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Hungary all set to turn Amrita Sher-Gil’s Lahore residence into museum
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story– HUNGARY PLANS to turn celebrated legendary artist Amrita Sher-Gil’s Ganga Ram Mansions on The Mall in Lahore into a museum, a top diplomat of the country said as several art lovers and intellectuals gathered for the unveiling of a commemorative plaque and an exhibition to pay homage to her.
• Who was Amrita Sher-Gil?
• What are the famous works of Amrita Sher-Gil?
• “On September 16, Amrita Sher-Gil’s canvas The Story Teller sold for Rs 61.8 crore ($7.45 million at the current exchange rate), a record high price for an Indian artist”-What is the significance of The Story Teller?
• What determines the value of an artwork — by Sher-Gil or any other artist?
• What does this high-value sale mean for Indian art?
• What makes Amrita Sher-Gil such a special artist?
• What do you understand by modern art?
• For Your Information-Born in 1913 in Budapest to Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, who hailed from an aristocratic family in Punjab and was a scholar of Sanskrit and Persian with an interest in philosophy, and Marie Antoinette, a Hungarian opera singer. From the tender age of five, Amrita immersed herself in painting with water colours, and her early works were vibrant illustrations of Hungarian fairy tales.
In 1921, the Sher-Gil family moved to India and settled in Shimla and it was here that Amrita honed her keen observational skills. Her uncle Ervin Baktay encouraged her to sketch from live models, focusing on facial expressions and body forms, which shaped her fascination with the human figure.
She moved to Paris at age 16, and the Bohemian lifestyle of the city resonated with her and left a lasting impression on her vivacious personality that remains widely celebrated. As a student at the École des Beaux-Arts, she learnt human anatomy and explored the potential of line, form, and colour, sketching many male and female nudes, predominantly academic in style, from 1930 to 1932.
An intense longing to return to her roots prompted Amrita to return to India in 1934. In September 1934, she wrote, “It seems paradoxical but I know for certain that had we not come away to Europe, I should perhaps never have realised that a fresco from Ajanta or a small piece of sculpture in the Musée Guimet is worth more than a whole Renaissance.”
In November 1936, she embarked on an extensive journey of South India, beginning from Bombay, to Ajanta, Ellora, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Cochin, Cape Comorin, and Madurai. In Bombay, she met the scholar and art collector Karl Khandalavala, who introduced her to a collection of miniature paintings, and she was captivated by the Basohli school. The murals at Ajanta, Padmanabhapuram, and Mattancherry also caught her attention.
In the late 1930s, she produced masterpieces such as ‘In the Ladies’ Enclosure’ and ‘Boys with Lemons’, which adopted a compositional style with close-knit figures, drawing inspiration from the Indian mural traditions.
In 1938, Amrita went back to Hungary for a year and painted in European themes and treatment. On returning to India, she continued painting with an increased Indian sensibility and influence from miniatures.
She passed away in December 1941 in Lahore after a brief illness. She was only 28. Although her mature career spanned only a decade, her work left an indelible mark on the art world.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Amrita Sher-Gil at 110: Celebrating an easel that spanned continents
IN PARLIAMENT
LS takes up Bill for setting up tribal varsity in Telangana
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Mains Examination:
• General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
• General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-THE LOK Sabha Wednesday took up a bill for the establishment of the Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University in Telangana in pursuance of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
• The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023-Know its key features
• The legend of Sammakka and Sarakka-Know in detail
• Sammakka and Sarakka and their importance in Tribal belt of Telangana-Know in detail
• The Sammakka Saralamma Jatara and importance in Telangana
• Do You Know-Sammakka is said to have been married to Pagididda Raju, a feudal chief of the Kakatiyas (a Deccan dynasty) who ruled the Warangal area. She had two daughters and one son – Sarakka or Saralamma, Nagulamma and Jampanna, respectively. In the battle against the local rulers in protest against the taxes, Saralamma died, while Sammakka disappeared into the hills and the local tribals believed that she metamorphosed into a vermillion casket.
Mulugu holds a biennial festival – the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara – which is considered among the largest gatherings of tribal people in the world. The event commemorates the battle of the 13th-century mother-daughter duo against the local rulers in protest against the imposition of taxes on the Koya people. The Jatara (yatra, or pilgrimage) begins at Medaram, and the rituals are conducted by the Koya priests, in accordance with their customs and traditions.
Until 1955, about 2,000 people used to visit Medaram, mostly from the Koya tribe. But down the line, it has assumed the form of a large Hindu religious festival, so much so that it is believed that after Kumbha Mela, the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country. In 2008, nearly 80 lakh people are estimated to have attended the festival, which went up to a crore in 2012.
Considering the footfall of the festival, the Samakka-Sarakka Jathara was declared a state festival in 1996. Until 1998, the only way to reach Medaram, where the festival is held, was on a bullock cart. But in 1998, the state government (the undivided Andhra Pradesh at the time) constructed a motorable road.
Since then, the Sammakka Sarakka Jathara has become one of the most famous tribal festivals in the world and close to 1.5 crore devotees from various tribal and non-tribal communities participate in this festival, including those from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jharkhand. It is often referred to as the Kumbh Mela of the tribals.
The Ministry of Tourism, as a part of the Tribal Circuit under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, sanctioned Rs. 75.88 crore for the integrated development of a tribal circuit of Mulugu-Laknavaram-Medavaram-Tadvai-Damaravi-Mallur-Bogatha Waterfalls where the temple of Sammakka-Sarakka is located.
Mulugu, a reserved Scheduled Tribes (ST) assembly seat, has a population of around 2.6 lakhs as per the 2011 Census with a 75 per cent ST population. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ramappa Temple is located about 15 km from Mulugu.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
EXPRESS NETWORK
To achieve net-zero target, do not rely on burying emissions underground, says scientist
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development–Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-The idea that all the problematic carbon dioxide emissions in the future can be safely and permanently buried in the ground with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies might be extremely misplaced and impractical, a new study by researchers of Oxford University and Imperial College in London suggests.
• What exactly researchers of Oxford University and Imperial College in London suggested?
• What is carbon capture and storage?
• For Your Information-Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a way to catch carbon and trap it beneath the earth. It is different to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) — where carbon is sucked out of the atmosphere — although some of the technologies overlap. The key difference is that CDR brings down the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, cooling the planet, while CCS in fossil fuel plants and factories prevents the gas from getting out in the first place.
In its latest review of scientific research, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found both options will be needed for emissions that are hard to wipe out. For chemical processes that release carbon dioxide, there are few alternatives to capturing CO2 straight away or sucking it out of the air later. Scientists see a big role for CCS in factories that make cement and fertiliser, as well as in plants that burn rubbish. They are split on whether it makes sense to use it to make steel and hydrogen, which have some greener alternatives. Most of their skepticism goes to capturing carbon when making electricity, because there are already cheaper alternatives that work better, like wind turbines and solar panels. In theory, it could play a role in gas plants as a back-up when the sun doesn’t shine and wind doesn’t blow — particularly in countries that are still building fossil fuel plants today — but it would have to quickly grow cheaper and more effective.
• How well does carbon capture and storage work?
• Why is carbon capture and storage controversial?
• What are the technologies used in carbon capture and storage?
• What is the potential of carbon capture and storage for tackling climate change?
• What is carbon ‘usage’ and where does it fit into efforts to tackle climate change?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Carbon capture and storage: where should the world store CO2? It’s a moral dilemma
Garba gets UNESCO tag of ‘intangible cultural heritage’
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination:
• General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
• General Studies II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- The UNESCO on Wednesday approved the inclusion of garba, Gujarat’s most popular folk dance form, in its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity. A decision to “inscribe” the dance form as “intangible heritage” was taken at the 18th session of the UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Republic of Botswana.
• Garba-what you know about the same?
• What are India’s intangible cultural symbols on the UNESCO list?
• What are the types of intangible heritage?
• For Your Information-With this, 14 elements from various parts of India have been inscripted to UNESCO’s representative list of ICH. The committee’s evaluation body gave its approval to the nomination sent by the Indian government, in collaboration with the Gujarat government.
The chief of the committee’s evaluation body referred to garba as “ritualistic and devotional dance that is performed on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, which is dedicated to the worship of the feminine energy”. Explaining the dance form, the official website of UNESCO stated, “The practitioners and bearers (of garba) are broad and inclusive, from the dancers to the musicians, social groups, craftspeople and religious figures involved in the festivities and preparations. Transmitted through practice and observation, Garba fosters equality by transcending socio-economic, gender and religious structures. It is inclusive of diverse and marginalized communities, thus strengthening social bonds.” The 14 other elements from India that have been inscripted to UNESCO’s representative list of ICH are Ramlila; yoga; vedic chanting; Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre of Kerala; Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas; Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala; Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan; Chhau dance of eastern India; Buddhist chanting of Ladakh; Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur; traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making in Punjab; Nawrouz; Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata.
• Know about United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• What is intangible cultural heritage according to UNESCO?
• What are the criteria for the selection?
• For Your Information-UNESCO defines “intangible” as “expressions that have been passed from one generation to another, have evolved in response to their environments and contribute to giving us a sense of identity and continuity…”
According to an official document by UNESCO, ‘intangible cultural heritage’ includes “oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.”
It ascribes importance to “the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next,” which necessitates their preservation. The document states that the safeguarding of an ICH means ensuring that it “remains an active part of life for today’s generations that they can hand on to tomorrow.”
The adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2003 was a crucial step towards preserving intangible heritage from across the globe. UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was established in the year 2008.
• Who manages nominations to the UNESCO list in India?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍India elected to UNESCO panel on Intangible Cultural Heritage
EXPRESS NETWORK
Sec 6A of Citizenship Act part of legislative policy of Parliament: Centre to apex court
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-Defending the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that the provision “is a part of the legislative policy of Parliament, arising from a political settlement with relevant parties, based on certain relevant considerations of State policy and foreign policy” and as such is not arbitrary and has a rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved.
• What is Section 6A of citizenship Act?
• What are the questions surrounding Section 6A?
• For Your Information-Section 6A deals with “special provisions as to the citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord”. It says that all those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from the specified territory (it includes all territories of Bangladesh at the time of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985), and since then are residents of Assam, must register themselves under Section 18 for citizenship.
• How did the situation in Assam impact the nature of citizenship?
• What are some of the cases linked to citizenship in Assam that have gone to the Supreme Court?
• What is the plea before the constitutional bench?
• Who are ‘Citizens’?
• Who is a citizen in India’s constitutional scheme? What are various principles/kinds of citizenship?
• How did Partition and the large-scale migration from territories that became part of Pakistan impact citizenship?
• Citizens and Aliens-compare and contrast in terms of civil and political rights
• What are those rights and privileges that the Constitution of India confers on the citizens of India and denies the same to aliens?
• Do You Know-Questions around citizenship, “illegal immigrants” and rights of “indigenous Assamese” citizens in Assam largely revolve around the Assam Accord, which was signed in 1985 between the Rajiv Gandhi government and the All Assam Students’ Union at the end of a six-year-long agitation against the influx of migrants from Bangladesh into the state.
• The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of acquiring citizenship-Know them in detail
• The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways of losing citizenship-What are they?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍SC to decide on constitutional validity of Citizenship Act’s Section 6A: What this section is
📍How many availed Sec 6A of Citizenship Act: SC to Govt
EXPLAINED
31 years after Babri demolition, how rapid infra development is transforming Ayodhya
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination:
• General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times
• General Studies III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-Thirty-one years after the demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992, Ayodhya is all set for the grand opening of the Ram temple. While the construction of the temple is on in full swing, equally rapid has been the transformation of the town itself.
The infrastructure development of Ayodhya took off after the BJP came to power in 2017 and Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as Chief Minister.
• Babri mosque and Ram Janmabhoomi-What’s the dispute?
• What are some of the important incidents happened?
• Why Liberhan Commission of Inquiry was appointed?
• Who are the architects for the temple?
• Ram Mandir is one of the important Hindu temple-why?
• For Your Information-On December 6, 1992 — 31 years to the day — a large group of people demolished a “disputed structure”. The Babri Masjid, and whether a temple preceded the mosque on the site, was already a fraught matter that had challenged the Indian judiciary and political class for decades. The people who demolished it did so on the backs of a chariot that traversed large parts of the country. Many, if not most of them, claimed allegiance to the same political ideology that rules India today. The legal machinery issued a settlement order — the matter went to the highest court in the land — under which a temple is now being constructed where the mosque once stood.
• Know more about Architectural features of Ram Mandir
• What is the Nagara style of architecture?
• What are the features of Nagara style of temple architecture?
• What is the Dravidian architecture style?
• Nagara style of architecture and Dravidian architecture style-Compare and Contrast
• Nagara style of architecture is further divided into different schools of architecture based on region and geography-what are those different schools of architecture?
• What Supreme Court of India said on Ram Mandir Construction?
• Under what circumstances was the Places of Worship Act, 1991 law enacted, and how did the government justify it?
• Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi Verdict and Section 5 of the Places of Worship Act, 1991-Connect the Dot
• What did the Supreme Court say about the Places of Worship Act, 1991 in its Ayodhya judgment?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍On December 6, a question: How many election wins absolve the criminal destruction of Babri Masjid?
DHANVANTRI IMAGE IN NMC LOGO: WHY ARE DOCTORS PROTESTING NOW?
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Main Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-The logo of the National Medical Commission (NMC), with a colourful image of physician god Dhanvantri in the centre, has drawn criticism from doctors, with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) urging the the apex medical education regulator to take “corrective steps”.
“The logo of any national institution ought to capture the aspirations of all our citizens in an equal manner and by remaining neutral in all respects thereby eliminating any possibility of any part or section of the society feeling aggrieved in any manner,” the IMA said in a letter.
• What is controversy with the logo of the National Medical Commission (NMC)?
• What Indian Medical Association (IMA) said about entire issue?
• Why are doctors opposing the new logo?
• Why has Dhanvantri been included in the NMC logo?
• Why did doctors protest only after the change?
• Is this the first time doctors have raised such concerns?
• For Your Information-With Dhanvantri considered to be the god of Ayurveda and medicine, officials from the NMC said it was an appropriate addition to the logo for a medical body. An official said: “If the logo for doctors can be Caduceus — the staff surrounded by two serpents — that is entrenched in Greek mythology, why can’t we use symbols from our own mythology?”
Officials from both NMC and the Union health ministry emphasised that Dhanvantri has always been part of the logo. However, even the old logo was adopted only in 2022. The National Medical Commission took over from the former Medical Council of India in 2020. The logo was first approved in 2022, according to officials.
Dr Agarwal said the IMA took action as soon as the issue was highlighted. “The NMC has been asking why doctors are objecting only now when the logo always had the image of Dhanvantri. But clearly, the image was not prominently visible even to them, which is why they chose to colour and highlight it,” he said.
There were similar protests from doctors when the NMC introduced the “Charak Shapath” as part of undergraduate medical training last year. While it was initially thought that the Shapath would replace the doctor’s oath — which essentially says doctors should treat everyone and do no harm — the NMC later said the Charak Shapth would be taken at the beginning of the course and the doctor’s oath when the students graduate.
Mandatory inclusion of yoga as part of medical curriculum last year also faced similar resistance.
• What is National Medical Commission?
• What is the role of National Medical Commission?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module retraces steps to Earth orbit: why it matters
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-Scientists have brought the Propulsion Module (PM) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission — which took the Vikram lander to within 100 km of the surface of the Moon before it detached and made the historic controlled descent to the lunar surface on August 23 — back into Earth orbit.
• “Its successful return to Earth orbit is a significant achievement that marks a step towards bringing back samples from lunar missions in the future”-Comment
• What do you understand by the Propulsion Module?
• For Your Information-Unlike Chandrayaan-2 — ISRO’s second lunar exploration mission that failed in September 2019 — the Chandrayaan-3 mission featured, instead of a full fledged orbiter, a light Propulsion Module that was essentially only a system for the lander to travel to the Moon. For communications with Earth stations, the mission used the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which was still in orbit around the Moon with functioning systems on board.
The Chandrayaan-3 PM carried only an instrument called the Spectro Polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE), an experimental payload to look back at Earth and study the signatures that make it habitable, so as to identify habitable exoplanets.
The PM separated from the lander (which carried the Pragyaan rover in its belly) on August 17, but it was expected to continue orbiting the Moon for another six months, with SHAPE looking at Earth.
“The main function of PM is to carry the LM [or Lander Module] from launch vehicle injection till final lunar 100 km circular polar orbit and separate the LM from PM. [The PM]…also has one scientific payload…which will be operated post separation of the Lander Module,” ISRO had said ahead of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
• Why manoeuvre matters?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍ISRO brings back Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module to Earth’s orbit
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