UPHESC Assistant Professor Music Tabla 2025 PYQs

Concept: Each rasa has a presiding deity in the Natyashastra.

1. Shringar – Vishnu; Hasya – Pramatha; Raudra – Rudra; Karun – Yama.
2. Veer – Mahendra; Bhayanak – Kala; Bibhatsa – Mahakala; Adbhut – Brahma.

Short trick: Love = Vishnu; laughter = Pramatha; wonder = Brahma.

Concept: Bharat originally listed eight rasas; Shanta was accepted later as the ninth.

1. Mammata (Kavyaprakasha) writes: 'निर्वेदस्थायिभावोऽस्ति शान्तोऽपि नवमो रसः'.
2. Bhavabhuti is known for 'eko rasah karuna eva'.

Short trick: Mammat – ninth rasa Shanta; Bhavabhuti – only Karuna.

Concept: Ut. Shafaat Ahmed Khan (1954–2005), son and disciple of Ut. Chhamma Khan, was a leading Delhi-gharana soloist.

1. He received the Padma Shri in 2003.
2. Akram Khan belongs to Ajrada; the others did not receive the Padma Shri.

Short trick: Shafaat Ahmed Khan – Delhi – Padma Shri 2003.

Concept: Khaprumama Parvatkar (1879–1953) of Goa was a legendary laya expert, titled 'Laya Bhaskar'.

1. His real name was Laxman (Rao) Parvatkar; 'Khaprumama' was a nickname.
2. Pandharinath Nageshkar and Suresh Gaitonde were later tabla players (Gaitonde was trained in this laya tradition).

Short trick: Laya Bhaskar = Laxman Parvatkar.

Concept: Panchavadyam ('five instruments') is a temple orchestra of Kerala.

1. Instruments: timila, maddalam, ilathalam, idakka, kombu (plus shankh).
2. Famous at Thrissur Pooram.

Short trick: Thrissur Pooram → Panchavadyam → Kerala.

Concept: Sunadi (sanadi) is the double-reed wind instrument of Karnataka, similar to the shehnai/nadaswaram.

1. It is blown, so it is a sushir (air) instrument.
2. Ghana = solid, avanaddh = membrane, tat = string.

Short trick: Sunadi/Sanadi ≈ shehnai → sushir.

Concept: 'Going Solo' is a tabla-solo audio CD of Pt. Sharda Sahai of the Banaras gharana.

1. Sharda Sahai performed and taught widely abroad (UK, Canada, USA), and several of his solo recordings were issued there.
2. Anokhe Lal, Kishan Maharaj and Allarakha are not associated with this title.

Short trick: Sharda Sahai – 'Going Solo'.

Concept: Birth years.

1. Ut. Natthu Khan (Delhi) – 1875.
2. Pt. Kanthe Maharaj – 1880.
3. Ut. Ahmed Jan Thirakwa – 1892.
4. Ut. Habibuddin Khan (Ajrada) – 1899.

Short trick: 1875-1880-1892-1899 → b a c d.

Concept: Match each instrument with its exponent.

1. Rudra veena – Ut. Asad Ali Khan (iii).
2. Santoor – Pt. Bhajan Sopori (i).
3. Flute – Pt. Raghunath Seth (ii).
4. Nakkara – Ut. Dilawar Khan (iv).

Short trick: Asad-veena, Sopori-santoor.

Concept: Ghumat is Goa's earthen-pot drum with lizard/monitor skin on one end.

1. It is played in Ganesh festival songs and 'suvari' ensembles; recognised as Goa's heritage instrument.
2. Hudukka – Uttarakhand/Kerala; Naal – Maharashtra; Kasale – Maharashtra cymbals.

Short trick: Goa's pot drum = Ghumat.

Concept: Tippani is a folk dance of the Chorwad (Saurashtra) region of Gujarat.

1. Women beat the floor with 'tippani' – long sticks with a wooden block – while singing.
2. It originated among labourers compacting floors of houses.

Short trick: Tippani – stick-beating women of Saurashtra, Gujarat.

Concept: Thimki (timki) is a small folk drum of central India (Madhya Pradesh/Rajasthan/Bundelkhand).

1. Pakhawaj and surbahar are classical instruments.
2. Dundubhi is an ancient Vedic war/temple drum.

Short trick: Thimki = folk; others = classical/ancient.

Concept: Damama (damau/damoun) is a kettle-drum of the Uttarakhand hills.

1. It is played with the dhol in the 'dhol-damau' pair at weddings, festivals and in Pandav-nritya.
2. It is struck with two sticks and gives the rhythmic base.

Short trick: Uttarakhand's pair: Dhol + Damau (Damama).

Concept: Ghudki (ghudka) is a small drum used in Odia folk music and dance.

1. Singi is a horn (wind) and Pepa is Assam's buffalo-horn pipe – not rhythm instruments.
2. Ghudki keeps the laya in Odia folk performances.

Short trick: Rhythm instrument of Odisha = Ghudki.

Concept: Chakri is a Kashmiri folk-song form accompanied by harmonium, rabab, sarangi and tumbaknari.

1. Tumbaknari is a goblet-shaped earthen/metal drum – the only membranophone among the options.
2. Rabab is stringed; Surnai is a wind instrument.

Short trick: Kashmir's goblet drum = Tumbaknari.

Concept: Folk songs are classified by occasion.

1. Sanskar geet (life-cycle rites) – Vivah geet (ii).
2. Ritu geet (seasons) – Barahmasa (iii).
3. Dharmik geet (festival/vrat) – Teej (iv).
4. Kriya geet (work songs) – Jatsar, sung while grinding (i).

Short trick: Work song = Jatsar (jaanta = hand-mill).

Concept: Research proceeds through steps: topic selection → synopsis → data collection → analysis → report.

1. Topic, synopsis and data collection are all steps of the process.
2. A research centre is a place/institution, not a step.

Short trick: Steps are actions; a centre is a place.

Concept: Here 'problem' means a difficulty faced in doing research.

1. Topic selection, synopsis and data collection are normal stages of research.
2. Shortage of guides (supervisors) is a practical problem faced by researchers.

Short trick: Stage ≠ problem; shortage = problem.

Concept: The synopsis (research design/outline) is the blueprint of the whole study.

1. It fixes the problem, objectives, hypotheses, method and chapter plan before work begins.
2. Analysis, conclusion and examples all follow from this plan.

Short trick: No blueprint, no building – synopsis first.

Concept: Interview is a direct, face-to-face method of collecting data.

1. Its two main objectives: (1) to collect information/data, (2) to understand and verify the respondent's views (formulate/test hypotheses).
2. Other aims are sub-parts of these two.

Short trick: Interview: gather + understand = 2.