Pandwani singer Usha Barle was conferred with which of the following awards by the Government of India in 2023?
- (a)Padma Bhushan
- (b)Bharat Ratna
- (c)Padma Shri
- (d)Padma Vibhushan
Answer
Why
Correct — C. Usha Barle, the Pandwani performer from Chhattisgarh, was conferred the Padma Shri in 2023 — option (c).
Pandwani is a Chhattisgarhi folk form in which a single narrator sings and acts episodes of the Mahabharata with a small accompanying group.
The Padma Shri is the lowest of the three Padma tiers and the one at which folk and regional artists are most often recognised, which is the frame worth carrying into every award item of this shape.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Padma Bhushan — Padma Bhushan is the middle Padma tier, for distinguished service of a high order. The 2023 award to Usha Barle was at the Padma Shri level.
- (b)Bharat Ratna — Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honour, for exceptional service of the highest order, and is conferred on a very small number of people. It is not what she received.
- (d)Padma Vibhushan — Padma Vibhushan is the highest of the three Padma tiers. Among Pandwani artists it is Teejan Bai who holds that award, not Usha Barle.
Concept
The Padma awards are announced on Republic Day and conferred by the President at a later investiture. They run in three tiers — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri — and are given across fields including art, literature, science, public affairs and social work.
The Bharat Ratna stands outside that ladder as a separate and higher honour.
Folk performers usually enter this list under art, which is why an SSC item about a regional art form so often keys to Padma Shri.
The stem gives you the art form, the year and the state connection, so the only remaining decision is which tier of award fits an artist of this standing.
Key facts
- The Padma awards run in three tiers: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
- Usha Barle, a Pandwani artist from Chhattisgarh, received the Padma Shri in 2023.
- Pandwani is a folk ballad form of Chhattisgarh that narrates episodes of the Mahabharata.
- Teejan Bai is the best known Pandwani performer and a Padma Vibhushan awardee.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking a higher tier because the art form sounds prestigious.
- Confusing Usha Barle with Teejan Bai, the Pandwani performer at the Padma Vibhushan level.
SSC turns one award fact several ways — the artist's name for the tier, the award for the state, the art form and the award for the name.
10 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.21 gives Madhuri Barthwal's Padma Shri and asks for her state, Uttarakhand.
17 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.3 gives the Lavani form and the Padma Shri 2022 and asks for the singer, Sulochana Chavan.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.