SSC
The renowned vocalist Ustad Amir Khan founded which gharana?
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Answer: Option D — Indore gharana
Detailed Solution
Explanation
Ustad Amir Khan (1912-1974) was one of the greatest Hindustani classical vocalists of the 20th century, and he is regarded as the founder of the Indore gharana of khayal singing.
Amir Khan was born in Kalanaur, in present-day Haryana, and grew up in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, where his father, Shahmir Khan, was a sarangi and veena player at the court of the Holkar rulers. He learnt music from his father but developed his own unique style by studying the styles of many great musicians, such as the slow, meditative development of ragas of Abdul Wahid Khan of the Kirana gharana, the powerful voice and taans of Rajab Ali Khan, and the complex rhythmic patterns (merukhand) of the older tradition. His style is known for its slow, serious and spiritual quality, its emphasis on the beauty of each note, and its use of merukhand, a systematic method of exploring combinations of notes. He also popularised the tarana, a form that uses rhythmic syllables, and showed its link with Persian words. He sang for Hindi films, such as "Baiju Bawra" (1952) and "Shabaab" (1954), and for the Bengali film "Kshudita Pashan" (1960). He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1967) and the Padma Bhushan (1971). He died in a car accident in Kolkata in 1974.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Patiala gharana is linked with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
- ✗Agra gharana is linked with Ustad Faiyaz Khan.
- ✗Mewati gharana is linked with Pandit Jasraj.
💡 Exam tip
Link Ustad Amir Khan with the Indore gharana, merukhand, the tarana and the film "Baiju Bawra". The Indore gharana is one of the youngest of the khayal gharanas.💬 Discussions on this question
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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.