SSC
'Mekhela Chador' is a traditional dress of which state?
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Answer: Option C — Assam
Detailed Solution
The Mekhela Chador (Mekhela Sador) is the traditional dress of Assamese women. It is worn on festivals such as Bihu, at weddings and on formal occasions, and in daily life.
It has three parts:
The mekhela: the lower garment, a cylindrical piece of cloth wrapped around the waist and folded into pleats at the front. Unlike a sari, it is tucked in at the waist without being draped over the body.
The chador (sador): a long piece of cloth that is draped over the upper body, with one end tucked into the waist and the other end thrown over the shoulder.
The riha: a narrow cloth sometimes worn under the chador, mainly on formal occasions.
A blouse is worn with the outfit.
Mekhela Chadors are traditionally woven on handlooms by Assamese women. They are made in three famous kinds of Assamese silk:
Muga silk: a golden-yellow silk produced only in Assam, from the silkworm Antheraea assamensis. It is one of the strongest natural silks and becomes more lustrous with each wash. Muga silk received a GI tag in 2007.
Eri silk: a warm, soft silk sometimes called "Ahimsa silk" or "peace silk", because the moth is allowed to leave the cocoon.
Pat silk: a white or off-white mulberry silk.
Sualkuchi near Guwahati is known as the "Manchester of Assam" because of its large silk-weaving industry.
Assamese men traditionally wear a dhoti, a kurta and a "gamosa", a white cotton towel with red borders, which is a symbol of Assamese pride.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Manipur's traditional dress for women is the phanek and innaphi.
- ✗Kerala's traditional dress for women is the mundum neriyathum (set mundu).
- ✗Sikkim's traditional dress is the bakhu (kho).
Quick tip
Remember: Mekhela Chador = Assam, often in muga (golden) silk; Sualkuchi = "Manchester of Assam"; gamosa = Assamese towel; phanek = Manipur.
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Paintings, Crafts, Dress & Tribes — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Paintings, Crafts, Dress & Tribes, 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 India's traditional painting styles (such as Madhubani, Warli, Pattachitra, Kalamkari, Gond and Tanjore), handicrafts and textiles, traditional dresses, and the major tribes of each state and their customs. It also includes Geographical Indication (GI) tags given to crafts and products. Questions usually ask which state a painting or craft belongs to, which tribe lives in a region, or what a traditional dress is called. Warli belongs to Maharashtra, Madhubani to Bihar, Pattachitra to Odisha and West Bengal, and Gond art to Madhya Pradesh. Grouping tribes by state, and noting the largest tribe of key states (such as the Bhils and the Santhals), helps with elimination. Practise the paintings, crafts and tribes 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.