MPPSC 2023 Prelims Paper-I · Question 96 of 100

Correct — D, Gond. Nohdora is the raised clay-relief wall ornamentation practised by Gond women — wet clay is moulded by hand into motifs (animals, birds, plants) directly on the mud wall, then finished with whitewash and natural colours. It is a recognised speciality of the Gond tribe, concentrated in the Mandla-Dindori belt of Madhya Pradesh.

• (a)Bhil — Bhil wall art is best known for the ritual Pithora paintings (depicting horses), a different tradition from the Gond clay-relief Nohdora.
• (b)Korku — Korku is a distinct Madhya Pradesh tribal community with its own art and ritual traditions, but Nohdora is not attributed to it.
• (c)Saharia — Saharia, one of Madhya Pradesh's Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, is not associated with this clay wall-relief tradition.

MP's tribal communities each carry distinct wall or floor art traditions tied to festivals and rituals. Nohdora is a raised clay-relief ornamentation that Gond women apply to house walls — wet clay is shaped by hand into motifs and then finished with whitewash and natural colours — practised mainly in the Mandla and Dindori districts.

MPPSC repeatedly tests 'which craft/art belongs to which MP tribe' — the trap is swapping the named art form across the four major tribes (Bhil, Gond, Korku, Saharia) offered as options.

• Nohdora: raised clay-relief wall ornamentation of the Gond tribe
• Practised mainly in the Mandla and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh
• Gond art also gave rise to the canvas-based 'Jangarh Kalam' style, pioneered by artist Jangarh Singh Shyam of Patangarh village (Dindori)
• Distinct from the Bhil tribe's ritual Pithora wall paintings, which depict horses

• Confusing Nohdora (a wall-relief tradition) with the canvas-based 'Jangarh Kalam' style, which is a later, separate extension of Gond art
• Mixing up which named craft belongs to which of MP's major tribes

MPPSC tests 'this named craft/art is the speciality of which MP tribe' — match the specific term to the correct tribe, not just to 'a tribe' in general.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Jangarh Kalam, the canvas/paper-based art style that grew out of traditional Gond wall art, takes its name from an artist born in which Madhya Pradesh village?

  • (a)Patangarh (Dindori)
  • (b)Bagh (Dhar)
  • (c)Chitrakoot (Satna)
  • (d)Pachmarhi (Hoshangabad)

  Answer(a) Patangarh, Dindori district — birthplace of Jangarh Singh Shyam, who pioneered the Jangarh Kalam style.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Pithora, a ritual wall painting tradition depicting horses, belongs to which Madhya Pradesh tribal community?

  • (a)Gond
  • (b)Bhil
  • (c)Baiga
  • (d)Kol

  Answer(b) Bhil — Pithora paintings are a Bhil ritual wall-art tradition, distinct from the Gond Nohdora clay relief.