Features of Carnatic music:
• Indigenous
• No freedom to improvise
• Only one particular prescribed style of singing
• More emphasis on vocal music
• 72 ragas
• Doesn’t adhere to any time
• Veena, Mrindangum and Mandolin are main instruments
• Usually associated to South India.

Folk Music : Places
• Lavani : Maharashtra
• Maand : Rajasthan
• Dandiya : Gujarat
• Paani Hari : Rajasthan
• Pandwani : Maharashtra
• Powada : Maharashtra

The traditional Bharatanatyam performance follows a seven-part order of presentation. This set is called margam.
• Alarippu
The presentation begins with a rhythmic invocation (vandana) called the Alaripu. It is a pure dance, which combines a thank you and benediction for blessings from the gods and goddesses, the guru and the gathered performance team. It also serves as a preliminary warm up dance, without melody, to enable the dancer to loosen their body, journey away from distractions and towards single-minded focus.
• Jatiswaram
The next stage of the performance adds melody to the movement of Alarippu, and this is called Jatiswaram.The dance remains a prelim technical performance (nritta), pure in form and without any expressed words. The drums set the beat, of any Carnatic music raga (melody). They perform a sequence (Korvai) to the rhythm of the beat, presenting to the audience the unity of music, rhythm and movements.
• Shabdam
The performance sequence then adds Shabdam (expressed words). This is the first item of margam where expressions are introduced. The solo dancer, the vocalist(s) and the musical team, in this stage of the production, present short compositions, with words and meaning, in a spectrum of moods.
• Varnam
The Varnam part of Bharatanatyam emphasizes expressive dance.
The performance thereafter evolves into the Varnam stage. This marks the arrival into the sanctum sanctorum core of the performance. It is the longest section and the nritya. A traditional Varnam may be as long as 30–45 minutes or sometimes an hour. Varnam offer huge scope for improvisation and an experienced dancer can stretch the Varnam to a desirable length. The artist presents the play or the main composition, reveling in all their movements, silently communicating the text through codified gestures and footwork, harmoniously with the music, rhythmically punctuated. The dancer performs complicated moves, such as expressing a verse at two speeds. Their hands and body tell a story, whether of love and longing, or of a battle between the good and the evil, as the musicians envelop them with musical notes and tones that set the appropriate mood.
• Padam
The Padam is next. This is the stage of reverence, of simplicity, of abhinaya (expression) of the solemn spiritual message or devotional religious prayer (bhakti). The music is lighter, the chant intimate, the dance emotional. The choreography attempts to express rasa (emotional taste) and a mood, while the recital may include items such as a keertanam (expressing devotion), a javali (expressing divine love) or something else.
• Tillana
The performance sequence ends with a Tillana, the climax. It closes out the nritya portion, the movements exit the temple of expressive dance, returning to the nritta style, where a series of pure movement and music are rhythmically performed. Therewith the performance ends.

• Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.
• Kuchipudi is a team performance, with roots in Hindu religious
festivals.
• The drama-dance involves extensive stage movements and exacting footwork, wherein the underlying drama is mimed by
expressive gestures of hand (mudras), eye and face movements.
The expressive style is through a sign language that follows the c
lassical pan-Indian Sanskrit texts such as Natya Shastra, Abhinaya Darpana and Nrityararnavali.
• Both Lasya and Tandava elements are important.
• There are some solo popular elements in Kuchipudi:
– Manduk shabdam
– Tarangam and
– Jala Chitra Nrityam

• A remarkable progress is noticed in human civilization in the Neolithic Age. It is approximately dated from 6000 B.C to 4000 B.C.
• Neolithic remains are found in various parts of India. These include the Kashmir valley, Chirand in Bihar, Belan valley in Uttar Pradesh and in several places of the Deccan.
• The important Neolithic sites excavated in south India are Maski, Brahmagiri, Hallur and Kodekal in Karnataka, Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu and Utnur in Andhra Pradesh.
• The chief characteristic features of the Neolithic culture are the practice of agriculture, domestication of animals, polishing of stone tools and the manufacture of pottery. In fact, the cultivation of plants and domestication of animals led to the emergence of village communities based on sedentary life.
• Langhanj in Gujarat is a site where mesolithic remains are found.

• The chief sources for tracing the history of Harsha and his times are the Harshacharita written by Bana and the travel accounts of Hiuen Tsang.
• Bana was the court poet of Harsha.
• Hiuen Tsang was the Chinese traveller who visited India in the seventh century A.D. He converted Harsha to Mahayana Buddhism. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Besides these two sources, the dramas written by Harsha, namely Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadarshika also provide useful information. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The Madhuben plate inscription and the Sonpat inscription are also helpful to know the chronology of Harsha.
• The Banskhera inscription contains the signature of Harsha. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.

Causes for the decline of the Mauryas:
• Ashoka’s policies and his weak successors. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Inadequate poilitical and economic institutions to sustain such a vast empire.
• Ashoka’s policy of non-violence reduced the fighting spirit of his army. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• Ashoka’s pro-Buddhist policies antagonized the Brahmins who brought about a revolution led by Pushyamitra Sunga.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Folk dances of India:
• Garba : Gujarat
• Kalbelia : Rajasthan
• Charba : Himachal Pradesh
• Dadra : Uttar Pradesh
• Raslila : Uttar Pradesh
• Ghoomar : Rajasthan
• Jawara : Madhya Pradesh

• Vaisheshika is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India.
• Vaisheshika school is known for its insights in naturalism. It is a form of atomism in natural philosophy.
• It postulated that all objects in the physical universe are reducible to paramaṇu (atoms), and one’s experiences are derived from the interplay of
substance (a function of atoms, their number and their spatial arrangements), quality, activity, commonness, particularity and inherence.
• Everything was composed of atoms, qualities emerged from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms was predetermined by cosmic forces.
• Ajivika metaphysics included a theory of atoms which was later adapted in Vaisheṣhika school.
• According to Vaisheṣhika school, knowledge and liberation were achievable by a complete understanding of the world of experience.
• Vaisheṣhika darshana was founded by Kaṇada Kashyapa around the 6th to 2nd century BC.

• The Tripiṭaka is composed of three main categories of texts that collectively constitute the Buddhist canon: the Sutra Piṭaka, the Vinaya Piṭaka, and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka.
• Vinaya Pitaka: Rules and regulations of monastic life that range from dress code and dietary rules to prohibitions of certain personal conducts.
• Sutta Piaka: Sutras were the doctrinal teachings in aphoristic or narrative format. The Buddha delivered all of his sermons in Magadhan. These sermons were rehearsed orally during the meeting of the First Buddhist council just after the Parinibbana of the Buddha. The teachings continued to be transmitted orally until they were written down in the first century BCE.
• Abhidhamma Pitaka: Philosophical and psychological analysis and interpretation of Buddhist doctrine.

The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are:
– Right Understanding
– Right Thought
– Right Speech
– Right Action
– Right Livelihood
– Right Effort
– Right Mindfulness and
– Right Concentration.

• According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring
a language as ‘Classical’ are:
“(i) High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
(ii) A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
(iii) The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
(iv) The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and
its later forms or its offshoots.”
• Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status:
– Tamil (declared in 2004)
– Sanskrit (2005)
– Kannada (2008)
– Telugu (2008)
– Malayalam (2013), and
– Odia (2014).

• Warli paintings are done by Warlis, the indigenous people that occupy mainly the Gujarat-Maharashtra border.
• These paintings have close resemblance to the mural paintings of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.
• These ritualistic paintings have a central motif of a chaukhat or chauk, which is surrounded by scenes portraying fishing, hunting, farming, dances, animals, trees and festivals.
• Among the Goddesses, Palaghata is drawn and among the male gods, those spirits that have taken human form are represented.

• A traditional painting of Odisha, the name Pattachitra comes from a Sanskrit word “patta”, which means canvas/cloth and “chitra” means
picture. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The paintings show a mix of classical and folk elements, with a bias towards the latter.
• No pencil or charcoal is used, rather brush is used to draw the outlines in red or yellow after which the colours are filled. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• Once the final lines are drawn, the painting is given a coating of lacquer to give it a glossy finish. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• The themes of these paintings are insppired from Jagannath and Vaishnava cult, sometimes from Shakti and Shiva cults. Hence, statement 4 is correct.
• Pattachitra on palm leaf is known as talapattachitra.

• The tenor of the Mughal paintings changed rapidly in the period of Shah Jahan.
• Unlike his father and grandfather who like naturalistic depictions, Shah Jahan liked to create artificial elements in the paintings.
• It is said that he tried to reduce the liveliness of the paintings and bring in unnatural stillness as he was inspired by the European influence in his court.
• He has brought a change in the technique of drawing and painting from the earlier period. He eschewed the use of charcoal to draw and encouraged the artists to draw and sketch using a pencil.

• In most of the Indian miniature paintings, the human figurine is seen with the side profile. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• They usually have bulging eyes, pointed nose and slim waist. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• The colour of the divine beings like Lord Krishna is blue.
• The women figurines have long hair and the colour of their eyes and hair are generally black. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Men generally wear traditional clothes and have a turban on their head.

• Located in the Vijaynagar district of Karnataka, these mural paintings were executed on temple walls at Lepakshi.
• Done during the Vijaynagar period, they do not follow a religious theme, rather a secular one despite being a temple. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2 is correct.
• The paintings show a complete absence of primary colours, especially blue. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The Chalcolithic period saw the increase in the number of paintings using the green and yellow colour.
• Most of the paintings concentrate on depicting battle scenes. There are many paintings of men riding horses and elephants. Some of them even carry bow and arrow which might indicate preparedness for skirmishes. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• They have paintings to show skins of spotted deer left for drying that provides credence to the theory that the art of tanning skins was perfected by man for providing clothing shelter and clothing. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• One of the oldest surviving murals of Indian subcontinent, Ajanta caves were carved in 4th century A.D. out of volcanic rocks.
• The walls of the caves have both murals and fresco paintings. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• They use tempera style, i.e. use of pigments.
• The paintings portray human values and social fabric along with styles, costumes and ornaments of that period.
• The emotions are expressed through hand gestures. Even animals and birds are shown with emotions. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• The unique feature of the paintings is that each female figure has a unique hairstyle.Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Features of Indo-Gothic style:
• The constructions were extremely large and elaborate in their execution.
• The walls were thinner than in the Indo-Islamic constructions.
• The arches were pointed, unlike the curving arches of Indo-Islamic era. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• One of the unique features of the Victorian style was the use of large windows.
• The churches had a crucified ground plan. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It adhered to advanced structural engineering standards of Britain. Steel, iron and poured concrete started being used. Hence, statement 2 is correct.