Indian Culture Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The key takes both [A] and [R] as true: a person who wishes not to be despised by others will not let the thought of gaining anything by fraud enter his heart.

This follows the Kural on guarding against fraud. Options that call either statement false are against the key.

The thought of the Kural is that a man who wants to remain free of contempt must not even think of gaining anything by fraud.

Answer: D

Pairs 3 and 4 are the wrong pairs in the key: Iyavithulam and Yeri Chiral are not matched with the meanings printed against them.

Thodakku as an ornament of the neck and Andalai Aduppu as a cock-shaped stove are accepted, so options that call 1 or 2 wrong are rejected. The word meanings follow the key and could not be independently checked here.

Answer: A

Pairs 1 and 4 are correct: a marriage on a spread of sand is mentioned in the Akananuru and the practice of marriage in front of the fire is described in the Silappadikaram.

Pairs 2 and 3 are not accepted by the key, so the options that include them are rejected. The literary references follow the key.

Answer: B

The Sangrai dance is associated with the Mog community.

The Mogs of Tripura, a Buddhist community of Arakanese origin, celebrate Sangrai, their New Year festival, in the Bengali month of Chaitra (April). The Sangrai dance is performed by young people during this festival.

The Halam, Lushai and Chakma communities have their own dances: the Hai-Hak dance of the Halams, the Cheraw (bamboo) dance of the Lushais and the Bizu dance of the Chakmas. Sangrai belongs to the Mogs.

Answer: A

The answer is Longtharai, as the Commission's key has it.

Longtharai (1986), directed by Dipak Bhattacharya, is generally named as the first film in the Kokborok language, and it is set among the jhumia families of the Longtharai hills, showing the hard life of jhum cultivators. The paper calls it a tele-film, whereas most references describe it as a feature film.

Langmani Huduk (Langmani Haduk, 1993) came later, and it deals with a different theme. No reference to a Kokborok film called Wansukthai or Khumpui was found, so neither can be the first.

Answer: B

The story of Laapataa Ladies was written by Biplab Goswami.

Kiran Rao's 2024 film, about two newly married brides who get swapped on a train, is based on Biplab Goswami's story; the screenplay and dialogue were written by Sneha Desai. The film was India's official entry for the Academy Awards.

Chetan Bhagat is a novelist whose books were adapted into other films, Amole Gupte wrote Taare Zameen Par, and Anurag Pathak was not the writer of this film.

Answer: A

The Sifung is a musical instrument of the Bodo people.

The sifung (siphung) is a long bamboo flute of the Bodos of Assam, played with other Bodo instruments such as the kham (drum) and serja (bowed string instrument), especially to accompany the Bagurumba dance.

The Deoris, Garos and Rabhas are other communities of the north-east with their own instruments; the sifung belongs to the Bodo tradition.

Answer: D

The Dongria Kondh shawl belongs to Odisha.

The embroidered shawl (kapdaganda) made by women of the Dongria Kondh tribe of the Niyamgiri hills in southern Odisha received a Geographical Indication tag in January 2024. It is cream-coloured with embroidery in red, green and yellow.

Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Bihar have their own GI products, but this shawl is from Odisha.

Answer: B

The wrong match is Thabal Chongba - Tripuri.

Thabal Chongba ('dancing in the moonlight') is a folk dance of Manipur, performed by the Meitei during the Yaoshang festival, when young men and women dance in a circle holding hands. It is not a dance of the Tripuri people.

The other pairs are given as correct: Hozagiri is the celebrated dance of the Reang, and Wangala (printed Wangla) is the harvest dance of the Garo. Padisha is listed for the Mog, and the one pair that is plainly misplaced is Thabal Chongba.

Answer: D

The Reang (Bru) are known for the Hozagiri Dance.

Hozagiri is performed by Reang women and girls at the Hojagiri festival after the harvest. The dancers move only the lower body while balancing earthen pitchers, bottles and lit lamps on their heads, standing on pitchers, to the music of the khamb drum and bamboo flute.

Lebang Boomani and the Garia dance belong to the Tripuri community, and the Wangala dance belongs to the Garo.