UPHESC Assistant Professor Music Tabla 2025 PYQs

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.

Concept: Research is a systematic search that adds to the stock of knowledge.

1. Its product is new knowledge or a new interpretation of existing facts.
2. Motivation, learning and writing are by-products or tools.

Short trick: Re-search → new knowledge.

Concept: A good researcher must know the primary (original) sources of his subject.

1. Primary sources (original texts, manuscripts, recordings, gurus) give authentic data.
2. Elementary or merely written knowledge is not enough for original research.

Short trick: Original research needs original sources.

Concept: Research tools are instruments for collecting data.

1. Questionnaire, schedule, interview, observation are tools of data collection.
2. Graphs, illustrations and diagrams only present data.

Short trick: Collect = tool (questionnaire); present = graph.

Concept: Teentaal, Tilwada and Punjabi all have 4 vibhags (x 2 0 3) with one khali.

1. Badi Sawari (16 matras) is divided into many small vibhags and has three khalis.
2. So it is the only option with 3 khalis.

Short trick: Teentaal family = 1 khali; Badi Sawari = 3.

Concept: Laxmi taal is an 18-matra taal of the pakhawaj repertoire with several small vibhags.

1. Its khalis divide the cycle; the second khali falls at the 9th matra – the midpoint of the 18-matra cycle.
2. Counting the vibhags from sam confirms 9.

Short trick: 18 ÷ 2 = 9 → second khali at the middle.

Concept: Brahm taal: 28 matras in 14 vibhags of 2 matras each – 10 talis and 4 khalis.

1. Signs: x 2 0 3 4 0 5 6 7 0 8 9 10 0 – vibhags start at 1, 3, 5, … 27.
2. Khalis fall at matras 5, 11, 19 and 27 → the third khali is on 19.

Short trick: Talis between khalis grow 2-2-3-3 → khalis 5, 11, 19, 27.

Concept: Bols are 'two-hand' (dha, dhin – both drums) or 'one-hand' (ti, na, ta – only dayan).

1. Roopak begins 'Tin Tin Na' – played by one hand, with khali on sam.
2. Deepchandi (Dha Dhin), Dadra (Dha Dhi Na), Kaharva (Dha Ge Na) start with dha.

Short trick: Roopak: khali on sam → starts with 'Tin'.

Concept: Jhumra is a 14-matra taal (3+4+3+4).

1. The ancient/Sanskrit 'Ata (Att) tala' in its standard khanda form has 5+5+2+2 = 14 units.
2. Hence Jhumra is equated with Att tala.

Short trick: Jhumra 14 = Ata tala 14.

Concept: A sam-to-sam tihai in Pancham Sawari must cover 15 + 1 = 16 matras.

1. 16 is not divisible by 3, so a gap (dam) is needed: take 3 pallas of 5 matras = 15, the extra 1 matra is shared by 2 gaps → ½ each.
2. So each intermediate 'dha' lasts 1 + ½ = 1½ matras.

Short trick: (Matras + 1) ÷ 3 leaves a remainder → stretch the dha.

Concept: Farodast (Firodast) is one of the taals traditionally attributed to Amir Khusro, along with Jhumra, Sooltaal, Ada Chautaal and Pashto.

1. Farodast is a 14-matra taal (vibhags 3+4+3+4, like Jhumra/Ada Chautaal family).
2. None of the printed options (9, 10, 11, 12) gives 14, so no option is correct as printed.

Short trick: Farodast = 14 matras.