CNA 29 Jan 2023:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
ART AND CULTURE
1. Sundarbans temple
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Researchers offer tips to save Kerala’s sinking island
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
F. Prelims Facts
1. Sources of Air Pollution
G. Tidbits
1. Noble’s Helen
2. Mughal Gardens
3. Titanosaurs
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Category: ART AND CULTURE

1. Sundarbans temple

Syllabus: Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times

Mains: Effects of climate change on ancient monuments in India

Context: Sundarbans temple is increasingly eroded by Sea winds.

Key Details:

• The impact of climate change, especially the increase in air salinity, is eroding the outer wall of Jatar Deul, an 11th century terracotta Shiva temple.
  • It is located at Raidighi in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal.
• According to the Archeological Survey of India, “ the outer brick wall of the temple is getting eroded, with the edge of bricks suffering steady corrosion due to increase in air salinity,”.
• The temple is facing erosion because of hydraulic action or air salinity. 
• Trees provide a barrier to coastal winds on the upper part of the temple which reduces the erosion on this side.
  • Stone temples located along the coast — such as the famed Konark temple of Odisha — are less affected by salinity since the porosity of stone is far less than that of brick.
• Tropical cyclone in May 2020 had destroyed trees at Jatar Deul, further exposing the temple to the gusty salt-laden coastal winds.
• The ASI is planning to carry out restoration and conservation work at the temple by  removing the damaged bricks and replacing them with new bricks of similar size.
  • ASI is also planting trees at the site so that they can serve as a barrier to the temple.

Jatar Deul Temple:

• As per the ASI Website, Jatar Deul is traditionally connected to an inscription by Raja Jayantachandra, purported to have been issued in 975 AD. It says that the temple was built in 10th or 11th century AD on the basis of its architecture.
  • However, Sharmila Saha, an expert on West Bengal temples, disagrees with the dating estimate, and believes that the temple was built around the beginning of the 13th century based on its architectural features.
• Jatar Deul does not follow the traditional structure of Bengal temples. The architectural style is more like that of Oriya style of towering spires.
• Recent excavations revealed ‘jagmohana’ and ‘garbha-griha’ (inner sanctorum) in the style of Oriya temples. 
• At present the locals consider the temple as the temple of Lord Shiva although there are a lot of pictures and idols of various Gods and Goddesses inside the main chamber of the temple.
• Presently Jatar Deul is maintained by the ASI. 

Image Source: The Hindu

Read more on Coastal Erosion in India

G. Tidbits

1. Noble’s Helen

• A swallowtail butterfly has been recorded for the first time in India.
• These “extremely rare” Noble’s Helen (Papilio noblei) butterflies were recorded from three locations in the Namdapha National Park of Arunachal Pradesh in  September 2021.
• The Noble’s Helen, closest to Papilio antonio from the Philippines and characterised by a large dorsal white spot, was once common in the montane forest at moderate elevations in northern Thailand. 
• This species of swallowtail butterfly has also been reported from the Myanmar, Yunnan and Hubai regions of China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. 
  • The species are slowly disappearing in the ranges it was previously recorded.
• Butterflies are distributed worldwide except Antarctica, totalling some 18,500 species. They are considered vital indicators of the state of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions.

Image Source: The Hindu

2. Mughal Gardens

• The Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens, popularly known as the Mughal Gardens, was renamed ‘Amrit Udyan’ on January 28,2023 as part of the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.
• It was designed by Edwin Lutyens, spreading across 15 acres, it incorporates both Mughal and English landscaping styles. 
• It draws its inspiration from the Mughal Gardens in Jammu and Kashmir, the gardens around the Taj Mahal and even miniature paintings of India and Persia.
• The main garden has two channels intersecting at right angles dividing the garden into a grid of squares — a Charbagh (a four-cornered garden) — a typical characteristic of the Mughal landscaping. 
  • The charbagh structure was intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia – jannat – in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature.
  • From the gardens surrounding Humanyun’s Tomb in Delhi to the Nishat Bagh in Srinagar, all are built in this style – giving them the moniker of Mughal Gardens.
• There are six lotus-shaped fountains at the crossings of these channels rising to a height of 12 feet. The garden houses nearly 2,500 varieties of dahlias and 120 varieties of roses.
  • Rose varieties  include Adora, Mrinalini, Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Scentimental, Oklahoma (also called Black Rose), Black Lady, Blue Moon and Lady X. There are also roses named after personalities: Mother Teresa, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Abraham Lincoln, Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Queen Elizabeth.
• The garden is thrown open to the public for a limited period during spring each year.

3. Titanosaurs

• In central India’s Narmada Valley, researchers discovered 92 nesting sites containing a total of 256 fossil eggs belonging to titanosaurs, which were among the largest dinosaurs to ever live.
• The Lameta Formation, located in the Narmada Valley, is well-known for fossils of dinosaur skeletons and eggs of the Late Cretaceous Period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago.
• Based on the layout of the nests,it is inferred that these dinosaurs buried their eggs in shallow pits like modern-day crocodiles.
• Certain pathologies discovered in the eggs, such as a rare case of “egg-in-egg,” suggest that titanosaur sauropods had a reproductive physiology similar to birds and may have laid their eggs sequentially, as seen in modern birds.
• The presence of multiple nests in the same area suggests that these dinosaurs, like modern birds, engaged in colonial nesting behaviour.
• The close spacing of the nests, on the other hand, left little room for adult dinosaurs, lending credence to the theory that adults abandoned the hatchlings (newborns) to fend for themselves.
• The findings contribute significantly to palaeontologists’ understanding of how dinosaurs lived and evolved.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following Pairs: (Level-Difficult)

            Traditional Theatre                                   State

1. Maach                                                             Madhya Pradesh
2. Shumang Leela                                           Assam
3. Tamasha                                                         Maharashtra
4. Therukoothu                                                  Kerala

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

1. Only one pair
2. Only two pairs
3. Only three pairs
4. All four pairs

Q2. Consider the following statements: (Level-Medium)

1. Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the State of Bihar
2. In a Wildlife Sanctuary Human activities are not allowed.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both
4. None

Q3. Which of the following is/are correctly matched? (Level-Difficult)

                      Fighter Aircraft                                    Origin

1. Mirage 2000                                                               Russia
2. Sukhoi Su-30                                                              France
3. SEPECAT Jaguar                                               United Kingdom

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q4.  Assertion (A): Rajasthan has the highest goat population in the country.
     Reason(R): With the expansion of desert in Rajasthan, people shift from 
     agriculture and cattle rearing to goat rearing because goats can survive in 
     harsh environments. (Level-Difficult)

Codes:

1. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
2. Both A and R are individually true and R is not the correct explanation of A
3. A is true but R is false
4. A is false but R is true

Q5. Consider the following statements: (PYQ-CSE-2007)(Level-Difficult)

1. In India, Red Panda is naturally found in the western Himalayas only
2. In India, slow Loris lives in the dense forests of the North East.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 29 Jan 2023:- Download PDF Here