Match List–I with List–II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists: List–I (Tributary): A. Sutlej B. Kosi C. Teesta D. Chambal List–II (River): 1. Yamuna 2. Brahmaputra 3. Ganga 4. Indus Code:

Correct — C, A B C D : 4 3 2 1. The Sutlej is one of the five rivers of the Punjab and joins the Indus system, so A goes to 4. The Kosi drains eastern Nepal and north Bihar and empties into the Ganga near Kursela, so B goes to 3. The Teesta rises in north Sikkim and flows into the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh, so C goes to 2. The Chambal rises in the Vindhyan scarp near Mhow and joins the Yamuna in Etawah district, so D goes to 1. Only one option carries all four.

• (a)A B C D : 1 3 2 4 — Right on the Kosi and the Teesta, but it swaps the outer pair — the Sutlej is sent to the Yamuna and the Chambal to the Indus, which reverses the geography of both.
• (b)A B C D : 1 2 3 4 — A straight-through 1-2-3-4 that gets every pair wrong. Codes of this shape are worth a second's suspicion in any matching item.
• (d)A B C D : 4 2 3 1 — Correct on the Sutlej and the Chambal but it exchanges the Kosi and the Teesta, sending the Kosi to the Brahmaputra and the Teesta to the Ganga.

The three Himalayan river systems are separated by where they cut through the mountains. The Indus system takes the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The Ganga system takes the Yamuna and, from the north, the Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi. The Brahmaputra system takes the Subansiri, Manas and Teesta. The Chambal is a peninsular-style river that belongs to the Ganga basin through the Yamuna, which is what makes it the odd one in this list.

The item can be answered by fixing two anchors and letting the code do the rest. The Sutlej is unmistakably an Indus tributary, so any option that does not begin with 4 falls away, and that removes two options at once. Between the two survivors the only question is whether the Kosi or the Teesta belongs to the Brahmaputra, and the Kosi's association with Bihar settles it. The lists are printed as a two-column table rather than a figure, so no diagram is missing here.

• The Sutlej rises near Rakshastal in Tibet, enters India at Shipki La and joins the Beas at Harike before reaching the Indus system.
• The Kosi is formed by the Sun Kosi, Arun and Tamur, and its shifting channel earned it the name Sorrow of Bihar.
• The Teesta rises from the glaciers of north Sikkim and joins the Brahmaputra, known there as the Jamuna, in Bangladesh.
• The Chambal rises at Janapav near Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and meets the Yamuna in Etawah district.
• Gandhi Sagar, Rana Pratap Sagar and Jawahar Sagar are the major dams on the Chambal.

• Placing the Kosi on the Brahmaputra because both are associated with flooding in the east.
• Forgetting that the Chambal reaches the Ganga only through the Yamuna.

A four-pair matching item that collapses quickly if one confident pair is fixed before reading the codes.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which river is known as the Sorrow of Bihar?

  • (a)Gandak
  • (b)Kosi
  • (c)Ghaghara
  • (d)Son

  Answer(b) Kosi — its heavy silt load and shifting channel have repeatedly flooded north Bihar.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Chambal river joins which of the following?

  • (a)The Ganga directly
  • (b)The Yamuna
  • (c)The Son
  • (d)The Betwa

  Answer(b) The Yamuna — the confluence lies in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh.