Current Affairs - Indian Art, Culture & Heritage

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 108 feet tall bronze statue of Sri Nadaprabhu Kempegowda in Bengaluru on November 11, 2022.

Recently, three cities in India have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. These include two cities Thrissur and Nilambur in Kerala and Warangal in Telangana.

About the Cities

Thrissur - Cultural Capital of Kerala

• Popularly known as the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur is home to academic and research institutions. It is also known for its jewellery industry, especially gold.

As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Iconic week of the Ministry of Finance, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 11th June, 2022 dedicated to the nation, Dharohar - the National Museum of Customs and GST in Goa.

• It is the first museum of its kind in India, show casing the rich history of the Department of Customs and Indirect Taxes.

A recent three-month-long excavation (in 2022) at Rakhigarhi – a 5,000-year-old Harappan site has revealed new insights of this settlement.

So far, seven mounds have been excavated in Rakhigarhi, each of which has revealed a range of artefacts. This time, the digging was done in three of the seven mounds, out of which mounds number 6 and 7 have been notified by ASI as sites of national importance.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of Ministry of Culture is organizing a two-day international conference ‘Devayatanam’ – An odyssey of Indian temple architecture during 25th - 26th February, 2022 at Hampi, Karnataka.

Aim of the Conference

• The conference aims to deliberate upon the philosophical, religious, social, economic, technical, scientific, art and architectural aspects of temple.

Best Marching Contingent

• Among Three Services: The Indian Navy
• Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)/other Auxiliary Forces: Central Industrial Security Force

On 31st January 2022 three Hoysala temples - Chennakeshava Temple (Belur), Hoysaleswara Temple (Halebidu), and the Keshava Temple (Somanathapura) in Karnataka were nominated by India for consideration as World Heritage for the year 2022-2023.

• The 'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala' are on UNESCO's Tentative list since 15th April, 2014 and represent one of the highest points of human creative genius and stand testimony to the rich historical and cultural heritage of our country.

A 10th century stone idol of goat-headed Yogini was handed over to India by the High Commission of India, London.

• The idol was illegally removed from Uttar Pradesh's Banda from a temple in Lokhari.

The Union Ministry of Culture is going to survey the cultural aspects of Indian villages.

• It has partnered with the Common Services Centres (CSC), a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), to undertake the first ever cultural survey of India’s villages.

The Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has inscribed ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity during its 16th session being held at Paris, France, from 13th to 18th December 2021.

• The Committee commended Durga Puja for its initiatives to involve marginalized groups, and individuals as well as women in their participation in safeguarding the element.