General Knowledge Questions on Indian Culture

The National Flag of India is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron [kesaria] at the top, white in the middle & dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. The ratio of width of the flag to its length is 2 to 3. In the centre of the white band of the Indian National Flag, there is a navy blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter comes close to the width of the white band & it has twenty four spokes. The design of the National Flag of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.

The national anthem of India is ‘Jana-gana-mana’, composed originally in Bengali, by Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Jana-gana-mana’ was first sung on 27th December 1911, long before Indian gained independence, at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. As for the playing time of the full version of the national anthem, it will take up approximately 52 seconds. A short version, consisting of first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds), is also played on certain occasions.

Madhubani painting or Mithila painting is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar state, India and the adjoining parts of Terai in Nepal. Painting is done with fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks, using natural dyes and pigments, and is characterized by eye-catching geometrical patterns. There are paintings for each occasion and festival such as birth, marriage, holi, surya shasti, kali puja, Upanayanam (sacred thread ceremony), and durga puja.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhubani_art

Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh (India), is the centre of chikankari , a skill of more than 200 years old. It literally means ’embroidery’. It was originally done with a white thread on a white cloth, hence the name ‘white embroidery’. Now, it is done on a variety of fabrics and in a spectrum of colours.