Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• On 6^th August, 2019, the Delhi government launched a project that seeks to record oral histories of the city as told by its senior citizens.
• Titled ‘Oral History Programme’, the project aims to document the history of the city from the perspective of its inhabitants.
• The project, undertaken by Delhi Archives in collaboration with Ambedkar University, is an attempt to democratize knowledge by recording stories told by hundreds of common people in Delhi from different strata of society over the next two years.
• It was in the ‘80s that the Delhi Archives department first began an oral history project by interviewing 56 personalities about the city, its history and changing nature.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 23^rd July, 2019, the Ministry of Culture initiated an ambitious project of the digitization of the collections of the Museums under it with the twin purpose of making effective utilization of technology in museum management and bringing the collections of these museums closer to the public by making them available for online viewing over the internet.
• In this endeavor, the Ministry of Culture, through the technical expertise of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C–DAC) Pune and the Art Institute of Chicago got standardized software entitled "Jatan" for implementation in its Museums.
• There are 48 Archaeological Site Museums under Archaeological Survey of India out of which two Archaeological Site Museums, namely - Velha Goa and Nagarjunakonda (Andhra Pradesh), have been digitised during the first phase through Jatan.

Virtual Museum

• A virtual museum helps in digital preservation and providing online access to heritage information resources for education, research and tourism. It can make the museum antiquities accessible online for the benefit of tourists, teachers, students and researchers.
• Museum antiquities can provide information about history of the civilization, lifestyle, culture, traditions, ancient knowledge of science and technology and overall human evolution.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

Explanation:

• Kharchi Puja is one of the most popular festivals in Tripurawhich falls in the month of July on the eighth day of the new moon.
• This festival is celebrated at Agartala (Puran Agartala) in the temple premises of fourteen gods. There are many legends associated with this Puja.
• Animal sacrifice is also an important part of this festival and includes sacrificing of goats and pigeons.

Significance:

• The puja is basically done to worship the earth. All of rituals are of tribal origin, which comprises of worshipping of 14gods and mother earth. It is performed to wipe out the sins and to clean the post menstrual phase of mother earth’s menstruation which is why the Puja is performed for 7back-to-back days.
• On day of Puja, 14 gods are carried to Saidra river by members of chantai where gods are bathed in holy water and are brought back to temple.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

Jaipur City:

• The walled city of Jaipur (also known as Pink City) in Rajasthan, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture was added into UNESCO World Heritage Site List (Cultural) on 6^th July, 2019.
• It was founded in 1727 AD under patronage of Sawai Jai Singh II. The city's urban planning shows an exchange of ideas from ancient Hindu and modern Mughal as well as Western cultures.

Ahmedabad City:

• The walled city of Ahmedabad, India’s first World Heritage City was added to UNESCO’s heritage list in the year 2017.
• The city was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah in the 15th century, on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River.

Orchha:

• The architectural heritage of Orchha town of Madhya Pradesh was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO’s world heritage sites in May, 2019.
• It is situated on the banks of the river Betwa, in Niwari district of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.

Kailash Mansarovar:

• On 1^stJuly, 2019, Indian side of Kailash Mansoravar was included in Tentative List of World Heritage Sites of India.
• Also known as Gangdise Mountains, it forms the part of the Trans Himalaya in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
• It is considered a sacred place in four religions: Bon, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

Explanation :

• Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi in the Ballari district of Karnataka, India.
• It is a part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Virupaksha Temple was built by Lakkan Dandesha, a chieftain (nayaka) under Dev Raya II.
• It is dedicated to Lord Virupaksham, a form of Lord Shiva.

Explanation :

• The stone chariot at the Vittala Temple complex is a major tourist attraction in Hampi.
• It is made up of local Granite, Lime and Mortar. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Strong enclosure of temples is a striking feature of Hampi Architecture.

Explanation :

Festival Places

1. Tulip Festival Kashmir

2. Losar Ladakh

3. Kadammanitta Padayani Festival Kerala

• Kadammanitta Devi Temple at Pathanamthitta district (Kerala) is famous for the annual Padayani festival.
• Losar is a Tibetian word which means ‘New Year’. It is a social and religious tradition in Ladakh that marks the beginning of New Year. It is celebrated on the 1st day of Lunisolar Tibetian calendar. The variation of the festival in Nepal is called ‘Lhochhar’ and is observed about eight weeks earlier than the Tibetan Losar.
• Tulip Festival is celebrated every year in the beautiful valley of Kashmir, and attracts people from across the globe. During this time, Srinagar turns into a colourful garden.

Explanation :

• Every year the State of Manipur celebrates the ‘Manipur Sangai Festival’ from 21st to 30th November. The festival is named after the state animal, Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur. It started in the year 2010 and has grown over the years into a big platform for Manipur to showcase its rich tradition and culture to the world. Hence, it is not a harvest festival.
• Losar is celebrated in Ladakh region to mark the beginning of New Year which is also not a harvest festival.
• While Garia Festival and Bihu are harvest festivals and are celebrated in the state of Tripura and Assam respectively.

Explanation :

Functions of Sangeet Natak Akademi are:

• To revive and preserve folk music, folk dance and folk drama in different regions of the country.
• To coordinate the matters related to Intangible Cultural Heritage and various UNESCO Conventions.
• Recognition of outstanding artists.
• To publish literature on Indian music, dance and drama including reference works such as an illustrated dictionary or handbook of technical terms.
• To give recognition to and otherwise assist meritorious, theatrical organizations etc.

Explanation :

This dance form has an umbilical relationship with the nature. Due to this reason Kerala has one of the maximum numbers of sacred groves as people relate these forests with the local dieties and hence any type of encroachment gets thwarted.