RAS question
Alla Jilai Bai was a famous singer of:
Correct answer: (C) Maand singing.
Alla Jilai Bai was a celebrated Maand singer from Rajasthan, best remembered for popularising songs such as Kesariya Balam.
Explanation
Alla Jilai Bai is associated with Maand singing, not with film music, qawwali, or pure classical Hindustani performance. The Times of India names her among the first Rajasthan Ratna awardees specifically as a Maand singer. It also describes Allah Jilai Bai (1902-1992) as a folk singer who made Kesariya Baalam and Moomal closely identified with Rajasthan, while noting that she had training or command over Maand, Thumri, Khayal and Dadra styles. This explains why the exam answer is Maand singing: her public cultural identity in Rajasthan is built around Maand, especially through Kesariya Balam, even though she also knew other classical and semi-classical forms. She belonged to Barmer and received the Padma Shri.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Film songs are wrong because Alla Jilai Bai was a Rajasthan folk and Maand singer, not a film playback singer.
- (B) Classical Hindustani is too broad and misleading here: she had command over forms such as Khayal and Dadra, but her public identity was as a Maand singer.
- (D) Qawwali is wrong because Alla Jilai Bai is connected with Maand and Rajasthan folk singing, not qawwali.
Concept
This tests the Rajasthan art-and-culture syllabus area of folk music traditions and named artists. It recurs in RAS because Maand, Kesariya Balam and iconic performers like Alla Jilai Bai are standard markers of Rajasthan's cultural identity.