RAS question
Chooda (ivory/lac bangles) is worn by which women?
Correct answer: (C) Newly married women.
Chooda, the ivory or lac bangle set associated with marriage in Rajasthan, is worn by newly married women.
Explanation
Chooda here is a marital ornament, not a general age or gender marker. It is a red and white bangle set worn by newly married Rajasthani women as a sign of marriage, usually for 1 to 1.5 years. Young INTACH supports that frame by placing bangles within Indian marital symbolism and stating that brides in Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan wear ivory bangles, with Rajasthani brides wearing them on the arms and forearms. Young INTACH also records that Rajasthan's bangles are made from materials including lac and earlier ivory, and calls lac traditional and auspicious in Rajasthan. That is why the RAS answer is newly married women.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Only elderly women is wrong because chooda is connected with bridal or newly married status, not old age.
- (B) All women is too broad because ordinary bangles may be widely worn, but chooda as asked here is tied to marriage and brides.
- (D) Only unmarried women reverses the cultural marker, since chooda is presented as a symbol of marriage worn by brides or newly married women.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan art and culture through dress and ornament customs. RAS often asks such items because small material-culture markers can directly signal community, life-cycle stage or ritual status.