Question

Mirasi, Langa, Jogi, Maangniyaar etc. are artists who sing with ______________.
A) Tabla
B) Shehnai
C) Sarangi
D) Pungi

Answer 1

Hint: The instrument is a fretless bowed string instrument that is used in Hindustani classical music and North Indian folk traditions. Tones played on any of the major strings elicit echo-like resonances, and a well-tuned instrument will hum and weep and sound like melodic meowing.

Complete answer:
Mirasi - The Mirasi are low-caste locals who are genealogists and traditional singers known as Yusuf Ahmed. The word "mirasi" comes from the Arabic word, which signifies "inheritance" or "legacy" in some cases.

Manganiyar, Langa -
The Manganhar are a Muslim group in Rajasthan, India's desert. They are well-known for their folk music, as is the Langha community. They are hereditary professional musicians whose music has been funded for generations by wealthy landlords and aristocracy. The Manganhars are recognized as Thar desert folk musicians and consider themselves to be Rajput descendants. Their songs are passed down through the generations as a sort of desert oral history.

Option A) Tabla: Tabla has been the primary percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music since the 18th century, and it can be played solo, with other instruments and voices, or as part of larger ensembles. Sufi musicians use it as one of the principal qawwali instruments. The tabla is also used in Kathak dance performances. Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option B) Shehnai: Shehnai is a wooden instrument with a double reed on one end and a flared metal or wooden bell on the other. Its music is considered to invoke and preserve a sense of auspiciousness and sanctity, and it is thus frequently employed in weddings, processions, and temples, as well as in concerts.
Hence, this option is incorrect.

Option C) Sarangi: Sarangi often spelt saran or saranga, is a short-necked fiddle popular in South Asia, particularly for Hindustani folk and classical music. The instrument features a roughly rectangular slightly waisted body and a broad fretless neck fashioned from a single piece of wood and measures around 76 cm (30 inches) long.

Artists such as Mirasi, Langa, Jogi, Maangniyaar, and others perform alongside Sarangi. In Hindustani classical music, the Sarangi is a bowed, short-necked string instrument from the Indian subcontinent.
Hence, this option is correct.

Option D) Pungi: Cobra charmers in Sindh, Pakistan, and Rajasthan, India, play the pungi, an Indian folk music instrument. A dried hollowed gourd with two bamboo attachments is used to make the instrument. It's a double-reed instrument as well. Jogi plays the pungi in the Thar desert.
Hence, this option is incorrect.

Therefore, Option ‘C’ Sarangi is the correct answer. Since, Mirasi, Langa, Jogi, Maangniyaar etc. are artists who sing with Sarangi.

Note: Traditionally, the Sarangi was only played by people of the Gandarbha or Gaine caste (both contested and interchangeable terms) in Nepal, who sang narrative tales and folk song; however, its popularity has spread beyond the Gandharba community, and it is now widely used and played by people of all castes.