__________ is often touted as Tansen of the 20 th century, this musical genius blended the best of classical music and created a unique style of his own.

Correct — B. The description fits Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968), the Kasur-Patiala khyal vocalist whose style is standardly described as amalgamating the best of several traditions — which is the blending the stem is pointing at.

He composed under the pen name Sabrang, sang two pieces for the film Mughal-e-Azam in 1960, and received the Padma Bhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1962, followed by the Akademi's Fellowship in 1967.

The other three names are his own father and his two younger brothers, which is why the option set looks so alike. The musician the description belongs to is option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Ustad Ali Baksh Khan — Ali Baksh Khan was Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's father, a musician of the same Kasur-Patiala line. The stem describes a twentieth-century blending genius, which points at the son.
• (c)
  Barkat Ali Khan — Barkat Ali Khan was a younger brother of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and a singer in his own right, but he is not the musician the description in the stem belongs to.
• (d)
  Mubarak Ali Khan — Mubarak Ali Khan was also a younger brother. SSC builds the option set out of one family so that recognising the surname is not enough — you have to know which member.

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) is the best-known voice of the Kasur-Patiala gharana, a Hindustani tradition that carries khyal along with thumri and tappa.

He was born at Kasur, in present-day Pakistan, settled in India after Partition, and died at Hyderabad in 1968. He wrote new compositions under the pen name Sabrang.

His honours include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan, both in 1962, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1967. He sang for the film Mughal-e-Azam in 1960, an unusual crossing from the concert platform into cinema.

Key facts

• Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) belonged to the Kasur-Patiala gharana of Hindustani music.
• He composed under the pen name Sabrang.
• He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan in 1962, and the Akademi Fellowship in 1967.
• Ali Baksh Khan was his father, and Mubarak Ali Khan and Barkat Ali Khan were his younger brothers.

Common traps

• Picking a name because it sounds senior. All four options come from one family, so seniority is not the discriminator.
• Confusing Bade Ghulam Ali Khan with Ghulam Ali, the Pakistani ghazal singer of a later generation.
• Assuming a Patiala-gharana singer must be from Patiala. This family came from Kasur, in undivided Punjab.

No directly related past PYQ was found.