SSC
Which of the following was a maestro of Hindustani classical music?
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Answer: Option D — Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Detailed Solution
Explanation
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) was one of the greatest vocalists of Hindustani classical music, the classical music tradition of North India. He belonged to the Patiala gharana and is often called "the Tansen of the 20th century".
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was born in Kasur, in the Punjab region (now in Pakistan). He learnt music from his father Ali Bakhsh Khan and his uncle Kale Khan, who belonged to the Patiala gharana. After the partition of India in 1947, he first went to Pakistan but later returned to India and became an Indian citizen in 1957. He was known for his rich, flexible voice and his ability to sing with great beauty and expression in many forms, including khayal, thumri and bhajan. His thumris, such as "Yaad Piya Ki Aaye" and "Prem Ke Phande Mein", are still loved by listeners. He sang only one film song in his life, the famous "Prem Jogan Ban Ke" in the film "Mughal-e-Azam" (1960), for which he was reportedly paid a very large fee at the time. He received the Padma Bhushan (1962) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1962).
Why not the other options?
M.S. Subbulakshmi was a great singer of Carnatic music, the classical music of South India.
Tyagaraja was a great composer of Carnatic music, one of its Trinity.
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer was a great Carnatic vocalist, often called the "Pitamaha" of modern Carnatic music.
These are all masters of Carnatic music, not Hindustani music.
💡 Exam tip
Link Bade Ghulam Ali Khan with the Patiala gharana, the title "Tansen of the 20th century", the thumri "Yaad Piya Ki Aaye" and his only film song in "Mughal-e-Azam".💬 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.