Art and Culture Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 12)

Bollywood films and stars built enormous followings across the Indian diaspora, plus long-standing popularity in regions like the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, decades before Western mainstream audiences engaged with Indian cinema.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted in 1969. Devika Rani, known as the First Lady of Indian Cinema, was its very first recipient that same year.

His autobiography is The Tunnel of Time. The Hotel Riviera and The Messenger are two of his novels. Malgudi Days is by his elder brother R.K. Narayan.

The correct answer is Krishna Lila. Jayadeva’s devotional poem the Gita Govinda gave artists a specific, structured story about Krishna and Radha to illustrate, and it became especially important in popularising this theme across Pahari painting.

Tabla’s two drums are the dayan (smaller, right hand) and the bayan (bass, left hand).

The correct answer is John Marshall. He became the third director-general of the ASI in 1902. His appointment began a new phase of activity. Memory hook: Marshall, 1902.

The correct answer is Durga Puja – 2021. Durga Puja in Kolkata joined UNESCO’s intangible list in 2021. The other pairs swap the years: Kumbh Mela came in 2017, Yoga in 2016 and Garba in 2023. Deepavali is the newest of India’s 16 elements, inscribed in 2025.

The correct answer is 2005. India ratified the 2003 Convention on 9 September 2005. The year 2003 is when UNESCO adopted the Convention, which makes it the common trap. The Convention protects living heritage such as Kumbh Mela and Yoga.

The correct answer is conservation and maintenance of centrally protected monuments. The ASI, set up in 1861, looks after 3,688 such monuments, including 28 World Heritage properties. Festivals and awards for the arts belong to the Akademis and the Ministry of Culture. The National Culture Fund is a separate trust that brings in partnerships.

The correct answer is the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. It lets the government, through the ASI, declare monuments of national importance and control building around them. The 1972 Act deals with antiquities, not monuments. The Treasure Trove Act, 1878 covers buried treasure. Memory hook: monuments, 1958; movable objects, 1972.

The correct answer is 200 metres. The Prohibited Area covers the first 100 metres from the protected limit. The Regulated Area covers the next 200 metres. Together they reach 300 metres, which is why 300 is a tempting wrong choice. Building work in these zones needs permission first.

The correct answer is only the Central Government or an agency it authorises. A licence under the Act lets a person run an antiquities business. It does not allow export. State Governments and museums have no export power under this Act.

The correct answer is (iii) and (vi). Criterion (iii) marks Sarnath as one of the four principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Criterion (vi) marks its link with the Buddha’s first sermon and his first disciples. The other pairs were not the grounds given for Sarnath.

This is UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2017, General Studies Paper I, Q69, Series A. The official UPSC key gives (a) Ajanta. The textbook places the painting in Cave 1 at Ajanta and dates it to the late 5th century CE. Bagh also has Buddhist murals, but it is not the Padmapani site. Ellora is a separate site, about a hundred kilometres from Ajanta.

Classical status requires high antiquity, a substantial body of ancient literature, and a literary tradition original to the language, not borrowed from elsewhere.

Bani Thani was herself a real singer, poet, and consort of Raja Sawant Singh, and the painting is widely believed to depict her.

Bani Thani belongs to the Kishangarh school, painted by Nihal Chand for the Rajasthani princely state of Kishangarh.

Bani Thani is called ‘India’s Mona Lisa,’ for its instantly recognisable, idealised depiction of feminine beauty.

Nihal Chand created Bani Thani around 1750, under the patronage of Raja Sawant Singh of Kishangarh.

The correct answer is Cheraw. Cheraw is the bamboo dance of Mizoram. It is performed with bamboo poles and is linked with Chapchar Kut.

The correct answer is 1 and 2. Chapchar Kut belongs to Mizoram and Khongjom Parva belongs to Manipur. Pair 3 is wrong because Thang-ta is a Manipuri martial art, not a dance of Sikkim.

The correct answer is Manipur. Thang-ta is a martial art of the Meitei people of Manipur. Thang means the sword and ta means the spear.

The correct answer is the 1891 Anglo-Manipur War. Khongjom Parva is a traditional ballad of Manipur. It carries the story of the last phase of that war at Khongjom, where Major Paona refused to surrender.

The correct answer is jhum land-clearing. Chapchar Kut is a March spring festival of the Mizo. It follows the hard work of clearing the jungle for jhum, the slash and burn way of hill farming.