UPSC Static Quiz – Art and Culture : 11 January 2025

Solution: a)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Baliyatra, literally ‘voyage to Bali’, is one of the country’s largest open-air fairs, which is organised every year to commemorate the 2,000-year-old maritime and cultural links between ancient Kalinga (today’s Odisha) and Bali and other South and Southeast Asian regions like Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

The origins of the festival, which begins on Kartik Purnima (full moon night in the month of Kartik) can be traced back more than 1,000 years. The Bay of Bengal region had several ports, and sadhavas (traders) traditionally began their voyage across the sea on this auspicious day, when the winds were favourable for the boats, known as boita, to sail.

According to historians, popular items of trade between Kalinga and Southeast Asia included pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, silk, camphor, gold, and jewellery.

Solution: c)

Vipassana, literally “super-seeing” or “seeing things as they really are” in Pali, is an ancient meditation technique, derived from the teachings of the Buddha. 

In simple terms, Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through the process of self-observation. The idea is to “Know Thyself”, not just at an intellectual or emotional level, but “to experience the truth about yourself, within yourself, at the experiential level,”

“Vipassana is the oldest of Buddhist meditation practices… coming directly from the Satipatthana Sutta, a discourse attributed to the Buddha himself”.

Solution: d)

In the Vishnu Puran, Mithila is described as a place to the north of Ganga and south of Himalayas. Abul Fazl in Ain-e-Akbari clearly mentions Mithila as one of the parganas (administrative divisions), earmarking its location and spread, which includes the present-day Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura and some adjoining areas of Bihar and Nepal.

Mithila has also been called Mahla, and finds mention in the revenue records of the erstwhile Sanyukt Prant (United Provinces) of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa.

Solution: b)

“Sarna” is one of the indigenous (tribal) religions of India which has a strong relationship with nature. The followers worship natural entities like forests, mountains, lands, rivers and protect the local biodiversity through their religious and cultural practices in the forms of festivals, taboos, rituals and ongoing traditions.

There are around 5 million Sarna believers in India, mainly concentrated in the forested and hilly areas of its central (majorly in Jharkhand state) and eastern parts.

One of the major pillars of the Sarna faith consists of the worship of sacred groves. These are the patches of forests considered sacred, where no harm is allowed to the trees and wildlife because of their religious importance.

The Sarna festivals are inclusive and gender neutral and promote sustainable and peaceful coexistence with nature.

Solution: d)

Lanjia Saura Painting

The painting, one of the oldest tribal art forms, is also known as Idital. The artworks are famous for their beauty, aesthetics, ritualistic association and iconography.

The art form belongs to the Lanjia Saura community, a PVTG largely residing in the Rayagada district. These paintings are in the form of exterior murals painted on the mud walls of homes. White paintings figure over a crimson-maroon background.

It is believed that the Lanjia Sauras paint their walls with Idital artworks to show gratitude to their deities and forefathers, and also for the well-being of their community. Reflecting the love and affection of the primitive tribes for nature, they feature subjects like tribal humans, trees, animals, birds, the Sun and the Moon.