Kathputli (puppet) art of Rajasthan originated in which region?
Correct answer: (D) Nagaur (Marwar).
Kathputli, Rajasthan's string-operated puppet theatre, originated in the Nagaur area of Marwar and is associated with the Bhat community.
Explanation
Kathputli is Rajasthan's traditional puppet theatre, performed with wooden dolls operated as string marionettes. The official Rajasthan Tourism account identifies it as one of the state's oldest and most performed arts after Ghoomar, and says scholars trace its emergence to present-day Nagaur and nearby areas. This supports Nagaur in Marwar as the origin region. The same source links the practice to the Bhat community, which used wooden dolls for string marionette art, and explains that the performances carried heroic tales, folk lore and epics while praising patrons and ancestors. The exam point is therefore not just the name of a craft, but the region-community-performance link: Nagaur/Marwar, Bhat performers, string-operated folk theatre.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Shekhawati is linked in the given option note with haveli art, while the cited puppetry tradition is traced to present-day Nagaur and nearby areas.
- (B) Hadoti is associated in the given option note with painting, not with the Nagaur-origin Kathputli tradition described by Rajasthan Tourism.
- (C) Mewar has other art forms, but the supplied explanation and the official source both place Kathputli's origin in Nagaur/Marwar, not Mewar.
Concept
This tests the Rajasthan art-and-culture habit of pairing a folk form with its region and performing community. Such region-community-art associations recur in RAS because they separate memorised names from usable cultural geography.