SSC
The Nishagandhi Nritya Utsav, a classical dance festival, is held in which state?
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Answer: Option C — Kerala
Detailed Solution
The Nishagandhi Nritya Utsav (Nishagandhi Dance Festival) is an annual classical dance festival held in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. It is organised by the Department of Tourism of Kerala, usually in January, and is one of the most important classical dance festivals of South India.
The festival is held at the Nishagandhi open-air auditorium in the Kanakakkunnu Palace grounds in Thiruvananthapuram. "Nishagandhi" is the name of a flower that blooms at night, and the auditorium was named after it. Over a week, leading dancers from across India perform the major classical dance forms, such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Kathakali and Sattriya, under the night sky. The festival aims to promote India's classical dance traditions and to attract tourists to Kerala. Kerala Tourism also gives the Nishagandhi Puraskaram, an award for outstanding contributions to classical dance and music. The Nishagandhi Monsoon Festival is another cultural event held at the same venue.
Kerala has a rich tradition of classical and folk performing arts. Its classical dance forms include Kathakali (dance-drama), Mohiniyattam (classical dance of women) and Koodiyattam (ancient Sanskrit theatre, recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001). The Kerala Kalamandalam, founded by Vallathol Narayana Menon in 1930, is the most important institution for training in these arts. Other cultural festivals in Thiruvananthapuram include the Soorya Festival, one of the longest-running cultural festivals in India.
Several states hold classical dance festivals at heritage sites, such as Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), Konark and Mukteshwar (Odisha), Modhera (Gujarat), Pattadakal and Hampi (Karnataka), and Mamallapuram and Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Tamil Nadu holds the Mamallapuram Dance Festival and the Natyanjali Festival.
- ✗Karnataka holds the Pattadakal Dance Festival and the Hampi Utsav.
- ✗Odisha holds the Konark and Mukteshwar dance festivals.
Quick tip
Remember: The Nishagandhi Festival = Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and the Kanakakkunnu Palace grounds.
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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.