Indian Culture Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The classical dance shaped by Mughal tradition is Kathak.

Kathak grew from the storytellers (kathakars) of north Indian temples, and under Mughal and later Nawabi patronage it moved into the courts. There it acquired its Persian-influenced costume, its emphasis on rhythmic footwork and fast spins, and the elegant courtly style of the Lucknow and Jaipur gharanas.

Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu), Kathakali and Mohiniattam (Kerala) developed in the south, far from Mughal rule, and kept their temple and regional traditions.

Answer: B

The work not related to medicine is Prakriya Sarvaswam.

Prakriya Sarvaswam is a Sanskrit grammar written by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, the author of the Narayaneeyam, at the request of the king of Ambalappuzha.

The other three belong to Kerala's medical traditions. Matangaleela is the classic treatise on elephants, covering their care and the treatment of their diseases. Ashtanga Sareeram is a work on anatomy in the Ayurvedic tradition, and Prayoga Samuchayam is an Ayurvedic text on treatment.

Answer: B

The statement treated as not correct is 3, so the answer is 3 only.

Kerala temples are marked by the circular or square srikovil covered by a sloping roof of tiles or copper sheets, enclosed by the nalambalam, with a koothambalam (theatre hall) for performances such as Koothu and Koodiyattam. The tall, storeyed vimana tower over the sanctum, typical of the Dravida temples of Tamil Nadu, is not a characteristic feature of the Kerala style, which is why statement 3 is the incorrect one.

Statement 1 is accepted because the early structural temples of Kerala show the influence of the Pallava (Dravida) style, and statement 2 is clearly correct, so options including them fail.

Answer: B

Pairs 1 and 2 are correct, so the answer is 1 and 2 only.

Kokila Sandesa, a Sanskrit message poem, was written by Uddanda Sastrikal, a poet at the court of the Zamorin of Calicut. Ascharya Choodamani, the Sanskrit play on the Ramayana story widely performed in Koodiyattam, is by Saktibhadra.

The third pair is wrong: Bhasha Ashtapadi, the Malayalam rendering of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda, is by Ramapurathu Warrier. Unnayi Warrier wrote the Kathakali play Nalacharitham. That rules out the options that accept pair 3.

Answer: D

The Gajendramoksha mural is at Krishnapuram Palace.

Krishnapuram Palace near Kayamkulam, rebuilt by Marthanda Varma of Travancore in the eighteenth century, holds the Gajendra Moksham mural, the story of Vishnu rescuing the elephant king from a crocodile. It is one of the largest single mural panels in Kerala.

Mattancherry Palace is known for its Ramayana murals, and Padmanabhapuram Palace for its own fine murals and woodwork, but neither is the home of this painting. Chirakkal Palace in Kannur was the seat of the Kolathiri rajas and is not known for it.

Answer: C

All three statements are correct, so the answer is 1, 2 and 3.

• Jannal (window) comes from the Portuguese janela, one of many words such as mesha (table) and kasera (chair) that entered Malayalam through Portuguese contact.
• Diwan reached Malayalam through Arabic, the language of Islamic administration (the word itself is of Persian origin).
• Samkshepa Vedartham, a catechism by Clement Pianius printed in Rome in 1772, is the first book printed in Malayalam.

Since all three are correct, every narrower option is incomplete.

Answer: C

All three statements are correct, so the answer is 1, 2 and 3.

• The Parahita system of astronomical calculation was introduced in Kerala in 683 CE, traditionally credited to Haridatta.
• The Katapayadi system uses the consonants of the alphabet to stand for digits, so that numbers can be remembered as words; it was widely used by Kerala astronomers.
• Laghubhaskareeya Vyakhya is Sankaranarayana's ninth-century commentary on Bhaskara I's Laghubhaskariya, an astronomical work.

So every option leaving out one of them is incomplete.

Answer: C

Malayalam was granted classical status in 2013.

The Union Cabinet approved classical language status for Malayalam in May 2013, after a committee of the Sahitya Akademi accepted that the language had a long recorded history and an independent literary tradition. It was the fifth language so declared, after Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008).

Odia followed in 2014, so 2015 is too late, and 2010 and 2012 are too early.

Answer: B

Pairs 1 and 2 are correct, so the answer is 1 and 2 only.

The Koothambalam is the temple theatre where Koodiyattam and Chakyar Koothu are performed, and the Thidappally is the temple kitchen where offerings are cooked.

The Vathilmadam is the raised platform on either side of the temple gateway, inside the entrance structure, not the sanctum sanctorum. The sanctum is the Sreekovil. So pair 3 is wrong, along with every option that includes it.

Answer: A

The author was Stella Kramrisch.

The Austrian-born art historian Stella Kramrisch, who taught for many years in Calcutta, wrote The Arts and Crafts of Travancore (1948, with J.H. Cousins and R. Vasudeva Poduval), covering Travancore's temples, sculpture, murals, metalwork and crafts.

The other three are also non-Keralites who wrote on Kerala or south India, but on other subjects: Kathleen Gough on matrilineal kinship, Robin Jeffrey on the decline of Nair dominance and Kerala's politics, and Burton Stein on medieval south Indian state and society.