SSC
The Mukteshwar Dance Festival, devoted to Odissi, is held at a temple in which state?
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Answer: Option C — Odisha
Detailed Solution
The Mukteshwar Dance Festival is an annual festival of Odissi, the classical dance of Odisha. It is held in January, usually from 14 to 16 January, at the Mukteshwar Temple in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha. It is organised by the Odisha Tourism Department.
The festival is held in the open space in front of the beautiful Mukteshwar Temple, which provides a stunning backdrop for the performances. Over three days, leading Odissi dancers and young talented artists perform solo and group dances, presenting the grace, beauty and spirituality of Odissi. The festival aims to promote Odissi and the temple heritage of Bhubaneswar, which is known as the "Temple City of India".
The Mukteshwar Temple is a small but exquisitely carved temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was built in the 10th century, in about 950-975 CE, by the Somavamshi dynasty. It is regarded as a gem of Odishan (Kalinga) architecture and is famous for its arched gateway, called the "torana", which shows Buddhist influence, and its detailed carvings of sages, animals, women and scenes from the Panchatantra. It marks the transition between the earlier and later phases of Kalinga architecture.
Odissi is one of the oldest classical dances of India. Its roots lie in the temple dance of the maharis and the dance of the gotipuas. It was revived in the 1950s by gurus such as Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das and Mayadhar Raut. It is known for its two basic postures, the chauka and the tribhanga.
Other dance festivals of Odisha include the Konark Dance Festival, held in December at the Sun Temple of Konark, and the Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Tamil Nadu holds the Mamallapuram Dance Festival and the Natyanjali Festival.
- ✗Madhya Pradesh holds the Khajuraho Dance Festival.
- ✗Gujarat holds the Modhera Dance Festival.
Quick tip
Remember: The Mukteshwar Dance Festival = Odissi, the Mukteshwar Temple in Bhubaneswar and January. The Konark Dance Festival = December.
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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.