Art and Culture Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 9)

The answer is money collected from the people. Patel accepted the advice. A Trust was formed to raise the funds. The plan to use government funds was dropped. Memory hook: Gandhi said, ask the people.

The answer is Ahilyabai Holkar. She ruled Indore. She built a new shrine next to the ruined temple. Worship could then continue. Memory hook: Ahilyabai kept worship alive.

The answer is 11 May 1951. Patel ordered the rebuilding on 12 November 1947. The 1951 date is when the new temple opened. January 2026 was the 1,000-year commemoration. Memory hook: vow in 1947, opening in 1951.

The answer is Al-Biruni. He wrote about AD 1030. He says sailors used the harbour at Somnath. Kalhana wrote a later history of Kashmir. Hiuen Tsang and Megasthenes lived far earlier. Memory hook: Al-Biruni, harbour and tides.

The answer is 1 and 2 only. Somnath is the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas. Al-Biruni wrote about it in his account of India. Statement 3 is false. President Rajendra Prasad performed the 1951 Pran Pratishtha. Memory hook: Al-Biruni wrote, Prasad consecrated.

Awaara was nominated for the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1953. Why the others fail: Boot Polish competed in 1955. Jagte Raho won the Crystal Globe in 1957. Shree 420 won a National Film Award in 1955. Memory hook: Awaara 1953, Boot Polish 1955.

The correct answer is Phosphorus. Phosphorus helps a thin protective layer form on the surface. Britannica lists about 0.25 percent phosphorus and very little sulphur in the pillar.

Sulphur is very low in the pillar. Nickel and copper are present only in tiny amounts.

Memory hook: High phosphorus, low sulphur.

The correct answer is the Qutb Minar complex, Mehrauli. The pillar stands in the courtyard of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque inside the Qutb Minar complex. It was made in the Gupta period, about 400 CE. It was moved there from elsewhere.

Feroz Shah Kotla holds a different pillar. That one is an Ashokan pillar from Topra. The Red Fort and Purana Qila hold no ancient pillar like this.

Memory hook: Gupta pillar = Mehrauli. Ashoka pillar = Kotla.

Ali Akbar Khan, the son of Allauddin Khan, was a sarod player. Why the others fail: Shankar played the sitar, and neither he nor Khan is described as playing these instruments. Memory hook: Ali Akbar means sarod.

It took place on 1 August 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Why the others fail: the concert was held in the United States, not in London or Dhaka. Memory hook: Madison Square Garden.

Allauddin Khan founded the Maihar Gharana, and Shankar studied under him for seven years. Why the others fail: Inayat Khan was a teacher he meant to learn from, but he fell ill with typhoid before the ceremony, and the others were not his gurus. Memory hook: Maihar means Allauddin.

His mother’s brother, the shehnai player Ali Baksh, trained him at the Viswanath temple. Why the others fail: Rasool Baksh was his grandfather, Paigambar his father, and Allauddin Khan taught Ravi Shankar. Memory hook: uncle Ali Baksh.

His birth name was Qamaruddin. His grandfather said “Bismillah” on seeing the baby. Why the others fail: the uncle trained him, and the father was a court musician. Memory hook: grandfather named, uncle trained.

He was born in Dumraon, Bihar, and moved to Varanasi at age six. Why the others fail: Varanasi was his later home, and he played in Calcutta in 1937 but was not born there. Memory hook: born in Dumraon.

Jamnagari Bandhani was registered on 10 November 2016. Kutch Bandhani was registered on 30 March 2024. The year 2021 is only when the Kutch application was filed. Memory hook: Jamnagar 2016, Kutch 2024.

The chandrokhani. The gharcholu is the bridal odhani of Hindu and Jain brides. The piliya is worn by young mothers, and laheriya is a wave pattern. Memory hook: Gharcholu Hindu-Jain, chandrokhani Muslim.

Women of the community. Khatri women learn tying before marriage. Men mostly dye the cloth and run the business. Memory hook: Women tie, men dye.

The Khatri community. In Gujarat the craft is led by Khatris, who are traditionally weavers, dyers and printers. Memory hook: Khatris tie, dye and print.

Sindh. Khengarji I ruled Kutch from 1548 to 1585. He invited communities from Sindh to settle in towns such as Bhuj and Mandvi. Memory hook: Sindh, Khengarji, Khatri.

The correct answer is the earth goddess. Mara sent his daughters and armies to disturb the Buddha-to-be. He touched the earth with his right hand. The earth goddess responded positively and Mara’s armies were dispersed.

Mara was the one who attacked, not the witness. Indra and Brahma are not named in this story in the Met’s account.

Memory hook: Touch the earth, the earth speaks.

The correct answer is Varada Mudra. Varada means boon-giving. Harvard Art Museums describes a standing Buddha with his right hand extended downward, palm out. It is sometimes called the gesture of munificence.

Abhaya has a raised hand. Dhyana has the hands in a meditation pose. Bhumisparsha has the hand touching the ground.

Memory hook: Varada = lowered hand, gift.

The correct answer is Abhaya Mudra. The Buddha raises one hand to give reassurance and protection to his followers. The Met calls this the fear not gesture.

Dhyana is the meditation gesture. Dharmachakra marks the first sermon. Varada is the boon-giving gesture with a lowered hand.

Memory hook: Abhaya = no fear.

The correct answer is Dharmachakra Mudra. The Met describes a raised hand gesturing the turning of the wheel of Buddhist law, or dharma. The Buddha preached his first sermon in a deer forest at Sarnath.

Abhaya means fear not. Varada means boon-giving. Bhumisparsha means touching the earth, which belongs to the night of enlightenment.

Memory hook: Dharma wheel = first sermon.

Gul-i-hazara. Hazara means a thousand, and gul means flower. Gul-andar-gul means flowers within flowers. Memory hook: gul is flower.