Only a few places are mentioned for the Malwa School’s origin. Which one of the following places is the odd one out?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Chunar
Option (1) Mandu — A place named for the Malwa School. It is one of the few places mentioned for Malwa painting.
Option (2) Nusratgarh — A place named for the Malwa School. It is one of the few places mentioned for Malwa painting.
Option (3) Narsyang Sahar — A place named for the Malwa School. It is one of the few places mentioned for Malwa painting.
Option (4) Chunar — Not a Malwa place. Chunar, near Benaras, is where the Bundi Ragamala was painted. Rao Bhoj Singh and his father kept a palace there.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Malwa School of Painting The Malwa School flourished between 1600 and 1700 CE and is most representative of the Hindu Rajput courts.… Unlike the specificity of Rajasthani schools that emerged and flourished in precise territorial kingdoms and courts of their respective kings, Malwa School defies a precise centre for its origin and instead suggests a vast territory of Central India, where it got articulated with a sporadic mention of few places, such as Mandu, Nusratgarh and Narsyang Sahar.” “Bundi School of Painting …Bundi’s earliest phase of painting, Bundi Ragamala bears an inscription in Persian that dates back to 1591, mentions names of its artists — Shaykh Hasan, Shaykh Ali and Shaykh Hatim, who introduce themselves as pupils of master artists, Mir Sayyid Ali and Khwaja Abddus Samad of the Mughal court. They mention Chunar (near Benaras) as the place of origin of the painting, where Rao Bhoj Singh and his father Rao Surjan Singh maintained a palace.” |