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Sharda Sinha was a celebrated singer known especially for songs of:
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Answer: Option C — Chhath Puja
Detailed Solution
Sharda Sinha (1952-2024) was a folk singer from Bihar, often called the "Bihar Kokila" (Nightingale of Bihar). She sang in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi, and became especially famous for her Chhath Puja songs, such as "Kelwa ke paat par" and "Ho dinanath". For many families in Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and among the diaspora, her songs became an essential part of the festival. She also sang wedding songs (vivah geet), Sohar and other folk songs, and some Hindi film songs, such as "Kahe toh se sajna" in "Maine Pyar Kiya" (1989) and songs in "Gangs of Wasseypur".
Her honours include the Padma Shri (1991) and the Padma Bhushan (2018). She died on 5 November 2024, during the Chhath festival, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 2025.
Chhath Puja is a festival dedicated to the Sun God (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya. It is celebrated mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal. It is held six days after Diwali, in the month of Kartik (October-November), and lasts four days:
Nahay Khay: a holy bath and a simple meal.
Kharna: a day-long fast ending in the evening with kheer.
Sandhya Arghya: offerings to the setting sun, standing in a river or pond.
Usha Arghya: offerings to the rising sun the next morning.
Devotees, mostly women, keep a strict fast without water for about 36 hours. Thekua is the special prasad.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Bihu songs belong to Assam.
- ✗Onam songs belong to Kerala.
- ✗Garba songs belong to Gujarat's Navratri.
Quick tip
Remember: Sharda Sinha = "Bihar Kokila", Chhath songs ("Kelwa ke paat par"); Padma Bhushan 2018, Padma Vibhushan (posthumous) 2025.
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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.