Besides Basohli, Guler and Kangra, painting also grew at many other hill centres. Which of the following pairs of a hill centre and its painting is correctly matched?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Chamba – Portraits of its rulers in the Basohli style
Option (1) Kullu – Signed paintings by the artist Molaram — Incorrect. Molaram is associated with the Garhwal School, where several of his signed paintings have been found.
Option (2) Chamba – Portraits of its rulers in the Basohli style — Correct. Portraits of the rulers of Chamba from the seventeenth and early eighteenth century are in the Basohli style.
Option (3) Garhwal – Shaivite subjects beside Krishna Lila themes — Incorrect. This belongs to Mandi. Its rulers worshipped Vishnu and Shiva, so Shaivite subjects were painted too.
Option (4) Mandi – Figures with a prominent chin and wide open eyes — Incorrect. These figures mark the distinctive style of Kullu, with grey and terracotta red backgrounds.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Kangra School …Briefly mentioning the aspects of the other centres, one finds portraits of the rulers of Chamba in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century in the Basohli style. Kullu emerged with a distinctive style, where figures had a prominent chin and wide open eyes, and lavish use of grey and terracotta red colours in the background was made. … Rulers of Mandi were ardent worshippers of Vishnu and Shiva. Hence, apart from the Krishna Lila themes, Shaivite subjects were also painted. An artist named Molaram is associated with the Garhwal School. Several signed paintings by him have been discovered. …” |