[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ , 7 October 2021 – Art and Culture

Solution: d)

Kathakali Dance

• Kerala is the home of several traditional dance and dance – drama forms, the most notable being

Kathakali.

• Kathakali, as a dance form popular today, is considered to be of comparatively recent origin. However, it is an art which has evolved from many social and religious theatrical forms which existed in the southern region in ancient times. Chakiarkoothu, Koodiyattam, Krishnattam and Ramanattam are few of the ritual performing arts of Kerala which have had a direct influence on Kathakali in its form and technique.

Kathakali is a blend of dance, music and acting and dramatizes stories, which are mostly adapted from the Indian epics. It is a stylised art form, the four aspects of abhinaya – angika, aharya, vachika, satvika

and the nritta, nritya and natya aspects are combined perfectly. The dancer expresses himself through

codified hastamudras and facial expressions, closely following the verses (padams) that are sung. Kathakali derives its textual sanction from Balarama Bharatam and Hastalakshana Deepika.

Solution: a)

Bhavai is the traditional theatre form of Gujarat. The centers of this form are Kutch and Kathiawar. The instruments used in Bhavai are: bhungal, tabla, flute, pakhaawaj, rabaab, sarangi, manjeera, etc. In Bhavai, there is a rare synthesis of devotional and romantic sentiments.

Maach is the traditional theatre form of Madhya Pradesh. The term Maach is used for the stage itself as also for the play. In this theatre form songs are given prominence in between the dialogues. The term for dialogue in this form is bol and rhyme in narration is termed vanag. The tunes of this theatre form are known as rangat.

Nautanki is usually associated with Uttar Pradesh. The most popular centres of this traditional theatre form are Kanpur, Lucknow and Haathras. The meters used in the verses are: Doha, Chaubola, Chhappai, Behar-e-tabeel. There was a time when only men acted in Nautanki but nowadays, w

omen have also started taking part in the performances. Among those remembered with reverence is Gulab Bai of Kanpur. She gave a new dimension to this old theatre form.

Bhaona is a presentation of the Ankia Naat of Assam. In Bhaona cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen. The Sutradhaar, or narrator begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese.

Solution: a)

The earliest reference to the art of puppetry is found in Tamil classic ‘Silappadikaaram’ written around the 1st or 2nd century B.C.

Natyashastra, the masterly treatise on dramaturgy written sometime during 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD., does not refer to the art of puppetry but the producer-cum-director of the human theatre has been termed as ‘Sutradhar’ meaning the holder of strings. The word might have found its place in theatre-terminology long before Natyashastra was written but it must come from marionette theatre. Puppetry, therefore, must have originated in India more than 500 years before Christ.

Solution: b)

Pali and Prakrit were the spoken languages of Indians after the Vedic period.

Lord Buddha (500 B.C.) used Pali to give his sermons. The Buddhist canonical literature is in Pali which includes Tipitaka (threefold basket).

Buddhist literature is also abundantly available in Sanskrit, which includes the great epicBuddhacharita by Aswaghosha (78 A.D.).

Jain literature is available in Sanskrit too, like the Upamitibhava Prapancha Katha of Siddharasi (906 A.D.).

Solution: b)

• The Samkhya School denies the existence of God. However, rebirth and transmigration of soul are inherent in the Samkhya School.
• Liberation results from the disappearance of the limitations of self-awareness.