UPSC Prelims 2026 Q19: Mallikarjun Mansur and His Gharana — Explained
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, the famous classical singer from Karnataka, represented the:
- Agra Gharana
- Gwalior Gharana
- Patiala Gharana
- Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana
Answer: (d) Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — The Agra gharana is a separate khayal tradition. Its best-known 20th-century exponent was Ustad Faiyaz Khan. Mallikarjun Mansur did not train in the Agra line, so it is not his gharana.
- b: incorrect — The Gwalior gharana is widely regarded as the oldest khayal gharana. It grew under Scindia patronage, and the family of Haddu and Hassu Khan carried it forward. Mansur is often said to have absorbed some Gwalior style early in his career. His mature gayaki and his formal discipleship, however, belong to another lineage, so Gwalior is not the gharana he represented.
- c: incorrect — The Patiala gharana is best known through Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. It is famous for agile taans and a strong thumri tradition. Mansur had no link with this lineage.
- d: correct — Mallikarjun Mansur (1910–1992) was born in Mansur village near Dharwad, Karnataka. He became a disciple of Ustad Manji Khan and later of Ustad Bhurji Khan. Both were sons of Ustad Alladiya Khan, who founded the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Mansur became one of its leading khayal singers and was known for rare and compound ragas such as Sampoorna Malkauns, Shuddha Nat, Khat and Bihari.
How to eliminate
This is a pure fact-recall question. No absolute words or option structure help you here. One weak clue: Jaipur-Atrauli has a strong following in Maharashtra, Goa and north Karnataka (Kesarbai Kerkar, Mogubai Kurdikar, Kishori Amonkar, Mansur). For a singer from Dharwad, Patiala (Punjab) is the least likely choice. Gwalior is a trap, because Mansur is often said to have started in the Gwalior style. The fact to remember: Mallikarjun Mansur = Jaipur-Atrauli, taught by Alladiya Khan's sons Manji Khan and Bhurji Khan. Learn the Dharwad musicians as a set: Mansur (Jaipur-Atrauli); Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal (Kirana); Basavaraj Rajguru (Kirana/Gwalior). This region is a frequent UPSC theme.
Know more
Gharana (from ghar, house) is a lineage of Hindustani music. Style passes from guru to shishya, often within a family. Each gharana has its own approach to voice production, raga development, bandish (composition) and taans. Most vocal gharanas belong to khayal, the main concert form of north Indian classical vocal music. Khayal grew out of the older, more austere dhrupad.
| Gharana | Founder / key figures | Hallmark | Notable exponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwalior | Nathan Pir Bakhsh; Haddu & Hassu Khan | Oldest khayal gharana; simple, open-voiced, straightforward raga development | Krishnarao Shankar Pandit |
| Agra | Haji Sujan Khan line; Faiyaz Khan | Dhrupad-dhamar influence, nom-tom alap, bol-play | Faiyaz Khan |
| Jaipur-Atrauli | Alladiya Khan (1855–1946) | Complex, lilting melodic lines; rare and compound (jod) ragas | Kesarbai Kerkar, Mogubai Kurdikar, Mallikarjun Mansur, Kishori Amonkar |
| Kirana | Abdul Karim Khan | Slow, swara-centred alap; emotional depth | Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal |
| Patiala | Ali Baksh & Fateh Ali Khan | Fast, intricate taans; thumri | Bade Ghulam Ali Khan |
Mallikarjun Mansur (1910–1992)
- Born at Mansur village near Dharwad, Karnataka.
- Disciple of Manji Khan, then of Bhurji Khan (from 1935). Both were sons of Alladiya Khan.
- Received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Kalidas Samman. He was also nominated to the Karnataka Legislative Council.
- His son Rajshekhar Mansur carried the Jaipur-Atrauli tradition forward.
Alladiya Khan came from a family of dhrupad singers, which explains the gharana's dense, layered khayal.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Khayal: All four options are khayal gharanas, so you need to know khayal as a genre to tell apart the stylistic lineages that Mallikarjun Mansur could have belonged to.
- Dhrupad: Dhrupad is the older, austere form that came before khayal, which helps you see that this question is about khayal lineages, not dhrupad banis.