with its soft flesh beautifully represented, with its strong legs, sensitive nostrils, and the ears cocked as if it were listening.

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• The Kabir Bijak is preserved by the Kabirpanth (the path or sect of Kabir) in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh. 
• Bijak is the best known of the compilations of the Kabir, and as such is the holy scripture for followers of the Kabirpanthi religion.
• The Bijak, an anthology of Kabir’s verses compiled in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and/or Bihar, is one of Kabir’s most influential works.

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Adi granth

• Guru Arjun Dev Ji, the 5th Guru of Sikhs composed and collected the hymns of the previous Sikh gurus and laid the foundation of the holy book of Sikhs known as Guru Granth Sahib (or Adi Granth). 
• The Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi script and has 1,430 pages.
• It contains 5,894 hymns arranged into 31 musical groupings.
• It is a compilation of teachings and writings by Guru Nanak dev Ji and other Sikh Gurus in addition to the Hindu and Muslim saints.

Sursagar

• Sur Das is the author of Sursagar in Brajbhasha.
• It is full of verses on the charm of Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha.
• Surdas and Mirabai followed Vallabacharya.

Padawali

• It was written by Rabindranath Tagore. 

The correct answer is Lokayata system.

Key Points

• Charvaka philosophical system 
  • It is also called Lokayata Philosophy-the philosophy of masses.
  • It was developed around c. 600 BCE.
  • It rejected all supernatural claims, all religious authority and scripture.
  • It says that the ultimate good in life is a pleasure.
  •  It emphasised perception/evidence (pramana) and observation (anubhava) of the real, material world.

 Additional Information

• Astika system is defined as one that accepts the authority of the Vedas, the superiority of the Brahmans, and a society made up of the four traditional classes (varna).
• Mimamsa system provides rules for interpreting the early Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas and offers a philosophical rationale for observing Vedic rituals.
• Vaisesika system - According to the Vaisesika system all objects of valid knowledge come under seven categories- Substance (Dravya), Quality (Guṇa), Action (Karma), Generality (Sāmānya), Particularly (Vaiśeṣa), Inherence (Samavāya), Non-existence (abhāva).

The correct answer is Lokayata and Kapalika.

Important Points

• There are six major systems of Hindu Philosophy. 

Both the statements are correct. Hence Option 3 is Correct.

Indian philosophy refers to philosophies, world views, and teachings that emerged in ancient India.

The similarity between the Nyaya and Vaisheshika philosophy

• Both systems accept the liberation of the individual self as the end goal.
• Both view ignorance as to the root cause of all pain and misery.
• Both believe that liberation is attained only through right knowledge of reality.
   

The difference between the Nyaya and Vaisheshika philosophy

• Nyaya philosophy accepts four independent sources of knowledge — perception, inference, comparison, and testimony — but Vaisesika accepts only two — perception and inference.
• Nyaya maintains that all of reality is comprehended by sixteen categories (padarthas), whereas vaisesika recognizes only seven categories of reality. These are: dravya (substance), guna (quality), karma (action), samanya (generality), visesa (uniqueness), samavaya (inherence), and abhava (nonexistence).