UPSC Mains GS1 Art & Culture Questions

Art & Culture · 4

1. A raga once sung only in a temple is now performed in a ticketed concert hall. Has the move from shrine to stage enriched the music or hollowed out its devotional soul? (10 marks)
2. Distinguish between the Mughal court tradition of painting and the devotion-and-myth of the Rajput schools. Discuss whether such art reflected the society around it or only the tastes of its patrons. (10 marks)
3. India shaped the art and architecture of Southeast Asia without ruling it. To what extent does this 'conquest without arms' reveal the nature of cultural power? (15 marks)
4. A Bharatanatyam recital fills a state-funded auditorium while a Warli or Gond artist sells the same evening at a roadside stall for a fraction of the price. How do you explain this gap between cultural value and cultural status? (15 marks)