Art and Culture Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 15)

The Kalyanotsavam, or Sita Rama Kalyanam, is a symbolic wedding of Rama and Sita held at temples such as Bhadrachalam.

Maryada Purushottam means “the perfect man”. It points to Rama’s conduct as son, husband, brother and king.

No primary records from Meera Bai’s own lifetime survive. The earliest known texts that mention her were written in the 17th century, roughly 150 years after her traditional death date.

Meera Bai’s songs are called padas, and are known for viraha, the theme of longing and separation from Krishna, addressed to him as her husband or lover.

The project combined Humayun’s Tomb, Sunder Nursery, and the Nizamuddin Basti into one heritage precinct, restoring more than thirty monuments in the wider area.

Tansen joined Akbar’s court in 1562, about 15 years after Meera Bai’s traditional death date of 1547, making a secret meeting between them chronologically implausible.

Khusrau is widely credited as the founder of qawwali. Popular tradition also credits him with inventing instruments like the sitar and tabla, though music historians dispute that specific claim.

Meera Bai married Bhoj Raj, crown prince of Mewar, in 1516. He died of wounds from a war with the Delhi Sultanate in 1521, leaving her a widow.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq raised the tomb over Nizamuddin’s grave shortly after his death, adding two domed halls. The present marble dome was rebuilt later, in 1562, during Akbar’s reign.

He is said to have declared ‘Dilli abhi door hai,’ meaning ‘Delhi is still far off.’ The Sultan died suddenly soon after, and the fort was abandoned within years, though historians attribute this to water scarcity rather than a curse.

Meera Bai’s devotional songs, or padas, are addressed to Krishna, whom she regarded as her true husband even after her royal marriage.

Nizamuddin became a disciple of Baba Farid, a saint of the Chishti Sufi order, who later named him his spiritual successor.

Chhath is kept mainly in Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, plus the Nepal Terai.

Chhathi Maiya is the goddess Shashthi, who guards children. Chhath falls on the sixth day of the bright half of Kartika.

Tradition links Chhath to Kunti, Draupadi and Karna. These are folk and epic-linked accounts. The texts do not name Chhath.

After the Kharna meal the fast runs about 36 hours with no food and no water.

Chhath has no idol, no temple and no priest. The devotee stands in water and offers arghya to the Sun.

Ganga Saptami, on Vaishakh Saptami, marks Ganga’s birth. Ganga Dussehra, a month later on Jyeshtha Dashami, marks her actual descent to earth — two distinct festivals often confused as one.

Brahma warned that Ganga’s full force would be too powerful for the earth to survive directly. Shiva agreed to break her fall in his matted hair, then released her gently.

Anshuman, Sagara’s grandson, and Dilipa, Anshuman’s son, both attempted and failed. It was Dilipa’s son, Bhagiratha, who finally succeeded.

Sagara’s sons wrongly accused Kapila of stealing their sacrificial horse, which had actually wandered off during their father’s Ashwamedha yagna. Kapila’s curse reduced them to ashes.

Ganga Dussehra falls on Dashami, the tenth day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month Jyeshtha, usually in May or June.

11,304 dancers, along with 2,548 drummers, set the Guinness World Record for the largest Bihu dance and largest drum ensemble on 14 April 2023.

Shat Bihu opens with Goru Bihu, a day devoted to bathing and honouring cattle, before the main human celebrations begin.

The pepa is a curved wind instrument made from buffalo horn, producing the distinctive melody heard alongside the Bihu dhol drum.