The Maharashtra Bhushan was conferred upon _________________ in the year 2002.

Correct — D. The key gives the 2002 Maharashtra Bhushan to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the Hindustani vocalist of the Kirana gharana.

Maharashtra Bhushan is the highest civilian honour of the Government of Maharashtra, and Joshi's working life sat inside the state — his training, his concert career and the annual Sawai Gandharva festival he ran in Pune.

He was later given the Bharat Ratna in 2008 — option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Pandit Ravi Shankar — Pandit Ravi Shankar was a sitar player rather than a vocalist, and his national honour was the Bharat Ratna in 1999.
• (b)
  Pandit Jasraj — Pandit Jasraj sang in the Mewati gharana, a different lineage from Joshi's Kirana. The year in the stem is what separates the two names.
• (c)
  Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia — Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia is a bansuri player, not a vocalist. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 2000.

Maharashtra Bhushan is the highest civilian award of the Government of Maharashtra, given for distinguished work in fields such as literature, art, sport, science, social work and public administration.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was a khayal singer of the Kirana gharana, trained under Sawai Gandharva, and is remembered as much for the annual music festival he ran in Pune as for his own concerts.

State honours of this kind sit alongside the national Padma awards in SSC's question bank, and the two are easy to blur.

Key facts

• Maharashtra Bhushan is the highest civilian award of the Government of Maharashtra.
• Pandit Bhimsen Joshi sang in the Kirana gharana and trained under Sawai Gandharva.
• Bhimsen Joshi received the Bharat Ratna in 2008.
• Pandit Jasraj belonged to the Mewati gharana.

Common traps

• Reading Maharashtra Bhushan as a national award. It is conferred by the state government.
• Picking the most famous name. All four options are major Hindustani musicians, so fame does not separate them.

No directly related past PYQ was found.