SSC
The Dandari-Gussadi festival and dance of Telangana are celebrated by which tribes?
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Answer: Option C — Raj Gonds and Kolams
Detailed Solution
The correct answer is Raj Gonds and Kolams. Dandari is a festival of the Raj Gond and Kolam tribes of the Adilabad region of Telangana, celebrated around the time of Diwali. During the festival, troupes of performers travel from village to village, singing and dancing to strengthen ties between communities. The Gussadi dance is the most striking part of the celebration.
Gussadi dancers wear a huge headgear decorated with peacock feathers, deer horns and other ornaments. They smear their bodies with ash or charcoal, wear beads around their necks and carry a stick, and they dance in a lively, rhythmic style to the beat of drums and other traditional instruments. The Gussadi performers are believed to carry blessings, and their visit is considered auspicious for the village. Kanaka Raju, a Gussadi dancer from Adilabad district, received the Padma Shri in 2021 for his efforts to preserve and promote the art form, which helped bring it national attention.
About the other options:
Bhils and Meenas are tribes of western India, especially Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The Bhils are known for dances such as Ghoomar, Gair and Bhagoriya.
Santhals and Mundas are tribes of eastern India, especially Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. They are known for dances such as Paika, Karma and Sarhul celebrations.
Todas and Kotas are tribes of the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu. The Todas are known for their buffalo herding, their barrel-vaulted huts and their embroidery.
💡 Exam tip
The Gond tribe is one of the largest tribal communities in India and lives in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Odisha. In Telangana, the Raj Gonds of Adilabad are linked with the Dandari festival and the Gussadi dance, and Kanaka Raju is the Padma Shri awardee to remember.💬 Discussions on this question
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Indian Dance Forms — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indian Dance Forms, 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.
Indian dance forms are one of the most frequently tested areas of static GK. This topic covers the eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam and Sattriya), the folk and tribal dances of every state, and related terms such as mudra, abhinaya, lasya and tandava. Most questions ask which state a dance belongs to, which community performs it, or which feature identifies a classical style. Learn the classical dances with their state and one signature feature each, such as the face make-up of Kathakali or the brass plate of Kuchipudi. For folk dances, group them state by state, since exams often list three or four dances and ask for the common state. Watch for dances shared by more than one state, such as Chhau, which has three styles. Practise the Indian dance forms 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.