SSC
Jayanthi Kumaresh is an exponent of which musical instrument?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option A — Veena
Detailed Solution
Explanation
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh is one of the leading players of the Saraswati veena, the traditional stringed instrument of Carnatic music. She comes from a family of musicians and is the niece of the great violinist Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.
Jayanthi Kumaresh began learning music as a child, first the violin and then the veena, which she learnt from her aunt, Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, and later from the veena maestro S. Balachander. She gave her first concert at a young age and became known for her technical brilliance, her rich tone and her creative approach. She has performed solo concerts across India and the world, and she has also collaborated with musicians from other traditions. She created the Indian National Orchestra for Veena, and she founded projects to bring many veena players together in ensemble performances. She also has a doctorate in music, for her research on the veena. She is married to the violinist R. Kumaresh, one half of the famous violin duo Ganesh-Kumaresh. She has received several honours, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
The Saraswati veena is one of the oldest instruments of India. It is a large, long-necked stringed instrument with 24 fixed frets, a large resonating body carved from wood (traditionally jackfruit wood), and a smaller resonator (gourd) near the top of the neck. It has four main strings for playing and three side strings for rhythm and drone. It is closely associated with the goddess Saraswati, who is usually shown holding it. The town of Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh and Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu are famous for making veenas, and both the Bobbili veena and the Thanjavur veena have Geographical Indication (GI) tags. Other famous veena players include S. Balachander, Chitti Babu, Emani Sankara Sastry and E. Gayathri.
Why not the other options?
Violin is linked with Carnatic players such as Lalgudi Jayaraman and L. Subramaniam.
Mridangam is linked with players such as Palghat Mani Iyer and Umayalpuram Sivaraman.
Flute is linked with players such as T.R. Mahalingam and N. Ramani.
💡 Exam tip
Famous veena players asked in exams include S. Balachander, Chitti Babu and Jayanthi Kumaresh. The veena is linked with the goddess Saraswati.💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Music & Musical Instruments Questions
View all ›- Q1.In which year was the Buddhist chanting of Ladakh inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity?
- Q2.In which year was the Tradition of Vedic Chanting inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity?
- Q3.Which is the main percussion instrument used in the performance of Mohiniyattam?
- Q4.Who is known as the 'Father of Carnatic Music'?
- Q5.Before joining Akbar's court, Tansen served as a court musician to which ruler?
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
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.