[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2022: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 25 May 2022 – Art and Culture – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: b)

Indian Hindustani Classical Music has various divisions like Khyaal, Thumari/Thumri, Tappa, Tarana, etc. The thumri is based on the romantic-devotional literature inspired by the bhakti movement.

The text is usually derived from the Radha-Krishna theme and is of primary importance. The semi-classical music form ‘thumr is known to have derived its name from thumakna. Loosely translated the word means, “dance-like movements”.

Thumri was about mild eroticism and dramatic gestures and was the invention of courtesans. The text is romantic and devotional in nature, and usually revolves around a girl’s love for Krishna. The language is a dialect of Hindi called Brij bhasha.

Solution: a)

Kuchipudi is originally from Andhra Pradesh. Its evolution can be traced to traditional dance – drama, known under the generic name of Yakshagaana.

It originated in the seventh century AD. In 17th century A.D. Siddhendra Yogi, a talented Vaishnava poet, conceived Kuchipudi style of Yakshagaana. It begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by nritta (non-narrative and abstract dancing) shabdam (narrative dancing) and natya.

The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music. Like other classical dances, Kuchipudi also comprises pure dance, mime and histrionics but it is the use of speech that distinguishes Kuchipudi’s presentation as dance drama.

Solution: b)

Pandavani, Chhattisgarh:
In Pandavani, tales from Mahabharata are sung as a ballad and one or two episodes are chosen for the night’s performance. The main singer continuously sits throughout the performance and with powerful singing and symbolic gestures he assumes all the characters of the episode one after another.

This type of folk music is based on the grand epic-Mahabharata and Bhima as hero. It is all inclusive of gayan (singing) and vadan (playing an instrument). Usually the songs are set to the rhythm of a tambura.

Solution: a)

The style of Ajanta has exerted a considerable influence in India and elsewhere, extending, in particular, to Java.

They are cut into the volcanic lava of the Deccan in the forest ravines of the Sahyadri Hills and are set in beautiful sylvan surroundings. These magnificent caves containing carvings that depict the life of Buddha, and their carvings and sculptures are considered to be the beginning of classical Indian art.

The 29 caves were excavated beginning around 200 BC, but they were abandoned in AD 650 in favour of Ellora. Five of the caves were temples and 24 were monasteries, thought to have been occupied by some 200 monks and artisans. The Ajanta Caves were gradually forgotten until their ‘rediscovery’ by a British tiger-hunting party in 1819.

Solution: d)

Hindustani music: practiced in the northern parts of India. The Hindustani branch of music focuses more on the musical structure and the possibilities of improvisation in it. The Hindustani branch adopted a scale of Shudha Swara Saptaka or the ‘Octave of Natural notes.

There are ten main styles of singing in Hindustani music like the ‘Dhrupad’, ‘Dhamar’, ‘Hori’, ‘Khayal’, ‘Tappa’, ‘Chaturang’, ‘Ragasagar’, ‘Tarana’, ‘Sargam’ and ‘Thumri’.