RAS question
Bhapang, a traditional percussion instrument of Rajasthan, is associated with which artist?
Correct answer: (D) Zahoor Khan.
Bhapang, the traditional percussion instrument of Rajasthan's Mewat region, is associated with Zahoor Khan Mewati of Alwar.
Explanation
Bhapang is linked with Zahoor Khan Mewati, the Alwar artist who took this Mewati percussion instrument from a community tradition into wider performance spaces. Bhapang is a dried-gourd instrument with a string, played by plucking while pressing the gourd against the stomach to modulate the sound. Scroll.in describes the instrument as the bhapang of Mewat, names Zahoor Khan as the musician who brought it to the Bombay film industry, and notes that partly because of him the bhapang moved beyond its traditional spaces to cultural festivals, folk events, fusion music and televised performances. Among Rajasthan folk artists, Zahoor Khan Mewati is therefore the associated name for bhapang.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Karna Bheel is linked with Nad, while bhapang is associated with Zahoor Khan Mewati.
- (B) Sadiq Khan is associated with Khartal, whereas bhapang is connected with Zahoor Khan Mewati.
- (C) Ramnath Choudhary is linked with Algoza, not with the Mewati bhapang tradition associated with Zahoor Khan Mewati.
Concept
RAS art-and-culture preparation often pairs Rajasthan folk instruments with the artists who popularised them. Bhapang also matters because it connects regional performance traditions with Rajasthan's Mewat cultural belt.