UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 1)

QUESTION 1

List out the characteristics of the Dravidian style of temple architecture. Discuss the contribution of the Chola Dynasty with reference to temple architecture. (250 words, 15 marks)

QUESTION 2

Explain the mechanism and occurrence of cloudburst in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Discuss two recent examples. (250 words, 15 marks)

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of a basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question but do not over analyse.

— Underlining keywords give you an edge over the other candidates and helps in the better presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be use logically and only where it is required. 

Way forward/ Conclusion

— The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction.

— You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers.

Self Evaluation

— It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process which will help you to evaluate your answers.

THOUGHT PROCESS

You may enrich your answers by some of the following points

QUESTION 1: List out the characteristics of the Dravidian style of temple architecture. Discuss the contribution of the Chola Dynasty with reference to temple architecture.

Introduction:

A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a basic fact such as:

The Dravidian architectural style is associated with the temples of southern India or Deccan. This style of temple architecture was widespread in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and northern Tamil Nadu.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Characteristics of Dravidian Temple Architecture

— The temple is enclosed within a compound wall.

— The front wall has an entrance gateway in its center, which is known as a gopuram.

— The shape of the main temple tower, vimana, is like a stepped pyramid that rises up geometrically.

— The word ‘shikhara’ is used only for the crowning element at the top of the temple which is usually shaped like a small stupika or an octagonal cupola.

— Large water reservoir or a temple tank is enclosed within the complex.

— The subsidiary shrines are either incorporated within the main temple tower or located as distinct, separate small shrines beside the main temple.

— The gopurams have been even loftier for example in the Srirangam temple in Tiruchirapally has as many as seven ‘concentric’ rectangular enclosure walls, each with gopurams.

Contribution of the Chola Dynasty to the Temple Architecture

— The Great Living Chola Temples were built by kings of the Chola Empire, which stretched over all of south India and the neighboring islands.

— Temples also started becoming the focus of urban architecture. Kanchipuram, Thanjavur or Tanjore, Madurai and Kumbakonam are the most famous temple towns of Tamil Nadu.

— The three Great Chola Temples are an exceptional and the most outstanding testimony to the development of the architecture of the Chola Empire and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India.

(i) The gigantic Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur is perhaps one of the finest examples of the Cholas’ artistic brilliance.

(ii) The Brihadeshvara temple complex at Gangaikondacholapuram.

(ii) The Airavatesvara temple complex, built by Rajaraja II, at Darasuram, features a 24-m vimana and a stone image of Shiva which testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting.

Conclusion:

Your concluding remark should be short and should encapsulate both parts of the answer or you may gain some impressive marks by the examiner on quoting sentences like the following:

The doyen of South Indian history, Nilakantha Sastri, in his 1955 book The Cholas, writes that under Rajaraja I and his successors, the Chola Empire had reached the capacity of ‘Byzantine royalty’ “with its numerous palaces, officials and ceremonials and its majestic display of the concentrated resources of an extensive empire.”  Temples architecture was definitely an important part of their history.

(Source: How successful were the Cholas as empire builders by Adrija Roychowdhury, http://www.indianculture.gov.in, ncert.nic.in)

QUESTION 2: Explain the mechanism and occurrence of cloudburst in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Discuss two recent examples.  

Introduction

A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around basic facts such as:

— A cloudburst is a localised but intense rainfall over a small geographical area that can cause widespread destruction, especially in hilly regions where this phenomenon is most common.

— According to the Indian Meteorological Department, if 10 cm of rainfall is received at a station in one hour, the rain event is termed a cloud burst. Predicting the cloud bursts is difficult due to their very small scale in space and time.

Body 

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

— In India, cloudbursts often occur during the monsoon season, when the southwesterly monsoon winds bring copious amounts of moisture inland.

— The moist air that converges over land gets lifted as it encounters the hills. The moist air reaches an altitude and gets saturated, and the water starts condensing out of the air, forming clouds.

— This is how clouds usually form, but such an orographic lifting together with a strong moisture convergence can lead to intense cumulonimbus clouds taking in huge volumes of moisture that are dumped during cloudbursts.

— Tall cumulonimbus clouds can develop in about half an hour as the moisture updraft happens rapidly, at a pace of 60 to 120 km/hr.

— A single-cell cloud may last for an hour and dump all the rain in the last 20 to 30 minutes, while some of these clouds merge to form multi-cell storms and last for several hours. Cloudbursts occur mostly over the rugged terrain of the Himalayas, Western Ghats, and northeastern hill states of India.

— The heavy spells of rain on the fragile steep slopes trigger landslides, debris flows, and flash floods, causing large-scale destruction and loss of people and property.

Recent Cloudburst Events

— On July 8, 2022, flash floods occurred in the Lidder Valley en route to Amarnath Temple in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the lives of several pilgrims.

— Himachal Pradesh (2003), Ladakh (2010) and Uttarakhand (2013)

Conclusion

Your conclusion should be short and to the point. Try to keep it factual. You may highlight the problem with capturing the cloudbursts, for example:

Ground monitoring stations can hardly capture the characteristics of cloudbursts due to their highly localised and short occurrences. Hence, most of these events go unreported due to the lack of monitoring mechanisms in the region, weakening our ability to understand them from a complete perspective.

(Sources: What are cloudburst incidents and are they rising across India? by Amitabh Sinha, mausam.imd.gov.in)

— Edited by Manas Srivastava

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