MAINS 2015
GS1
12.5 marks
Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically evaluate this comment.
WRITE IN
9 min
200 words
What the examiner wants
Evaluate whether Mesolithic rock art shows both the cultural life of the period and an aesthetic comparable to modern painting.
Critically evaluateJudge the merits and the limits with evidence, and give a clear verdict.
Demand-wise check
- 1Cultural life: hunting, food gathering, dancing, honey collection, animals, group life, early domestication seen at Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Lakhudiyar≈35 words
- 2Aesthetic sense: economy of line, stick figures conveying motion, X-ray style, geometric patterns, natural red and white pigments≈35 words
- 3Modern parallel: abstraction, minimalism and movement echo modern art (e.g. Picasso's line drawings)≈35 words
- 4Limits: no perspective or depth, repetitive motifs, dating uncertain, much is painting on rock shelters rather than 'rock cut architecture'≈35 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Clarify it is rock-shelter paintingCultural evidenceAesthetic featuresModern comparisonLimitsBalanced view
Where marks usually go
- Writing about Ajanta/Ellora rock-cut caves, which are much later
- Not taking a critical position on the 'modern painting' comparison
Draw this
- Sketch of a Bhimbetka stick-figure hunting scene labelled with features
Value addition
- SiteBhimbetka rock shelters (Raisen, MP), discovered by V.S. Wakankar in 1957, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.UNESCO, 2003
- SiteLakhudiyar (Almora, Uttarakhand) has rock paintings of humans holding hands in a dance line, in red, black and white.ASI / NCERT Fine Arts
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 13 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Monika Srivastava · AIR 16 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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