Punjab Culture and Current Affairs
Punjab culture and current affairs tests festivals, music, dance, literature, food, Sikh history and contemporary state developments. Questions often ask you to match a form to its region, gender or occasion.
Core rules
- Dance: Bhangra is a male harvest dance; Giddha is female; Malwai Giddha is male and humorous; Jhumar and Sammi are regional forms. Dhol and tumbi are signature instruments.
- Festivals: Lohri marks winter harvest; Baisakhi marks harvest and the Khalsa tradition; Teej and Karva Chauth are observed by women; Hola Mohalla is associated with Anandpur Sahib.
- Food: makki di roti with sarson da saag, lassi, pinni and chhole-kulche are staples. Punjabi is written in Gurmukhi script.
- Literature: Waris Shah's Heer, Bulleh Shah's Sufi poetry, Shiv Kumar Batalvi's verse and Gurbaksh Singh Preetlari's prose are common references.
- Sikh history: Guru Nanak founded Sikhism; Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa in 1699; the Golden Temple is in Amritsar.
Worked example
A question asks which dance is performed by women in a circle with clapping and no dhol. Reasoning: Giddha fits-women's circle, boliyan, clapping; Bhangra is male and dhol-driven. Matching gender and instrument avoids the common trap of treating all Punjabi dance as Bhangra.
Traps
Do not call Giddha a male dance. Do not place the Golden Temple in Chandigarh. Do not confuse Baisakhi with Diwali. Do not attribute the Khalsa to Guru Nanak. Do not answer current-affairs items without checking the year.