SSC
The Kotappakonda fair of Andhra Pradesh is organised on the occasion of which festival?
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Answer: Option A — Maha Shivaratri
Detailed Solution
The Kotappakonda Tirunala (fair) is held at Kotappakonda near Narasaraopet in Palnadu district (formerly part of Guntur district), Andhra Pradesh. It is celebrated on Maha Shivaratri, the festival of Lord Shiva, which falls in the month of Magha or Phalguna (February-March).
The fair is held at the Sri Trikoteswara Swamy temple on a hill called Kotappakonda or Trikutadri. The hill has three peaks, which are associated with Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Dakshinamurthy (the teacher form of Shiva), and the presiding deity is believed to be a young celibate form, so the temple has no consort goddess.
The most famous feature of the fair is the "prabhalu". These are huge, tall structures made of bamboo and wood, decorated with coloured cloth, lights and pictures. Villagers from the surrounding areas build these prabhalu and carry them in procession to the hill, competing with each other to make the tallest and most attractive one. Folk performances, devotional singing and night-long celebrations are part of the event.
Andhra Pradesh declared the Kotappakonda Tirunala a state festival. Lakhs of devotees visit, and the event is an important part of rural culture in the region.
Other fairs and festivals of Andhra Pradesh include the Brahmotsavam at Tirumala, Sankranti with its cockfights and Haridasu singers, and the Visakha Utsav.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Ugadi is the Telugu New Year.
- ✗Sankranti is the harvest festival in January.
- ✗Vinayaka Chaturthi is the festival of Lord Ganesha in August-September.
Quick tip
Remember: Kotappakonda = Trikoteswara Swamy temple near Narasaraopet (Palnadu), Maha Shivaratri, famous for tall "prabhalu" structures.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.