Consider the following pairs: Theatre form State/Union Territory 1. Bhand Pather Jammu and Kashmir 2. Maach Rajasthan 3. Bhaona Assam How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

The correct answer is Option 2 . Key Points India’s traditional theatre forms developed in distinct regional and linguistic settings and commonly combine acting, music, dance, narration and religious or social themes . Pair 1: Bhand Pather — Jammu and Kashmir: Bhand Pather is a traditional folk-theatre form of Kashmir. Its performances combine drama, dance and music and frequently use humour and satire to portray social life and contemporary problems. Hence, Pair 1 is correctly matched. Pair 2: Maach — Rajasthan: Maach is primarily associated with the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh , not Rajasthan. It is a musical folk-theatre tradition in which songs and dialogues play an important role. Hence, Pair 2 is incorrectly matched. Pair 3: Bhaona — Assam: Bhaona is a devotional theatre tradition of Assam associated with the Neo-Vaishnavite movement initiated by Srimanta Sankardeva . It involves the performance of mythological plays through dialogues, songs, dance and instrumental music. Hence, Pair 3 is correctly matched. Therefore, two pairs—Pairs 1 and 3—are correctly matched. Therefore, Option B is correct. Additional Information Bhand Pather traditionally uses satire to comment on social customs and everyday problems in Kashmiri society. The performers of Bhand Pather are traditionally known as Bhands . Maach developed mainly in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh and is characterised by extensive musical narration. The term Maach is derived from the Hindi word manch , meaning a stage. Bhaona was developed by Srimanta Sankardeva for communicating Vaishnavite religious and ethical teachings. The plays performed in the Bhaona tradition are closely associated with Ankiya Nat , with the Sutradhara serving as narrator and stage director.