Tansen, credited with the ragas Miyan ki Malhar and Darbari Kanada, was a musician in whose court?

The correct answer is A, Akbar. Tansen was counted among the navratnas, the nine jewels of Akbar's court, and had earlier served the ruler of Rewa. He was a disciple of Swami Haridas, and tradition credits him with Miyan ki Malhar, Miyan ki Todi and Darbari Kanada. He is buried at Gwalior beside the tomb of Muhammad Ghaus, and the Tansen Samaroh is held there in his memory every year.

Option B, Shah Jahan, ruled two generations later and is remembered in the syllabus for architecture rather than for Tansen. Option C, Krishnadevaraya, was the Vijayanagara ruler of the early sixteenth century, a patron of Telugu literature, not of Tansen. Option D, Wajid Ali Shah, was the last Nawab of Awadh and a real patron of music, but of thumri and kathak in Lucknow, three centuries after Tansen. Every option is a genuine patron of the arts, which is what makes the question worth setting.