History of Indian Music, Gharanas and Acharyas
Periods and texts
The exam expects a map, not a list of names. Vedic chant and Samaveda; Bharata's Natyashastra (rasa, tala, prabandha); Sarangadeva's Sangeet Ratnakara (13th century) codifying raga and tala; medieval court music under Amir Khusrau and Tansen; modern reform and notation.
Modern acharyas
V. N. Bhatkhande (1860-1936) collected oral traditions, proposed ten thaths, wrote Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati and helped found institutional music education. V. D. Paluskar (1872-1931) developed a swaralipi, founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (1901) and took music to public classrooms. Do not swap their contributions.
Gharanas
Vocal: Gwalior (khayal), Agra (Faiyaz Khan), Kirana (Abdul Karim Khan), Jaipur-Atrauli (Alladiya Khan), Patiala (Bade Ghulam Ali Khan). Instrumental: Senia, Maihar (Allauddin Khan; Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan), Imdadkhani (Vilayat Khan). A gharana is a lineage of style, repertoire and pedagogy, not a fixed raga list.
Worked example
A question on Maihar gharana should name Allauddin Khan, his disciples Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and the style's expansive alap, instrumental gayaki and rhythmic drive. Add one concrete contribution, such as adapting vocal phrasing to sitar/sarod, rather than writing 'he was great'.
Traps
Calling Tansen the founder of a gharana; mixing Bhatkhande and Paluskar; naming only performers without contributions; treating gharana as a caste or region alone; ignoring Maharashtra-linked figures such as Paluskar.