With which genre is Shankar Rao Pandit associated?
- (a)Sitar instrumental (playing)
- (b)Mrudang instrumental (playing)
- (c)Khayal singing
- (d)Kathak dance
Correct — C, Khayal singing. Pandit Shankar Rao Pandit (1863–1949) was a leading Hindustani classical vocalist and a pillar of the Gwalior gharana — traditionally regarded as the oldest Khayal gharana, from which most later gharanas branched. He trained under Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar (who carried the Gwalior gharana's Khayal tradition into Maharashtra), and his own son, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, went on to become one of the Gwalior gharana's most celebrated 20th-century Khayal vocalists.
- (a)Sitar instrumental (playing) — The sitar is a plucked-string instrument central to Hindustani INSTRUMENTAL music (e.g. the Maihar/Imdadkhani traditions) — not Shankar Rao Pandit's genre, which was vocal.
- (b)Mrudang instrumental (playing) — The mridangam/mrudang is a percussion instrument (mainly Carnatic, with the pakhawaj as its Hindustani counterpart) — again an instrumental tradition unrelated to Pandit's vocal Khayal practice.
- (d)Kathak dance — Kathak is a North Indian classical dance form (with its own Lucknow, Jaipur, and Banaras gharanas) — a different performing-arts stream from vocal Khayal music.
Khayal is the dominant genre of North Indian (Hindustani) classical vocal music, built around a fixed set of lyrics elaborated through slow (vilambit) and fast (drut) improvisation within a raga. The Gwalior gharana is considered the oldest of the Khayal gharanas and the common root from which later gharanas (Agra, Kirana, Patiala, Jaipur-Atrauli) branched.
MPPSC likes testing lesser-known Gwalior-gharana figures by name and genre — the three wrong options here cover the OTHER broad categories of Hindustani performing arts (a string instrument, a percussion instrument, and a dance form), so a student who only vaguely recalls 'classical music, Gwalior' can still be pulled toward the wrong category.
- Shankar Rao Pandit (1863–1949) was a Khayal vocalist of the Gwalior gharana.
- He trained under Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, credited with carrying the Gwalior gharana's Khayal style into Maharashtra.
- His son, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, became a leading 20th-century Gwalior-gharana Khayal vocalist and founded the Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Gwalior in 1914.
- The Gwalior gharana is regarded as the oldest Khayal gharana of Hindustani classical music.
Shankar Rao Pandit was a vocalist, not an instrumentalist or dancer — a Khayal exponent of the Gwalior gharana.
- Picking an instrumental option (Sitar/Mrudang) because 'classical music' is assumed to mean instrumental by default
- Confusing Shankar Rao Pandit (father, 1863–1949) with his son Krishnarao Shankar Pandit — both Gwalior-gharana Khayal vocalists
MPPSC tests MP-linked classical musicians (many tied to the Gwalior gharana) by asking which genre/instrument they are known for — always separate vocal (Khayal/Dhrupad/Thumri) from instrumental (Sitar/Sarod) from dance (Kathak) before picking.
Match List I with List II: List I — I. Pandit Vishnu Digamber Paluskar, II. Venkatamahi, III. Shyama Shastri, IV. Amir Khusru; List II — A. Introduced the scheme of Raga classification of Indian music, B. Proponent of Carnatic music, C. Proponent of the Khayal form of Hindustani music, D. Wrote the music for the song 'Vande Mataram'
- (a) I-D, II-A, III-C, IV-B
- (b) I-D, II-A, III-B, IV-C
- (c) I-A, II-D, III-C, IV-B
- (d) I-A, II-D, III-B, IV-C
Answer(b) I-D, II-A, III-B, IV-C
Same concept — identifying a figure's association with the Khayal genre of Hindustani classical music (there, Amir Khusrau as the style's traditional originator; here, Shankar Rao Pandit as a Gwalior-gharana exponent).
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Gwalior gharana, considered the oldest gharana of Hindustani classical music, is primarily associated with which vocal genre?
- (a)Khayal
- (b)Ghazal
- (c)Qawwali
- (d)Bhajan
Answer(a) Khayal.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, son and disciple of Shankar Rao Pandit, founded which institution at Gwalior in 1914?
- (a)Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya
- (b)Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai
- (c)Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapith
- (d)Prayag Sangeet Samiti
Answer(a) Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.