SSC
Pandit Rajendra Gangani is associated with which dance form?
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Answer: Option D — Kathak
Detailed Solution
Explanation
Pandit Rajendra Gangani is one of the leading Kathak dancers and gurus of India. He belongs to the Jaipur gharana of Kathak and comes from a famous family of Kathak artists from Rajasthan.
Rajendra Gangani was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and learnt Kathak from his father, Guru Kundanlal Gangani, a great guru of the Jaipur gharana who taught at the Kathak Kendra in New Delhi for many years. The Gangani family has produced several generations of Kathak dancers and drummers. Rajendra Gangani is known for his powerful and energetic style, his fast and complex footwork, his clean technique and his mastery of the rhythmic compositions of the Jaipur gharana. He has performed widely in India and abroad and has trained many students. He has served as a senior guru at the Kathak Kendra in New Delhi, the national institute of Kathak dance run by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He has received several honours for his contribution to Kathak.
The Jaipur gharana of Kathak is regarded as having been founded by Bhanu Ji, a devotee of Lord Shiva. It developed under the patronage of the Rajput rulers of Jaipur and other princely states of Rajasthan. It is known for its vigorous style, its powerful footwork (tatkar), its fast spins (chakkars) and its complex rhythmic compositions, often performed to the pakhawaj as well as the tabla. Famous artists of the Jaipur gharana include Jailal, Sunder Prasad, Durga Lal, Roshan Kumari, Prerana Shrimali and Rajendra Gangani. In contrast, the Lucknow gharana, linked with Birju Maharaj, is known for its grace and expression.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Odissi is the classical dance of Odisha.
- ✗Kuchipudi is the classical dance of Andhra Pradesh.
- ✗Mohiniyattam is the classical dance of Kerala.
- ✗Good to know
- ✗Rajendra Gangani is not associated with any of these.
💡 Exam tip
Link Rajendra Gangani with Kathak and the Jaipur gharana. Other well-known Jaipur gharana dancers include Roshan Kumari and Prerana Shrimali.💬 Discussions on this question
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Art & Culture Personalities — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Art & Culture Personalities, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the people behind India's art and culture: classical and folk dancers, vocalists and instrumentalists, painters, sculptors, theatre and film personalities, and the gurus who founded or revived art forms. Questions also cover the art form each person is known for and the honours they have received. Exams typically name a person and ask for their art form, or name an art form and ask who popularised it. Recent Padma award winners from the arts appear often, so link each name to the field and state the award was given for. Since award lists change every year, always revise from the latest official list rather than relying on older notes. Practise the art and culture personalities questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.