SSC
'Lotia' is a folk song form of which state?
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Answer: Option A — Rajasthan
Detailed Solution
"Lotia" is a folk song of Rajasthan, sung especially during the festival of Lotia in the month of Chaitra (March-April).
About Lotia:
- During the Lotia festival, women bring "lotas" (small round water vessels) and "kalashes" (pitchers) filled with water from ponds and wells.
- They decorate the vessels with flowers and carry them home, singing Lotia songs.
- The songs celebrate water, nature, the new season and family life.
- It reflects the importance of water in the dry desert land of Rajasthan.
Other folk songs of Rajasthan:
- Panihari: songs about women fetching water from wells, describing their hardships and feelings.
- Moomal: a romantic song of the Jaisalmer region, about the love story of Moomal and Mahendra.
- Kurja: a song in which a woman sends a message to her husband through the "kurja" bird (demoiselle crane).
- Maand: a classical folk style associated with royal courts; "Kesariya Balam, Padharo Mhare Desh" is a famous Maand song.
- Gorbandh: a song about a decorative harness for camels.
- Pabuji ki Phad: a ballad sung by Bhopa priests with a painted scroll ("phad") about the folk deity Pabuji.
- Hichki: a song about missing a loved one ("hichki" means "hiccup", believed to be a sign that someone is remembering you).
Communities of folk musicians:
- The Manganiyars and Langas of western Rajasthan are famous hereditary musicians.
- Musical instruments include the kamaicha, sarangi, morchang, khartal, algoza and ravanhatta.
Folk dances of Rajasthan:
Ghoomar (Bhil and Rajput women), Kalbelia (snake charmers' dance; UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2010), Kachchhi Ghodi, Chari, Bhavai and Terah Taali.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Gujarat is known for Garba songs.
- ✗Punjab is known for Tappe, Boliyan and Heer.
- ✗Haryana is known for Ragini and Swang.
Quick tip
Remember: Lotia = Rajasthan folk song (Chaitra; women carry lotas of water); other Rajasthani songs = Panihari, Moomal, Kurja, Maand ("Kesariya Balam"); Manganiyars and Langas = folk musicians.
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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.