Pandit Ravi Shankar, who received the Bharat Ratna, played which instrument?
- A.Sarod
- B.Sitar
- C.Tabla
- D.Violin
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Sitar. Ravi Shankar played the sitar, the long-necked fretted instrument with a gourd resonator and sympathetic strings that ring on their own. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan of Maihar, did more than anyone to make Indian classical music known abroad, and received the Bharat Ratna in 1999.
Option A, the sarod, was the instrument of Ali Akbar Khan, the son of the same teacher, and of Amjad Ali Khan. Option C, the tabla, is associated with Alla Rakha, who often accompanied Ravi Shankar, and with Alla Rakha's son Zakir Hussain. Option D, the violin, came to India from Europe and is now the standard melodic accompaniment in Carnatic music, played by Lalgudi Jayaraman and L. Subramaniam, with N. Rajam known for it in the Hindustani style. Because these musicians performed together, the paper counts on candidates mixing them up.
Read the full article: Musical Instruments and Artists: Tata, Sushira, Avanaddha, Ghana
Practice Questions
View allIn the classification given in the Natya Shastra, wind instruments are called by which name?
- A.Tata vadya
- B.Sushira vadya
- C.Avanaddha vadya
- D.Ghana vadya
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Sushira means hollow, and the class covers every instrument in which a column of air inside a tube is set vibrating.
Read the full explanation →Ustad Bismillah Khan is associated with which musical instrument?
- A.Sarod
- B.Sarangi
- C.Shehnai
- D.Santoor
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Bismillah Khan played the shehnai, a double reed wind instrument long associated with weddings, temple processions and auspicious beginnings in north India, and he is credited with carrying it from ceremonial use onto the classical concert stage.
Read the full explanation →Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is known for playing which instrument?
- A.Santoor
- B.Sitar
- C.Flute
- D.Veena
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The santoor is a trapezoid wooden box carrying many strings over small bridges, struck with a pair of light curved mallets.
Read the full explanation →Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a celebrated player of which instrument?
- A.Sitar
- B.Sarod
- C.Tabla
- D.Shehnai
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The sarod is a plucked instrument with a metal fingerboard and no frets, which lets a player slide continuously between notes and gives it its deep, singing tone.
Read the full explanation →The ghatam, used in Carnatic music, belongs to which class of instruments?
- A.Avanaddha vadya
- B.Sushira vadya
- C.Ghana vadya
- D.Tata vadya
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The ghatam is a clay pot with nothing stretched across its mouth. The player strikes the body of the pot with fingers, palms and wrists, and changes the tone by moving the mouth of the pot against the stomach.
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