QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC , 1 June 2021 – Art and Culture

Solution: b)

Sattras are monastic institutions created as part of the 16th century Neo-Vaishnavite reformist movement started by Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1596).

• These Sattras/Thans were established as centres of religious, social and cultural reforms in the 16th century across Assam.
• Sattras promulgate Sankardeva’s unique “worship through art” approach with music (borgeet), dance (xattriya) and theatre (bhauna).

Solution: a)

Garba is a popular folk dance of Gujarat, held at the time of Navaratra. Garba actually refers to “Garbha deep” – an earthern pot with holes, in which a lamp is lit and women dance around it in circular movements with rhythmic clapping.

Kalbelia is a sensuous folk dance performed by the women of the Kalbelia community of Rajasthan. The costumes and dance movement are similar to that of the serpents. ‘Been’ (wind instrument played by snake charmers) is the popular musical instrument of this dance form. The UNESCO has inscribed Kalbelia folk songs and dances in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Braj Raslila is a popular folk dance of the region of Uttar Pradesh, revolving around the adolescent love stories of Radha and Krishna.

Paika is a martial folk dance performed in the southern parts of Odisha.

Solution: c)

About the Temple:

1. Built in the 13th century, the Konark temple was conceived as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God, with 12 pairs of exquisitely ornamented wheels pulled by seven horses.
2. It was built by King Narasimhadeva I, the great ruler of Ganga dynasty. Also called the Surya Devalaya, it is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of Architecture or Kalinga Architecture.
3. The temple was included in UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for its architectural greatness and also for the sophistication and abundance of sculptural work.
4. The temple is a perfect blend of Kalinga architecture, heritage, exotic beach and salient natural beauty.
5. It is protected under the National Framework of India by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act (1958) and its Rules (1959).
6. The Konark is the third link of Odisha’s Golden Triangle. The first link is Jagannath Puri and the second link is Bhubaneswar (Capital city of Odisha).
7. This temple was also known as ‘BLACK PAGODA’ due to its dark color and used as a navigational landmark by ancient sailors to Odisha. Similarly, the Jagannath Temple in Puri was called the “White Pagoda”.
8. It remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February.

Solution: a)

Bharhut sculptures are tall like the images of Yaksha and Yakhshini in the Mauryan period, modelling of the sculptural volume is in low relief maintaining linearity. Images stick to the picture plane. In the relief panels depicting narratives, illusion of three-dimensionality is shown with tilted perspective. Clarity in the narrative is enhanced by selecting main events. At Bharhut, narrative panels are shown with fewer characters but as the time progresses, apart from the main character in the story, others also start appearing in the picture space. At times more than one event at one geographical place is clubbed in the picture space or only a single main event is depicted in the pictorial space.

• Narrative reliefs at Bharhut show how artisans used the pictorial language very effectively to communicate stories.
• In one such narrative, showing Queen Maya devi’s (mother of Siddhartha Gautam) dream, a descending elephant is shown. The queen is shown reclining on the bed whereas an elephant is shown on the top heading towards the womb of Queen Mayadevi.
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Solution: c)

The Nayaka paintings depict episodes from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and also scenes from Krishna-leela. In Tiruvarur, there is a panel narrating the story of Muchukunda.

In Chidambaram, there are panels of paintings narrating stories related to Shiva and Vishnu— Shiva as Bhikshatana Murti, Vishnu as Mohini, etc.

In the Sri Krishna temple at Chengam in Arcot District there are 60 panels narrating the story of the Ramayana which represent the late phase of Nayaka paintings.

The examples cited above suggest that Nayaka paintings were more or less an extension of the Vijayanagara style with minor regional modifications and incorporations.