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The 'Mandu Festival', celebrating the fort city linked with Rani Roopmati and Baz Bahadur, is a famous festival of which state?
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Answer: Option A — Madhya Pradesh
Detailed Solution
The Mandu Festival (Mandu Utsav) is an annual festival held at Mandu (Mandav), a historic fort town in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. It is organised by Madhya Pradesh Tourism, usually in December-January, to promote the town's rich heritage and natural beauty.
Mandu is situated on a plateau of the Vindhya range, surrounded by deep ravines, and its walls are about 37 km long. It was the capital of the Parmara rulers of Malwa in the 10th-11th centuries, and later of the Sultanate of Malwa, under rulers such as Hoshang Shah, who built many of its famous monuments. The town is famous for its Afghan (Indo-Islamic) architecture. Its well-known monuments include:
The Jahaz Mahal (Ship Palace), built between two lakes, which looks like a ship floating on water.
The Hindola Mahal (Swinging Palace), named for its sloping walls, which make it appear to sway.
The Tomb of Hoshang Shah, believed to be India's first marble monument, which is said to have inspired the builders of the Taj Mahal.
The Jami Masjid, the Rewa Kund and the Baz Bahadur's Palace.
Rani Roopmati's Pavilion, built on a hilltop, from which the river Narmada can be seen.
Mandu is famous for the romantic legend of Baz Bahadur, the last independent Sultan of Malwa, and Rani Roopmati, a beautiful Hindu singer from a shepherd family. The two fell in love through their shared love of music and married. When the Mughal army under Adham Khan, sent by Akbar, attacked Mandu in 1561 and defeated Baz Bahadur, Roopmati is said to have taken poison rather than be captured.
The Mandu Festival includes cultural programmes, music and dance performances, heritage walks, cycling, camping, hot-air balloon rides, crafts and local food, and it showcases the culture of the Bhil and Bhilala tribes of the region. Mandu is also famous for its baobab trees (Mandu ki imli).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Gujarat holds the Rann Utsav and the Modhera Dance Festival.
- ✗Rajasthan holds the Desert Festival and the Pushkar fair.
- ✗Maharashtra holds the Ellora-Ajanta Festival.
Quick tip
Remember: The Mandu Festival = Madhya Pradesh (Dhar district), the Jahaz Mahal, Hoshang Shah's tomb and the legend of Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati.
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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.