Performing Arts II: Music, Theatre and Puppetry — Hindustani, Carnatic, Folk Music, Folk Theatre and Puppet Traditions
Start Here — The Music Questions UPSC Asks
🎯 Exam priority: Steady (T2). Prelims has asked: Tyagaraja and Annamacharya (2018), Tansen (2019), the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (2025), the Carnatic equivalent of the Hindustani Bilawal (2026), and Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur's gharana (2026). Earlier: Dhrupad (2012) and Kalaripayattu (2014).
Music is a 'fact-dense' topic. Organise your notes in four boxes: concepts (swara, raga, tala), forms (dhrupad to ghazal), people and gharanas, and texts and institutions. Add the theatre and puppetry tables, and you cover nearly everything in this part of Culture.
Concepts, Texts and the Two Systems
Core terms. Shruti (microtonal interval; the Natyashastra recognises 22), swara (the notes: sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni — 'sargam'), raga (a melodic framework tied to mood), tala (rhythmic cycle), laya (tempo), alap (slow introduction), bandish (composition), taan (fast melodic run), thaat (parent scale in Hindustani; Bhatkhande's ten), melakarta (parent scale in Carnatic; 72). Ragas are linked to seasons and times of day; six main ragas are traditionally named (Bhairav, Hindol, Deepak, Megh, Shree, Malkauns), and nine rasas inform the emotions.
Texts. The Sama Veda (earliest reference to music); the Natyashastra of Bharata (c. 200 BCE–200 CE); the Brihaddeshi of Matanga (c. 9th c., discusses raga); the Sangita Makaranda of Narada; the Swaramela Kalanidhi of Ramamatya; the Sangita Ratnakara of Sarangadeva (13th c., the base of both traditions); Bhatkhande's thaat system (20th c.).
Classification of instruments (Natyashastra): tata (string — veena, sitar), sushira (wind — flute, shehnai), avanaddha (membrane — mridangam, tabla, pakhawaj) and ghana (solid — cymbals, ghatam).
Hindustani (North) | Carnatic (South) | |
Influences | Persian, Arabic and Afghan elements joined the older Indian tradition | More indigenous; text-centred and devotional |
Character | Emotional, expressive; more scope for improvisation (alap, taan) | Structured, intellectual; more composition-centred (kriti) |
Raga system | 10 thaats (Bhatkhande); ragas linked to times of day | 72 melakarta parent scales; ragas not bound by time |
Forms | Dhrupad, khayal, thumri, tappa, tarana, ghazal, qawwali | Kriti, varnam, tillana, javali, padam, ragam-tanam-pallavi |
Instruments | Sitar, sarod, santoor, sarangi, tabla, pakhawaj, bansuri, shehnai | Veena, violin, flute, mridangam, ghatam, kanjira, nadaswaram, tambura |
Organisation | Gharanas (from the 18th c.) | Sampradayas / schools; the Trinity |
Great names | Tansen, Amir Khusrau (tradition), Bhimsen Joshi, Kumar Gandharva, Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain | Purandaradasa, Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Shyama Shastri, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Balamuralikrishna |
The 2026 PYQ on the Carnatic raga equivalent to Bilawal in Hindustani music: Dheerashankarabharanam (the 29th melakarta, the same scale as the major scale); Nat Bhairavi corresponds to Asavari, Hanumatodi to Bhairavi, Kamavardhini (Pantuvarali) to Purvi.
Hindustani Vocal Forms and Gharanas
Form | Features |
Dhrupad | Oldest surviving, devotional; dhruva (fixed) + pada (words); begins with an alap without words; patronised by Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior and Akbar; Tansen, Swami Haridas, Baiju Bawra; the Dagar family |
Khayal | 'Imagination'; romantic, improvised; short compositions (bandish); developed in the 15th–18th c. (Sultan Husain Sharqi of Jaunpur and Niyamat Khan 'Sadarang' of Muhammad Shah's court are credited; tradition also links it to Amir Khusrau) |
Thumri | Lyrical, romantic; close to Kathak; Purab and Punjabi styles; Wajid Ali Shah, Girija Devi |
Tappa | Fast, ornamented; from Punjabi camel-drivers' songs; refined by Shori Mian |
Dhamar–Hori | Holi songs of Krishna, close to dhrupad |
Tarana | Rhythmic syllables; attributed to Amir Khusrau |
Ghazal and qawwali | Ghazal: couplets (sher) of love; Qawwali: Sufi devotional music developed in the Chishti tradition and linked to Amir Khusrau |
Gharanas
A gharana is a school or family tradition of music, rooted in the guru–shishya parampara; the system emerged in the 18th century as court patronage shifted.
Gharana | Place and founder | Style and artists |
Gwalior | Oldest khayal gharana; Nathan Pir Baksh and Nathu Khan | Simple, straightforward; Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Omkarnath Thakur's lineage |
Agra | Faiyaz Khan | Combines dhrupad and khayal; robust voice |
Kirana | Abdul Karim Khan; Abdul Wahid Khan | Purity of swara and slow elaboration; Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal, Sawai Gandharva |
Jaipur–Atrauli | Alladiya Khan | Complex, rare ragas; Kesarbai Kerkar, Kishori Amonkar, Mallikarjun Mansur (the 2026 PYQ) |
Patiala | Fateh Ali and Ali Baksh | Fast taans and ornamentation; Bade Ghulam Ali Khan |
Mewati | Ghagge Nazir Khan | Pt. Jasraj |
Tansen (2019 PYQ): a court musician of Akbar (one of the Navaratnas of the legend); composed dhrupads in praise of Hindu gods and his patrons and is credited with new ragas (Mian ki Todi, Darbari Kanhada, Mian ki Malhar); the title 'Tansen' was not given by Akbar.
Instruments and masters: sitar (Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan), sarod (Ali Akbar Khan, Amjad Ali Khan), santoor (Shivkumar Sharma), shehnai (Bismillah Khan), bansuri (Hariprasad Chaurasia), tabla (Zakir Hussain), sarangi, rudra veena.
Institutions. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901 (the 2025 PYQ), moving it to Bombay in 1908; V.N. Bhatkhande standardised notation and set up the Marris College (now Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapeeth) at Lucknow; the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1952) promotes music, dance and drama.
Swaras, Talas and Raga–Time Theory
Swara (sargam) | Sanskrit name | Carnatic name |
Sa | Shadja | Shadjam |
Re | Rishabha | Rishabham |
Ga | Gandhara | Gandharam |
Ma | Madhyama | Madhyamam |
Pa | Panchama | Panchamam |
Dha | Dhaivata | Dhaivatam |
Ni | Nishada | Nishadam |
Tala | Beats | System |
Teental | 16 (4+4+4+4) | Hindustani — the commonest |
Ektal / Jhaptal / Rupak | 12 / 10 / 7 | Hindustani |
Dadra | 6 | Hindustani — used in thumri |
Adi tala | 8 | Carnatic — the commonest |
Rupaka, Misra chapu | 6 / 7 | Carnatic |
Time (prahar) | Examples of ragas |
Early morning | Bhairav, Todi, Lalit |
Mid-day | Sarang, Bhimpalasi |
Evening | Yaman, Puriya, Marwa |
Night | Darbari, Malkauns, Bageshri |
Seasonal | Megh (rain), Basant (spring), Hindol |
Hindustani music assigns ragas to times (prahar) and seasons — a theory that Carnatic music does not follow. Vadi is the dominant note and samvadi the second; aroha and avaroha are the ascending and descending scales; pakad is the catch-phrase that identifies a raga. A raga is more than a scale: it has characteristic phrases, emphasis and emotion.
Amir Khusrau (1253–1325): the poet-musician of the Delhi Sultanate and a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya; tradition credits him with qawwali, tarana, and the blending of Persian and Indian styles; he is also credited, perhaps legendarily, with the sitar and tabla and with the khayal, and his Hindavi verses make him a founder of the 'Ganga-Jamuni' tradition. Treat these attributions as tradition when answering.
Awards and institutions. The Sangeet Natak Akademi (1952) gives awards and fellowships; the Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior), the Haridas Sammelan, the Sawai Gandharva Festival (Pune) and the Chennai December Season are major festivals; All India Radio and Doordarshan spread classical music; the Indian Music Experience museum is in Bengaluru.
Carnatic Music
Name | Era | Notes |
Purandaradasa | 15th–16th c. | 'Father of Carnatic music'; devotional songs; systematised teaching (the Mayamalavagowla scale for beginners) |
Annamacharya | 15th c. | Telugu kirtanas in praise of Lord Venkateshwara (Tirupati) |
Tyagaraja | 1767–1847 | Telugu kritis mostly on Rama; created new ragas; Thiruvaiyaru |
Muthuswami Dikshitar | 1775–1835 | Sanskrit kritis; veena |
Shyama Shastri | 1762–1827 | Telugu kritis on Goddess Kamakshi; the three form the 'Trinity' |
Swathi Thirunal | 1813–46 | King of Travancore and composer |
M.S. Subbulakshmi | 1916–2004 | First musician to receive the Bharat Ratna (1998) |
The 2018 PYQ tested Tyagaraja and Annamacharya: Tyagaraja's kritis are mostly devotional songs to Rama (not Krishna) and he created several new ragas; Annamacharya (15th c., Tirupati) and Tyagaraja (18th–19th c.) are not contemporaries; Annamacharya's kirtanas praise Lord Venkateshwara — so statements 2 and 4.
A concert's structure: varnam, kritis, ragam-tanam-pallavi, and a thillana; the mridangam, ghatam and kanjira accompany; violin and veena are typical.
Devotional and bhakti music: bhajan (Mirabai, Kabir, Tulsidas), shabad (Guru Nanak and Mardana), kirtan (Chaitanya), abhanga (Varkaris), qawwali (Chishti Sufis), Tevaram and Divya Prabandham hymns, the Ashtapadi of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda.
Folk music
Baul and Bhatiyali (Bengal), Sufiana Kalam (Kashmir), Pandavani (Chhattisgarh — narrates the Mahabharata), Powada and Lavani (Maharashtra), Alha (Bundelkhand heroic ballads), Maand (Rajasthan), Mando (Goa), Bihu songs (Assam), Sohar (UP–Bihar, songs on a child's birth), Rasiya (Braj), Khongjom Parba (Manipur ballad on the 1891 battle).
Theatre
Sanskrit theatre: the Natyashastra describes the playhouse and stagecraft; playwrights: Bhasa (13 plays), Kalidasa (Shakuntalam), Shudraka (Mricchakatika), Vishakhadatta (Mudrarakshasa), Bhavabhuti, Harsha. Kutiyattam (Kerala; chakyar performers; UNESCO 2008) is the only surviving form of Sanskrit theatre; Mudiyettu (UNESCO 2010) is a Kerala ritual drama.
Form and state | Features |
Yakshagana (Karnataka) | Dance-drama combining dialogue, music and elaborate costume; Bhagavata story-teller |
Tamasha (Maharashtra) | Satirical, musical theatre with lavani; female lead (murki) |
Nautanki (Uttar Pradesh) | Open-air musical theatre; loud singing |
Bhavai (Gujarat) | Satire in the form of a social comedy |
Jatra (Bengal, Odisha) | Origin in Krishna lila, boosted by the Chaitanya movement; later political plays |
Ramlila (North India) | Enactment of the Ramayana; UNESCO 2008 |
Ankiya Nat / Bhaona (Assam) | One-act plays of Sankaradeva with Sattriya dance and borgeets |
Therukoothu (Tamil Nadu), Koodiyattam, Swang (Haryana), Nach (MP), Maach (MP), Daskathia (Odisha), Pagati Veshalu (Andhra) | Street, ritual and regional forms |
Modern theatre: Parsi theatre, the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA, 1943), the National School of Drama (1959), and playwrights Girish Karnad, Badal Sircar, Vijay Tendulkar, Habib Tanvir and Mohan Rakesh.
Puppetry
Type | Examples |
String puppets | Kathputli (Rajasthan), Bommalattam (Tamil Nadu), Gombeyatta (Karnataka), Kundhei Nach (Odisha) |
Shadow puppets | Togalu Gombeyatta (Karnataka), Tholu Bommalata (Andhra), Ravanachhaya (Odisha), Tholpavakoothu (Kerala) |
Rod puppets | Putul Nach (Bengal), Yampuri (Bihar) |
Glove puppets | Pavakoothu (Kerala), Gopalila (Odisha), Bhaona-linked forms |
The oldest are string puppets; shadow puppets rely on leather figures lit from behind. Themes come from the epics and local legends. The Sangeet Natak Akademi supports these arts through awards and festivals.
How UPSC Has Asked It — And What Could Come Next
Seen: composers and their themes (Tyagaraja, Annamacharya, 2018), Tansen's facts (2019), Paluskar and Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (2025), raga equivalence (2026), gharana of a singer (2026).
Likely next: gharana–founder–singer matches; instrument–musician matches; the Trinity's works; Purandaradasa; Amir Khusrau's contributions; Hindustani versus Carnatic comparison; texts and authors (Sangita Ratnakara); folk music forms by state; puppetry types and states; Sanskrit and folk theatre; UNESCO listings (Kutiyattam, Ramlila, Mudiyettu).
Traps: Paluskar founded the Mahavidyalaya at Lahore (not Delhi or Gwalior); Tyagaraja wrote on Rama; Kirana and Jaipur-Atrauli are different gharanas; Carnatic ragas are not tied to times of day; shadow puppets are not string puppets; Tansen was not a Carnatic musician.
Further Reading
Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on ancient, medieval and cultural Indian history (any UPSC reading list).
Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs
Think: concept, form, person, place — then check yourself.
Practice Questions
Q1. Which of the following forms of Hindustani music is the oldest surviving and devotional in character?
(a) Tappa
(b) Thumri
(c) Khayal
(d) Dhrupad
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Dhrupad, with a wordless alap and a dignified style.
Q2. The 'Trinity' of Carnatic music includes Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and:
(a) Shyama Shastri
(b) Purandaradasa
(c) Annamacharya
(d) Swathi Thirunal
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Shyama Shastri completes the Trinity.
Q3. Who is known as the 'Father of Carnatic music'?
(a) Annamacharya
(b) Tyagaraja
(c) Dikshitar
(d) Purandaradasa
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Purandaradasa of the Haridasa tradition.
Q4. The Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was founded in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar at:
(a) Gwalior
(b) Lahore
(c) Ujjain
(d) Delhi
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Lahore; it moved to Bombay in 1908.
Q5. Kirana gharana is associated with:
(a) Faiyaz Khan
(b) Abdul Karim Khan and Bhimsen Joshi
(c) Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
(d) Alladiya Khan
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Faiyaz Khan is Agra; Alladiya Khan is Jaipur-Atrauli; Bade Ghulam Ali Khan is Patiala.
Q6. Which of the following is a shadow puppet tradition of Kerala?
(a) Putul Nach
(b) Tholpavakoothu
(c) Pavakoothu
(d) Kathputli
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Tholpavakoothu uses leather figures; Pavakoothu is a glove puppet form.
Q7. The only surviving form of Sanskrit theatre, inscribed by UNESCO in 2008, is:
(a) Tamasha
(b) Nautanki
(c) Kutiyattam
(d) Yakshagana
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Kutiyattam of Kerala.
Q8. Which text of the 13th century forms the basis of both Hindustani and Carnatic music?
(a) Sangita Ratnakara
(b) Brihaddeshi
(c) Natyashastra
(d) Abhinaya Darpana
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Sarangadeva's Sangita Ratnakara.
Q9. The first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna was:
(a) Ravi Shankar
(b) Bhimsen Joshi
(c) M.S. Subbulakshmi
(d) Bismillah Khan
Show answer
Answer: (c) — M.S. Subbulakshmi, in 1998.
Q10. Tamasha is a folk theatre form of:
(a) Bengal
(b) Gujarat
(c) Kerala
(d) Maharashtra
Show answer
Answer: (d) — A satirical musical theatre with lavani.
UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Real UPSC Prelims questions on music (2018–2026), answers matched to UPSC's official key (2026 provisional). Explanations in our own words.
Q13. (UPSC Prelims 2018) With reference to cultural history of India, consider the following statements: 1. Most of the Tyagaraja Kritis are devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna. 2. Tyagaraja created several new ragas. 3. Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are contemporaries. 4. 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) 2, 3 and 4
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Statements 2 and 4 are correct: Tyagaraja composed in praise of Rama (not mainly Krishna) and created new ragas; Annamacharya (15th century, Tirupati) sang of Venkateshwara and was not Tyagaraja's contemporary.
Q14. (UPSC Prelims 2025) The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music training school, was set up in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in
(a) Gwalior
(b) Delhi
(c) Ujjain
(d) Lahore
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Lahore in 1901; the school later moved to Bombay.
Q15. (UPSC Prelims 2026, provisional key) Which one of the following Carnatic music ragas is similar to Raga Bilawal in Hindustani music?
(a) Hanumatodi
(b) Dheera Shankarabharanam
(c) Kamavardhini
(d) Nat Bhairavi
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Dheerashankarabharanam (the 29th melakarta) is the Carnatic scale equivalent to Hindustani Bilawal (the major scale). (Provisional key.)
Q16. (UPSC Prelims 2026, provisional key) Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, the famous classical singer from Karnataka, represented the:
(a) Agra Gharana
(b) Gwalior Gharana
(c) Patiala Gharana
(d) Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur of Karnataka belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana (Alladiya Khan's tradition). (Provisional key.)
Q17. (UPSC Prelims 2019) With reference to Mian Tansen, which one of the following statements is not correct?
(a) Tansen composed songs on his patrons.
(b) Tansen was the title given to him by Emperor Akbar.
(c) Tansen composed Dhrupads on Hindu gods and goddesses.
(d) Tansen invented many Ragas.
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Tansen's title did not come from Akbar; he composed dhrupads on gods and patrons and created ragas.
Mains Practice Questions
Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.
Distinguish between the Hindustani and Carnatic systems of music.
What is a gharana? Discuss the major khayal gharanas.
Discuss the contribution of Amir Khusrau and Tansen to Indian music.
Trace the evolution of Sanskrit and folk theatre in India.
Describe the puppet traditions of India.