Railway
Bongeet (forest or nature songs) is mainly a folk song form of which state?
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Answer: Option C — Assam
Detailed Solution
Bongeet (also written Bon-geet, meaning "songs of the forest") is a folk song form of Assam. These songs are traditionally sung in open spaces such as forests, fields and grazing grounds, mostly by young cowherds (rakhals) and young people while working or tending cattle. Because they are sung outdoors, the songs are usually sung in a loud, free and open voice.
The main themes of Bongeet are love and longing, the beauty of nature, and the joys and sorrows of rural life. Many are love songs in which a young man or woman expresses feelings for a lover. Bongeet is closely related to Bihu songs and is often considered part of the larger Bihu song tradition. The songs are especially popular in the Kamrup and Goalpara regions of Assam.
Assam has a very rich musical tradition. Some of its other forms:
- Bihu geet: the songs of the Bihu festival, accompanied by the dhol, pepa (buffalo horn pipe), gogona and toka.
- Borgeet: devotional songs composed by the Vaishnava saints Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva in the 15th-16th century.
- Kamrupi Lokgeet and Goalpariya Lokgeet: folk songs of western Assam; Pratima Barua Pandey was a famous Goalpariya singer.
- Zikir and Zari: devotional songs of the Assamese Muslims, made popular by Azan Fakir.
- Famous singers who drew on Assamese folk traditions include Bhupen Hazarika, who was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 2019.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Kerala is known for vanchipattu (boat songs) and Sopana Sangeetham.
- ✗Rajasthan is known for Maand and Pankhida.
- ✗Punjab is known for Boliyan and Heer.
Quick tip
Remember: Bongeet = Assamese "forest songs" of cowherds and youth, linked with Bihu songs; Borgeet = Sankardeva and Madhavdeva; Zikir = Azan Fakir.
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Music & Musical Instruments — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Music & Musical Instruments, 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 Indian classical music, its two main traditions (Hindustani and Carnatic), gharanas, ragas and talas, folk music styles, and the musical instruments of India along with the artists who are famous for playing them. It also includes the four classes of instruments: string (tata), wind (sushira), percussion (avanaddha) and solid (ghana). Exam questions usually pair an instrument with its maestro, such as the sitar with Pandit Ravi Shankar, the shehnai with Ustad Bismillah Khan or the santoor with Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Other common questions ask about the origin of a gharana, the instrument a folk style uses, or the class an instrument belongs to. Making a two-column list of instruments and artists is the quickest way to revise. Practise the music and musical instruments 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.