SSC
'Journey with a Hundred Strings: My Life in Music' is the autobiography of:
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Answer: Option B — Pandit Shivkumar Sharma
Detailed Solution
"Journey with a Hundred Strings: My Life in Music" is the autobiography of the santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, written with Ina Puri and published in 2002.
About the book:
- It describes his childhood in Jammu, where his father, Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, a vocalist and tabla player, decided that his son would make the santoor a classical instrument.
- It covers his struggles to gain acceptance for the santoor in Hindustani classical music, his first major concert in Bombay in 1955, and his successful career in India and abroad.
- The "hundred strings" refers to the santoor, which is often called "shatatantri vina" (hundred-stringed vina).
About the santoor:
- It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer from Jammu and Kashmir, traditionally used in Sufi music ("Sufiana kalam").
- It is played by striking the strings with a pair of light wooden mallets.
- Pandit Shivkumar Sharma modified the instrument and developed new playing techniques to make it suitable for Hindustani classical music.
About Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (1938-2022):
- He was born in Jammu.
- He played the santoor in the film "Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje" (1955).
- With the flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, he formed the music-director duo "Shiv-Hari", which composed music for Hindi films such as "Silsila" (1981), "Chandni" (1989) and "Lamhe" (1991).
- The album "Call of the Valley" (1967), with Hariprasad Chaurasia and guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra, became one of the best-selling Indian classical albums.
- He received the Padma Shri (1991) and the Padma Vibhushan (2001).
- His son, Rahul Sharma, is also a santoor player.
- He died in May 2022.
Autobiographies of other musicians:
- Pandit Ravi Shankar: "Raga Mala" and "My Music, My Life".
- Ustad Amjad Ali Khan: "My Father, Our Fraternity" and "Abba: God's Greatest Gift to Us" (with his sons).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Pandit Ravi Shankar's autobiography is "Raga Mala".
- ✗Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a sarod maestro.
- ✗Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the flute maestro, was Shivkumar Sharma's partner in "Shiv-Hari".
Quick tip
Remember: "Journey with a Hundred Strings" (2002, with Ina Puri) = Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (santoor; "Shiv-Hari" with Hariprasad Chaurasia; "Call of the Valley"); "Raga Mala" = Ravi Shankar.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, 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 famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors 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.