Which gharana of Kathak developed in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh?
- A.Jaipur gharana
- B.Lucknow gharana
- C.Banaras gharana
- D.Raigarh gharana
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, the Lucknow gharana. The Lucknow gharana of Kathak took shape in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh, who was himself a dancer and a composer of thumris under the pen name Akhtarpiya. The gharana is known for bhava and abhinaya, that is expression rather than display, for its soft grace and for its close bond with thumri. Bindadin Maharaj, Achchan Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj all belong to this family.
Option A, the Jaipur gharana, grew in the Rajput courts of Rajasthan and is known for layakari, forceful footwork and rapid pirouettes, so it does not belong to Awadh. Option C, the Banaras gharana, is indeed from Uttar Pradesh and is associated with Janakiprasad and Sitara Devi, but it grew at Varanasi and not in the royal court of Lucknow. Option D, the Raigarh gharana, is a later addition linked to the court of Raigarh and to composition and percussion, far from Awadh in both time and place.
Read the full article: Folk Music, Dance and Theatre of Uttar Pradesh: Kathak to Nautanki
Practice Questions
View allWhich instrument dominates a Nautanki performance?
- A.Tabla
- B.Nagada or nakkara
- C.Sarangi
- D.Pakhawaj
Show answer
Nautanki is played on an open platform to an audience of hundreds, often through the whole night, so it needs an instrument that carries.
Read the full explanation →The Charkula dance belongs to which region of Uttar Pradesh?
- A.Bundelkhand
- B.Braj
- C.Purvanchal
- D.Rohilkhand
Show answer
Charkula is danced in the Braj country around Mathura, where a woman balances a tiered wooden pyramid hung with rows of lighted earthen lamps, traditionally counted as one hundred and eight, on her head and moves to Rasiya songs of Krishna.
Read the full explanation →Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana, was placed by UNESCO on which list?
- A.World Heritage List
- B.Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
- C.Memory of the World Register
- D.List of Creative Cities
Show answer
Ramlila is a living performance tradition rather than a building or a document, so it was inscribed in 2008 on the list that UNESCO maintains for intangible heritage, the same list that carries Kutiyattam, Vedic chanting and Ramman from India.
Read the full explanation →Which pair of towns are the two main centres and styles of Nautanki?
- A.Hathras and Kanpur
- B.Mathura and Agra
- C.Varanasi and Jaunpur
- D.Lucknow and Faizabad
Show answer
Nautanki grew into two recognised styles, the Hathras style in which the sung music and the verse metres dominate and the audience comes for the singing, and the Kanpur style in which dialogue, acting and stagecraft carry more of the play.
Read the full explanation →Bismillah Khan of Varanasi, honoured with the Bharat Ratna, was a master of which instrument?
- A.Shehnai
- B.Sarangi
- C.Sitar
- D.Pakhawaj
Show answer
Ustad Bismillah Khan of Varanasi took the shehnai, until then an instrument of weddings and temple gateways, on to the concert platform and made it a solo classical instrument.
Read the full explanation →