UPSC – CSE Prelims 2018
ART & CULTURE – INDIAN MUSIC
1. With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following statements: (Difficult)
- Most of the Tyagaraja kritis are devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna
- Tyagaraja created several new ragas.
- Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are contemporaries.
- Annamacharya kirtanas are devotional songs in praise of Lord Venkateshwara.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 2, 3 and 4
Ans: (b)
Kakarla Tyagabrahmam or Saint Tyagaraja (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847)
- He was one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music.
- Tyagaraja and his contemporaries Syama Sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar were regarded as the Trinity of modern Carnatic music.
- Tyagaraja composed thousands of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Lord Rama, many of which remain popular today.
- Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pancharatna Kritis
- in the Pancharatnas, Tyagaraja has given full, exhaustive and complete treatment as to how to systematically and scientifically develop a raga.
- Tyagaraja saw the reigns of four kings of Maratha dynasty — Tulaja II (1763-1787), Amarasimha (1787-1798), Serfoji II (1798-1832) and Sivaji II (1832-1855),[3] although he served none of them
Taḷḷapaka Annamacharya or Annamayya ( 22 May 1408 – 4 April 1503)
- He was a 15th-century Hindu saint and is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called sankirtanas in praise of the god Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu.
- He is the first known composer in carnatic music.
- He is believed to have been the avatar of Nandaka, the sword of Vishnu.
He is widely regarded as the Andhra Pada kavitā Pitāmaha (Godfather of Telugu song-writing)
UPSC – CSE Prelims 2017
ART & CULTURE – INDIAN MUSIC
1. With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:
- It is a song and dance performance.
- Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
- It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 only
Ans: (b)
Manipuri Sankirtana is a form of performing art involving ritual singing, drumming and dancing performed in the temples and domestic spaces in Manipur.
It involves the use of drum and cymbals.
Through the performances which exhibit unparalleled religious devotion and energy, the performers narrate the many stories of Krishna often moving the spectators to tears.
It is practiced primarily by the Vaishnava community in Manipur and by the Vaishnava Manipuri population settled in the neighbouring States of Tripura and Assam.
“Sankirtana: Ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur” was inscribed on the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.