Performing Arts

Which classical dance was recognised most recently, and how does that affect the count?

1. Seven forms were recognised for most of the twentieth century — Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam.
2. Sattriya, from Assam, was recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2000.
3. That makes eight on the Akademi's list, though the Ministry of Culture has sometimes listed nine by including Chhau.

Answer: Sattriya, in 2000 — which is why older material gives seven forms.

Which classical dance combines temple and Mughal court traditions, and how does that show?

1. Most classical forms developed entirely within temple traditions.
2. Kathak developed among the kathakars of northern India and was then taken into the courts of the Sultanate and Mughal periods.
3. The result is visible in its upright torso, its emphasis on rapid footwork and pirouettes rather than sculptural poses, and in its performance in a court rather than a temple setting.

Answer: Kathak — the only classical form shaped by both traditions.

A performance uses the tarangam, danced on the rim of a brass plate. Which form is it?

1. This is a specific signature item rather than a general technique.
2. It belongs to Kuchipudi, from Andhra Pradesh, traced to Siddhendra Yogi.
3. Kuchipudi is also distinctive in combining dance with spoken dialogue, which most classical forms do not.

Answer: Kuchipudi.

To which class of instrument does the ghatam belong?

1. The ghatam is a clay pot struck with the hands, so it looks like a drum.
2. But a drum — a membranophone — produces sound from a stretched membrane, and the ghatam has none.
3. The sound comes from the vibration of the solid clay body itself, which makes it an idiophone, Ghana Vadya in the Indian classification.

Answer: Ghana Vadya — an idiophone, not a drum.

Name the Carnatic Trinity and say what they have in common.

1. They are Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.
2. All three lived in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and were associated with the Thanjavur region, particularly Thiruvaiyaru.
3. Between them they composed the core of the Carnatic kriti repertoire, and the Tyagaraja Aradhana is held annually in their region.

Answer: Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, all of the Thanjavur region.

Which was the first Indian tradition inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage list?

1. India has a substantial number of entries, including Ramlila, Chhau, Kalbelia, Yoga, the Kumbh Mela and the Garba.
2. The earliest to be proclaimed was Kutiyattam, the Sanskrit theatre of Kerala performed in temple theatres called koothambalams.
3. It is also the oldest surviving form of Sanskrit theatre anywhere.

Answer: Kutiyattam of Kerala.

Ravanachhaya differs from other Indian shadow puppetry. How?

1. Shadow puppetry uses flat leather figures held against a translucent screen and lit from behind.
2. Most Indian traditions, such as Tholu Bommalata, colour the leather so that the shadows are translucent and coloured.
3. Ravanachhaya of Odisha uses uncoloured deerskin, so the shadows it casts are opaque and black.

Answer: Its puppets are uncoloured deerskin, so the shadows are opaque rather than coloured.

Which martial art is practised in a pit, and where?

1. Silambam uses a staff, Thang-Ta the sword and spear, and Mallakhamb a pole or rope.
2. Kalaripayattu is practised in a specially constructed pit or arena called a kalari, from which it takes its name.
3. It belongs to Kerala and is often described as among the oldest surviving martial systems.

Answer: Kalaripayattu, in Kerala.