Q. In the context of medieval culture, what is a ‘rabab’?
Answer: A musical instrument
Notes: The rabab is a medieval Arabic bowed string instrument with one to three strings. It was the first known bowed instrument and was popular in medieval and later Arab music. The rabab was first mentioned in the 10th century. In medieval times, the word rabab was also a generic term for any bowed instrument. Guru Nanak, from whose teachings the Sikh religion was derived, composed hymns and sang them, while his disciple and faithful attendant, Mardana, played rabab, which is a stringed instrument.