SSC
Which folk song is popular in North Bengal, western Assam and northern Bangladesh?
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Answer: Option A — Bhawaiya
Detailed Solution
Bhawaiya is a folk music form of the northern part of West Bengal (especially Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri), the Goalpara and Dhubri areas of western Assam, and the Rangpur region of northern Bangladesh. It is sung in the local Rajbanshi (Kamtapuri) dialect.
The word "Bhawaiya" is often explained as coming from "bhav" (emotion). The songs are full of deep feelings, especially the pain of separation, longing for a loved one, and the hardships of rural life. Many songs are about the lives of mahouts (elephant handlers), cart drivers (garial) and buffalo herders (moishal), and about women waiting for them to return.
The main accompanying instrument of Bhawaiya is the dotara, a long-necked plucked string instrument. A special feature of the singing is a vocal "break" or jerk in the voice, which gives the songs a distinctive sound.
Famous Bhawaiya singers include Abbasuddin Ahmed, who made the form popular across Bengal in the 20th century, and Pratima Barua Pandey of Goalpara, who was known as the queen of Goalpariya folk songs.
Bengal also has other important folk song forms:
- Bhatiali: songs of the boatmen on the rivers.
- Baul: mystic songs of wandering minstrels.
- Gambhira: songs of Malda, often with social satire.
- Jhumur: songs of the western tribal areas of Bengal.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Lavani is a folk song and dance of Maharashtra.
- ✗Mando is a song form of Goa.
- ✗Powada is a ballad of Maharashtra, praising heroes such as Shivaji.
Quick tip
Remember: Bhawaiya = folk song of North Bengal (Cooch Behar), Goalpara (Assam) and Rangpur (Bangladesh), sung with the dotara; singer Abbasuddin Ahmed.
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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.