Art and culture questions are mostly about matching — a dance to its state, an instrument to the artist famous for it, or a music form to its school. The safest marks come from the eight classical dances and their home states, the common folk dances state by state, the two schools of classical music (Hindustani in the north, Carnatic in the south), and a short list of instruments with their best-known exponents. Learn these as pairs.
8
Classical dance forms
Recognised by Sangeet Natak Akademi
2
Schools of classical music
Hindustani & Carnatic
4
Instrument categories
String, wind, drum, idiophone
The eight classical dances
Each belongs to one home state — the most-asked pairs.
Classical dances
Kathakali — Kerala's dance-drama, famous for its elaborate make-up and masks.
Thorsten Vieth · CC BY-SA 2.0
| Classical dance | State |
|---|---|
| Bharatanatyam | Tamil Nadu |
| Kathak | Uttar Pradesh (North India) |
| Kathakali & Mohiniyattam | Kerala |
| Kuchipudi | Andhra Pradesh |
| Odissi | Odisha |
| Manipuri | Manipur |
| Sattriya | Assam |
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — 'Sattriya' is a traditional classical dance form of which state?
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Answer: B — Assam
Sattriya is the classical dance of Assam, created in the 15th century by Srimanta Sankardev.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — 'Ottamthullal' dance art is associated with which state?
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Answer: D — Kerala
Ottamthullal is a solo performing art of Kerala, created by the poet Kunchan Nambiar.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Kummattikali, a colourful mask dance, is popular in South Malabar of which state?
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Answer: B — Kerala
Kummattikali is a colourful mask dance of Kerala (South Malabar).
Folk and tribal dances by state
Match the folk dance to its state.
| Folk / tribal dance | State |
|---|---|
| Bhangra, Giddha | Punjab |
| Garba, Dandiya | Gujarat |
| Lavani | Maharashtra |
| Ghoomar, Kalbelia | Rajasthan |
| Bihu | Assam |
| Chhau | Jharkhand / Odisha / West Bengal |
| Birhor (tribal) | Jharkhand |
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Lavani is a folk dance of which state of India?
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Answer: D — Maharashtra
Lavani is the famous song-and-dance form of Maharashtra.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Birhor dance is a tribal folk dance from:
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Answer: D — Jharkhand
The Birhor dance belongs to the Birhor tribe of Jharkhand.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — The dance-drama 'Khayal' belongs to which state?
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Answer: A — Rajasthan
Khayal is a traditional folk dance-drama of Rajasthan (distinct from the Khayal vocal music).
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Ragini is a popular folk song form of which state?
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Answer: C — Haryana
Ragini is a folk song form of Haryana, often sung as a duet.
Classical music and instruments
Two schools, and instruments with their exponents.
| Instrument | Type | Famous exponent |
|---|---|---|
| Sitar | String | Pt. Ravi Shankar |
| Sarod | String | Amjad Ali Khan |
| Tabla | Drum | Zakir Hussain |
| Bansuri (flute) | Wind | Hariprasad Chaurasia |
| Shehnai | Wind | Bismillah Khan |
| Santoor | String (struck) | Shivkumar Sharma |
KEY TERM
Instrument categories (how the sound is made)
Chordophones (strings — sitar, veena), aerophones (wind — flute, shehnai), membranophones (a stretched skin — tabla, mridangam), and idiophones (the body itself vibrates — kartal, manjira, ghatam).
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — With which musical instrument was Bismillah Khan associated?
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Answer: D — Shehnai
Ustad Bismillah Khan of Varanasi made the shehnai a concert instrument.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — The 'Kartal' of Rajasthan comes under which category of instruments?
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Answer: D — Idiophones
The kartal is a pair of wooden clappers — the body itself sounds, so it is an idiophone.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Which of the following is NOT a vocal form of Hindustani classical music?
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Answer: B — Pakhawaj
The pakhawaj is a barrel drum, not a vocal form; Dhamar, Dhrupad and Tarana are vocal forms.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Kandyan dance is a common dance style of which country?
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Answer: B — Sri Lanka
Kandyan dance is Sri Lanka's national dance, named after the city of Kandy.
COMMON TRAPS
- Kerala has TWO classical dances: Kathakali and Mohiniyattam.
- Sattriya = Assam, Odissi = Odisha, Kuchipudi = Andhra Pradesh — easy to swap.
- Pakhawaj is a drum, not a vocal form of Hindustani music.
- Idiophone = the body itself sounds (kartal, manjira); membranophone = a skin (tabla).
- Shehnai → Bismillah Khan; flute → Hariprasad Chaurasia; santoor → Shivkumar Sharma.
FLASHCARDS
Quick revision — dance/instrument ↔ state/artist
- Bharatanatyam
- Tamil Nadu
- Sattriya
- Assam
- Lavani
- Maharashtra
- Garba
- Gujarat
- Shehnai
- Bismillah Khan
- Sitar
- Ravi Shankar
CHECK YOURSELF
Mohiniyattam is the classical dance of which state? (a) Karnataka (b) Kerala (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Odisha
Show answer
(b) Kerala. Mohiniyattam (the 'dance of the enchantress') is Kerala's graceful solo classical dance, alongside Kathakali.