[Mission 2024] STATIC QUIZ, 6 July 2023 – Art and Culture

Solution: b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Mask use has a long history in India. Excavations have revealed small hollow masks dating back to the Indus Valley Civilisation. In fact, in Bihar, a terracotta mask of the fourth century has also been excavated.

The Natya Shastra speaks of masks and their use in theatre. Here it is mentioned that masks can be made of ground paddy husks applied to cloth.

Mask making in Assam was initiated by Mahapurush Sankaradeva, the 15th Century saint, who introduced them in Ankia Bhaona, a traditional form of drama. Since then Sattras of Assam set up by Sankaradeva and his disciples, Samaguri Sattra and Khatpar Sattra, is taking it forward.

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The best-known leather puppets in our country are those used in the Tholu Bomalatta of Andhra Pradesh. Its performers are part of a group of wandering entertainers and peddlers who pass through villages during the course of a year and offer to sing ballads, tell fortunes, sell amulets, perform acrobatics, charm snakes, weave fishnets, tattoo local people and mend pots.

Tholu bommalata literally means “the dance of leather puppets” (tholu – “leather” and bommalata – “puppet dance”). Leather puppets are made out of the hides of goat, deer and buffalo.

The puppeteers comprise some of the various entertainers who perform all night and usually re-enact various stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The origins of these puppets can be traced back to about 2000 BCE, as they are mentioned in the Mahabharata.

Solution: b)

Options 1 and 4 are correct.

Theatre: It is a great form for story-telling in which one or more actors using the skills of dancing, acting, singing, talking, miming and theatre crafts like masks, make-up and costumes create a story world for us. Every corner of India has its own unique form of folk theatre — the lively Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh which often draws on romantic Persian literature for its themes; raw vigour and bawdy humour characterise the Tamasha of Maharashtra or the Bhavai of Gujarat; the blood and thunder of the Jatra melodramas of Bengal which are in great demand during Puja (Dussehra) festivities: or the dance-drama form of Yakshagana from Karnataka, to name just a few.

Solution: c)

The reasons for decline of Sanskrit theatre include:

• As Sanskrit dramatists began to diverge towards poetry, the lyrical writings started gaining popularity over the dramatic works.

• The rigid orthodoxy of the Sanskrit theatre restricted the creative space of new playwrights who turned to other forms.

• As Sanskrit became more and more embellished, it lost popularity among the masses. It was increasingly confined to the religious sphere and among the Brahmins, while other languages such as Pali and Prakrit took its place.

• With the advent of Muslim rulers, Sanskrit theatre took a definite backseat, as dance and music gained patronage.

Solution: a)

Accompanied by the huge dhamsa drums and two energetic dhol players who provoke and encourage the dancers, the Chhau dancer makes lightning body movements known as chamak.

Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes. Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj, the first two using masks. Chhau dance is intimately connected to regional festivals, notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva. Its origin is traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices.