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Preparation of Art & Culture for UPSC Civil Services Examination
Art & culture is a very diverse topic in Civil Services Examination. There are many candidates who find this subject difficult because of its diversity. UPSC usually asked many questions on Art & Culture of India in an indicative way. So, in this article, we are giving some strategies which will help you in your preparation.
Art & Culture Syllabus
In UPSC art & culture mainly focuses on the ancient and medieval history of India. Generally, UPSC asks the questions not directly but liked to ancient, medieval history of Indian and current affairs also. The first thing a candidate should focus on the syllabus of UPSC for prelims as well as mains. If you will know the syllabus better only then you can decide what to study and what not to study.
The syllabus of Art & Culture for UPSC Civil Services Examination is given below:
- Paleolithic art
- Art & culture during Indus Valley civilization
- Religion and Indian philosophy
- Architecture and sculpture Since the Mauryan age
- Indian paintings
- Classical forms of dance
- Folk dance forms
- Classical music
- Musical instruments
- Drama/theatre
- Puppet forms of India
- Indian pottery
- Indian literature
- Government institutions related to art and culture
- Culture and social change
Area of Focus
Indian art is a vast topic and it is divided into three portions.
Performing Arts
Classical Dances of India
Bharatnatyam
Kathakali
Kathak
Manipuri
Odissi
Kuchipudi
Sattriya
Regional Dances of India
There are many folk dances in India from different parts. You should about them. Some of them are listed below:
Chhau
Bihu Dance
Garba
Dhamal Dance
Chakyar Koothu
Lavani
Bhangra
Music of India
Hindustani Classical Music
Carnatic Classical Music
Regional Music
Carnatic and Hindustani music are two different styles of music in India.
Musical Instruments
The Tata Vadya or Chordophones – Stringed instruments
The Sushira Vadya or Aerophones – Wind instruments
The Avanaddha Vadya or Membranophones – Percussion instruments
The Ghana Vadya or Idiophones – Solid instruments which do not require tuning.
Theatre Forms of India
Traditional
Modern
Also focus on the Puppets Forms of India- String Puppets, Shadow Puppets, Rod Puppets & Glove Puppets.
Visual Arts
Indian Architecture
Pre-historic
Indus Civilization
Buddhist Architecture
Temple Architecture
Indo-Islamic Architecture
Modern Architecture
Indian Sculpture
Pre-historic
Indus Civilization
Buddhist Sculpture
Gupta Sculpture
Medieval School of Sculpture
Modern Indian Sculpture
Indian Painting
Wall Paintings of India
Miniature Painting
Modern Indian Painting
Literary Arts
- Ancient Indian Literature
- The Purana
- Classical Sanskrit Literature
- Literature in Pali and Prakrit
- Early Dravidian Literature
- Medieval Literature
- Women Poets of Bhakti
- Other Trends in Medieval Literature
- Modern Indian Literature
- The Emergence of Nationalism
- The Literature of Nationalism, Reformism, and Revivalism
- Indian Romanticism
- The Advent of Mahatma Gandhi
- Progressive Literature
- Making of Modern Theatre
- Search for Modernity
- The Indian Literary Scene after Independence
- Dalit Literature
- Use of Mythology
- Contemporary Literature
Revision
Practice makes a man perfect. Nothing can fill the value of revision. For UPSC exam you have to do revision in order to retain the colossal amount data relating to Art & Culture, History, Geography, Polity and Economics. Most of the questions come from these topics. Only daily revision will help you to retain power.
Next thing which will help you is attending mock tests and previous year papers. Previous year papers will guide you to know about the pattern of the exam. Solving previous year papers will help the candidate to understand pattern and nature of the question asked from Art & Culture topic in UPSC Civil Services Examination. A perfect analysis of paper will make you CSE preparation perfect.
Reference Material
It is important to find the accurate study material for art & culture for UPSC CSE. As the topic is very diverse similarly there is a number of study materials available in the market for art & culture. You have to choose right books for your preparation. So we are giving the essential reference books for art & culture of India.
Class XIIth NCERT- An introduction to Indian Art
Class XI NCERT- Ancient India by R.S Sharma
Class XII- Medieval India by Satish Chandra
Facets of Indian culture –Spectrum
CCRT website
NIOS materials
Books for Art & Culture
Short Notes for UPSC: Art & Culture
Indian Heritage, Art, and Culture
Bharatiya Kala, Sanskriti Evam Virasat: Civil Sewa Pariksha Hetu
Indian Art & Culture (Old Edition)
Points to Remember
Do not depend on the no. of questions as you look at the past papers you will realize that there are no fixed criteria for marks. CSE 2014 has more no. of questions on art & culture as compared to 2015 & 2016.
Do not expect that the questions will come direct. The questions will have a mixed variety of ancient India, medieval India, and current affairs.
Some Questions From Prelims
Consider the following pairs :
1. Garba: Gujarat
2. Mohiniattam: Odisha
3. Yakshagana: Karnataka
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Which one of the following pairs does not form part of the six systems of Indian Philosophy?
(a) Mimamsa and Vedanta
(b) Nyaya and Vaisheshika
(e) Lokayata and Kapalika
(d) Sankhya
Consider the following statements:
1. ‘Bijak’ is a composition of the teachings of Saint Dadu Dayal.
2. The Philosophy of Pushti Marg was propounded by Madhvacharya.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
1. Sattriya is a combination of music, dance, and drama.
2. It is a centuries-old living tradition of Vaishnavites of Assam.
3. It is based on classical Ragas and Talas of devotional songs composed by Tulsidas, Kabir, and Mirabai.
Which of the statements given above is /are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Archaeological Survey of India found the relic casket during the excavation of site in Nalgonda district. The relics belonged to which religion?
(a) Hinduism
(b) Jainism
(c) Buddhism
(d) Shaivism
If you have any doubt or need guidance you can comment below, our team will try to answer it.