UPHESC Assistant Professor Music Tabla 2025 PYQs

Concept: Check each statement.

1. a – correct: the Ganga basin is India's largest (about a quarter of the country's area).
2. b – correct: the Bhagirathi rises at Gaumukh (Gangotri glacier) in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand.
3. c – wrong: Satluj and Jhelum belong to the Indus system.
4. d – correct: the Son is the main right-bank tributary (others: Yamuna, Tons… ).

Short trick: Punjab rivers (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj) → Indus; drop c.

Concept: The Khyber Pass, in the Spin Ghar (Safed Koh) range, is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

1. It links Peshawar (Pakistan) with Jalalabad/Kabul (Afghanistan) via Torkham border.
2. It was the historic invasion and trade route into the Indian subcontinent.

Short trick: Khyber → Khyber Pakhtunkhwa → Pakistan.

Concept: The Coriolis effect is the apparent deflection of moving objects caused by the Earth's rotation.

1. Deflection is to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern; it is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles.
2. Pressure differences drive winds, and the Coriolis effect deflects them; ocean currents are deflected by it, not its cause; the Moon causes tides.

Short trick: Rotation → Coriolis; Moon → tides.

Concept: Kirsty Coventry, a Zimbabwean former swimmer, was elected IOC President on 20 March 2025 (Costa Navarino, Greece).

1. She is the 10th IOC President, the first woman and the first African; she succeeded Thomas Bach (Germany) in June 2025.
2. She won 7 Olympic medals, including 200 m backstroke gold in 2004 and 2008, and was Zimbabwe's sports minister.

Short trick: First woman + first African IOC chief = Coventry of Zimbabwe.

Concept: NPP 2000 has immediate (unmet contraception needs), medium-term (TFR to replacement level 2.1 by 2010) and long-term objectives.

1. Long-term objective: a stable population by 2045, consistent with economic growth and environment protection → 1 correct.
2. National socio-demographic goals include reducing MMR to below 100 per 100,000 live births (and IMR below 30 per 1000) → 2 correct.

Short trick: NPP 2000: TFR 2.1 by 2010, stable population by 2045, MMR < 100, IMR < 30.

Concept: The capital market deals in long-term funds – equity and debt; the best-known capital markets are the stock market and the bond markets.

1. Stock (share) market → equity capital; bond market → long-term debt capital.
2. A depository account (with NSDL/CDSL) only holds securities in electronic (demat) form – it is a facility, not a market.

Short trick: Capital market = shares + bonds; demat = locker, not market.

Concept: FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) was founded in 1927 on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by G. D. Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas.

1. It is India's oldest and largest apex business organisation, headquartered in New Delhi.
2. Gandhi only advised; J. R. D. Tata was a co-author of the 1944 Bombay Plan with them, not a FICCI founder.

Short trick: FICCI 1927 = Birla + Thakurdas (Gandhi's advice).

Concept: Right to Equality = Articles 14–18 of the Constitution (the English List-II gives Articles; the Hindi version prints 'अनुसूची' (Schedule), but the numbers 14–17 can only be Articles – the Constitution has just 12 Schedules).

1. Art 14 – equality before law and equal protection of laws → a-I.
2. Art 15 – no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth → b-II.
3. Art 16 – equality of opportunity in public employment → c-III.
4. Art 17 – abolition of untouchability → d-IV (Art 18 – abolition of titles).

Short trick: The rights follow the article order 14-15-16-17 → straight I-II-III-IV.

Concept: Article 81 caps the Lok Sabha at 530 members from the States + 20 from the Union Territories = 550.

1. Earlier, Article 331 allowed the President to nominate 2 Anglo-Indians, which made the maximum 552.
2. The 104th Amendment (2019, effective 25 Jan 2020) ended Anglo-Indian nomination, so the maximum now fixed by the Constitution is 550.
3. 545 was the actual strength (543 elected + 2 nominated) up to the 16th Lok Sabha; 543 elected seats today.

Short trick: Max now 530 + 20 = 550 (552 only before 2020).

Concept: Recall each Article.

1. Art 50 (DPSP) – separation of judiciary from executive → a-II.
2. Art 143 – President may seek the Supreme Court's advisory opinion → b-IV.
3. Art 61 – procedure for impeachment of the President → c-I.
4. Art 320 – functions of Public Service Commissions → d-III.

Short trick: Only option A has a-II and b-IV.

Concept: A theka is the basic bol-structure of a taal; it must show matra, vibhag, sam, tali and khali.

1. Sam, khali and vibhag are built into every theka – without them the taal cannot be recognised.
2. Mukhada is a short ornamental phrase played before sam; it is an optional embellishment, not part of the theka.

Short trick: Theka = skeleton (sam-tali-khali-vibhag); Mukhada = decoration.

Concept: Western tempo markings are Italian words.

1. Grave, Largo, Lento = very slow / slow.
2. Vivace = lively and fast (faster than Allegro).

Short trick: Vivace sounds like 'vivid/vivacious' = fast.

Concept: A kayada opens with its main theme line (mukh/tek), which is then expanded through paltas.

1. Tek = the opening/main line on which the whole kayada rests.
2. Dohara = playing the theme twice; Ardhadohara = repeating half of it – these are expansion techniques, not the first line.
3. Jati refers to the rhythmic class (tisra, chatasra…).

Short trick: Tek = the 'anchor' line, like the sthayi of a song.

Concept: Each vocal genre has a characteristic taal.

1. Dhrupad – Chautaal (Chartaal) → III.
2. Vilambit khyal – Tilwada → I.
3. Tappa – Punjabi taal → IV.
4. Tarana – fast Teentaal → II.

Short trick: Dhrupad-Chautaal, Tappa-Punjabi: a-III, b-I, c-IV, d-II.

Concept: Tabla compositions are either fixed (pre-composed, played as such) or expandable (improvised on the spot).

1. Gat, Farad and Nauhakka (tihai type) are fixed, pre-composed pieces.
2. Peshkar is an expandable form – the player improvises its paltas during performance.

Short trick: Peshkar, Kayada, Rela = vistaarsheel (improvised); Gat, Tukda, Paran, Farad = fixed.

Concept: Graha (called pani by Bharat) is the point where song and tala begin together.

1. Bharat's Natyashastra lists three panis directly – samapani, avapani, uparipani.
2. Sharngadeva (Sangeet Ratnakar) classifies graha first into two – sama and vishama; vishama is then split into atita and anagata.

Short trick: Ratnakar: graha 2 (sama / vishama) → vishama 2 (atita / anagata).

Concept: The seven Carnatic talas (Dhruva, Matya, Rupaka, Jhampa, Triputa, Ata, Eka) are called Suladi sapta talas.

1. Purandaradasa (16th c.), 'father of Carnatic music', systematised these talas and composed 'suladis' in them.
2. Annamacharya and Narayana Tirtha were composers of kirtanas/tarangas, not of this terminology.

Short trick: Purandara = Pillari geete + Suladi talas.

Concept: Sawagun = 5/4 (1¼ bols per matra).

1. Four times sawagun = 4 × 5/4 = 5.
2. 5 bols per matra = Panchgun.

Short trick: Sawa (1¼) × 4 = 5 → Panchgun.

Concept: Biad laya = 7 bols in 4 matras (7/4). Brahm taal has 28 matras.

1. Time taken = 28 ÷ 7/4 = 28 × 4/7 = 16 matras.
2. A 16-matra cycle from sam to sam = Teentaal (Ektaal 12, Adachautaal 14, Pancham Sawari 15).

Short trick: Aad 3/2, Kuad 5/4, Biad 7/4.

Concept: Sangeet Ratnakar's time scale starts from kshana and builds in steps of eight.

1. 8 kshana = 1 lava; 8 lava = 1 kashtha; 8 kashtha = 1 nimesh.
2. 8 nimesh = 1 kala; 2 kala = 1 truti (chaturbhaga).

Short trick: Kshana→Lava→Kashtha→Nimesh→Kala: each ×8.