Sharan Rani (1929-2008) - The Great Sarod Virtuoso - LP published 1967 in India

Here an early LP by the great Sharan Rani, a disciple of Ustad Allauddin Khan and his son Ali Akbar Khan.

For more infos see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharan_Rani_Backliwal

http://www.itcsra.org/tribute.asp?id=23

http://www.parrikar.org/vpl/?page_id=565

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sharan-rani-backliwal-and-her-uncommon-love-for-music/1/218525.html

WAVE

MP3

Vinayakrao Patwardhan (22 July 1898 – 23 August 1975) - 40th anniversary of his death

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of the great singer of the Gwalior Gharana, Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan (22 July 1898 – 23 August 1975). We take this opportunity to remind of this almost forgotten great singer. We had posted in 2011 one shorter recording by him. See: 

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.de/2011/07/echoes-from-glorious-past-sardarbai.html 

flac

mp3

Many thanks to KF for the recordings and the nice covers and booklet.
It seems that, at least the first part, is from a radio broadcast the day after his passing. 

VINAYAKRAO PATWARDHAN: FAMOUS MUSICIAN & DEDICATED MISSIONARY-- by P.C. Jayaraman and S. Janaki

[The year 1998 was host to the birth centenaries of many stalwarts of music. Among them was that of Hindustani vocalist Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan. The following commemorative article was written by Senior Editor P. C. JAYARAMAN with Deputy Editor S. JANAKI. The authors are indebted to the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi for making available source materials and photographs. Its former Principal, the late Vinaychandra Maudgalya, was a disciple of Vinayakrao Parwardhan.]

Vinayakrao Patwardhan was a well-known figure of his times with a multifaceted personality. An illustrious disciple of the legendary Vishnu Digambar Paluskar who devoted his life to the promotion of Hindustani music, and a gurubhai of such eminences as Prof. B.R. Deodhar, Narayanrao Vyas and Omkarnath Thakur, he had a very successful singing career. For about 52 years (from 1923 to 1975), he was one of the famous musicians in the Hindustani music concert arena. He was successful also as an actor-singer in Marathi theatre where he partnered the renowned Narayanrao Rajhans. He also contributed significantly to the teaching of music, as a member of the faculty of music schools and a private teacher of a horde of students. Furthermore, a music missionary like his great guru, he also authored books on music. Last but not least, he was an able administrator and a man of culture.

Early life

Vinayakrao was born in Miraj, in what is now Maharashtra, on 22 July 1898 in a well-to-do, middle class family of Dasagranthi Maharashtrian brahmins. He was named Vinayak because he was born on Ganesh Chaturthi day.

Vinayakrao's mother passed away in 1902 and he lost his father, Narayanrao, as well a few months later. His paternal uncle took on the responsibility of bringing him up. Theirs was a joint family which was characterised by religious faith, simplicity and discipline. Vinayakrao imbibed these qualities in full easure and retained them till the end.

Music, however, was not part of the family heritage, although two of his paternal uncles were musicians. One of the uncles, Gurudev Patwardhan, was a pakhawaj player and taught percussion - playing at a school established by Vishnu Digambar. The other, Keshavrao Patwardhan, a disciple of Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, taught music at the Ganesh Sangeet Vidyalaya. It was in this school that Vinayakrao started learning music in the year 1905.

It was Vinayakrao's good fortune that, about this time, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was scouting for musically inclined youngsters, who could later help him in his chosen mission of propagating music. His eyes fell on Vinayakrao with whose family he was acquainted. Further, the Patwardhan family was only too happy to send Vinayakrao away from Miraj, which was often scourged by epidemics.

By another stroke of luck, the ruler of Miraj, Gangadhar Pant Patwardhan, aka Balasaheb Mirajkar, came forward with an offer to pay a stipend of 16 rupees a month to enable Vinayakrao to study at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore.

The programme offered by the vidyalaya was divided into two parts: the first was the Sangeet Pravesika course (four years) and the second, the Sangeet Praveen course (five years). While the academy naturally placed emphasis on musical training and presentation, it attached importance also to the all-round development of each student's personality, physical health, personal hygiene, dress and good conduct.

Vinayakrao studied at the Lahore institution only for a year or so - till August 1908. For, when Paluskar established another branch of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Bombay in September that year, he brought the lad from Miraj with him to the Gateway City. It was in the Bombay saakha or branch of the Mahavidyalaya that Vinayakrao further pursued the academy's programme of studies. He completed the Sangeet Pravesika course in 1911 and continued on till 1914.

During these six years, Paluskar often personally taught Vinayakrao and some of the other disciples, between 10 o'clock and midnight, how to sing alap, taan and boltaan properly. Once, when Paluskar developed acute pain in the eyes, Vinayakrao stayed up all night giving warm fomentation treatment to his guru's eyes. While this provided much relief to the guru, there was a bonus dividend for the dedicated disciple: he got the exclusive chance to learn a bandish _Ya bana byahan aayaa_ in Devagiri Bilaval!

During his study at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Bombay, apart from learning and teaching music to junior students, Vinayakrao was also assigned various tasks. He had to assist in the maintenance of the school building and the garden and the work of the press division; play the cashier's role; and also assist Sankarrao Vyas in the co-operative store. This experience helped him later in the discharge of administrative responsibilities.

Vinayakrao obtained the Sangeet Praveen diploma only in 1919, almost 12 years after his enrolment as a student of the institution in Lahore. The reason given is that the ruler of Miraj had stipulated, while agreeing to give him the stipend to study at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, that the lad should return to Miraj in 1914 and spend the next three years honing his musical skills. And Vinayakrao had to fulfil this part of the agreement. Paluskar wanted him to utilise this period to polish, with the guidance of Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar (1849-1927), the bandishes he had already learnt and also write them down in notation. While he did all this, Vinayakrao strengthened his wings further by giving recitals before the ruler of Miraj, who continued to show interest in the progess being made by his protege, as well as at temple festivals. In 1917, he resumed his studies for the Praveen diploma in Bombay and completed the same two years later.

The time he spent with Ichalkaranjikar was indeed most fruit- ful. From this master, he learnt many rare bandishes of the Gwalior gharana, in raga-s like MaIgunji, Gunji Kanada, Malav, Samant Kalyan, Gandhari, Devagandhari, etc. Altogether he learned some 150 cheej-s from him. He also played the tambura in the master's concerts and this opened up another window of opportunity - to learn by observation. He was lucky to have the personal guidance of Ichalkaranjikar for six years, but he kept in touch with him even later.

While he was in Miraj, Vinayakrao had the opportunity also to listen to the music of Rahmat Khan, the court singer in the tiny princely state of Kurundavad which was quite close to his home town. He was particularly impressed by this maestro's style of rendering the tarana and learnt several tarana-s from him. Luckily he was also called upon to play the tambura in several of Khan Saheb's concerts and this afforded him a fine chance to learn many nuances through observation.

Rahmat Khan (1852-1922), an exponent of the Gwalior gharana, extolled as Bhugandharva, was known for the use of the words dil-dil in adroit ways while singing tarana-s. Vinayakrao changed the words to dir-dir when he sang the tarana-s. He came to be regarded in time as a master tarana-singer.

Another musician who had an impact on Vinayakrao's musical development was Bhaskarbua Bakhle, whose greatness lay in the fact he had assimilated three streams of musical tradition and developed an attractive style of his own. The youngster is reported to have attended as many as 200 of Bhakle's performances and also played the tambura for him in many of them. Through keen observation he noted and absorbed many lessons, such as the desirability of projecting a pleasant countenance on stage and encouraging his sidemen, as well as the importance of the proper placement of swara-s in each raga.

Vinayakrao himself stated later in his life that he learnt the art and nuances of concert-singing from his guru Vishnu Digambar and the art of pleasing the rasika and creating the right ambience in classical music concerts by observing him, as well as Rahmat Khan, and Balakrishnabuwa over a period of 8 to 12 years, as he played the tambura for their recitals.

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872-1931) was a great and unique figure in Hindustani music. He was totally devoted to Hindustani classical music and its propagation. His aim was to bring it to the common man. He also worked to elevate the status of musicians. For these reasons, he bent his efforts to implement a plan to transform music into a well-loved and respected art; to establish music schools in which knowledge would be transmitted without holding anything back; and pick up children and train them to be musicians and music teachers with character. Accordingly, he picked select students of the Vidyalaya who he believed had the aptitude and the potential to become musical missionaries. They had to be students in residence for seven to nine years who had received intensive training in music. They had also to be qualified to assist in teaching junior students. Vinayakrao Patwardhan fitted into this scheme nicely and therefore, without any hesitation, Paluskar recruited him to serve the mission of propagating Hindustani music, along with others like Govindrao Desai, Baburao Gokhale, N.M. Khare, Vamanrao Padhye, Sankarrao Pathak, Omkarnath Thakur, Narayanrao Vyas and Sankarrao Vyas. These handpicked students, serving later as music missionaries, helped in the growth of a number of kaanrasiya-s or rasika-s through the movement spearheaded by Vishnu Digambar, which was also called the Vishnu Digambar Sangeet Andolan.

Vinayakrao's gracious manners and his devoted service to Paluskar led his classmates to call him endearingly as 'Nit namo', which was actually the first words of a famous bandish.

More than a decade later, in 1932 to be exact, Vinayakrao started learning music from Ramakrishnabuwa Vaze as a gandabandha (formal) disciple. According to B.R. Deodhar [Pillars of Hindustani Music], Vaze (1871-1945), an accomplished musician, was unassuming and generous and completely free from jealousy or hate. Yet he would avoid teaching the numerous raga-s and bandishes he knew, even after insisting would-be learners should become his gandabandha disciples first, saying they were not good enough to learn them. To quote Deodhar again: "Occasionally, when he happened to be in a generous frame of mind, he would part with some of his learning but the generous mood was usually short-lived, and his original secretiveness would rear its head."

It was when Ramakrishnabuwa, during one of his concerts, said he did not know anyone who was worthy enough to share his secret hoard, that Vinayakrao vowed to himself he would crack the safe, as it were, by becoming an accredited apprentice of the maestro. But he laid down terms too. He insisted that the gandabandha ceremony should be a quiet affair; with Vazebuwa agreeing to this condition, it was performed in the premises of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. At the concert after the ceremony, Vinayakrao refused to sit with the tambura behind his new guru; instead he sat with the audience and listened to him. Furthermore, Vazebuwa had to come to the Vidyalaya to teach Vinayakrao. Although the arrangement did not last too long, Vinayakrao did manage to learn raga-s like Malativasant, Bhankar, Bhatiyar, Khat, Nand, Desi and Jayant Malhar from Ramakrishnabuwa Vaze. This itself was a feat, compared to achievements of other talented musicians with a similar ambition. Apparently, only two - Haribhau Ghangrekar who was with Vaze for many years, and the master's own son Shivrambuwa - really managed to learn many bandishes from this generous miser.

Though essentially a vocalist, Vinayakrao also learnt to play the harmonium, the tabla, the jalatarang, the taar-shehnai, the sitar And the violin. He had acquired, too, some familiarity with the basics of Kathak, the dance-form. He had also picked up the rudiments of composing and printing as he and some of the other disciples of Vishnu Digambar were involved in the printing of books on music. (Between 1917 and 1922 Vinayakrao helped his guru publish the magazine Sangeetaamritpravaha).

Teacher

Vinayakrao Patwardhan excelled not only as a student but also as a teacher. His stint as a student at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya had itself provided him - after he had completed the Pravesika course - with opportunities of teaching the junior students. After this and on his return to Miraj, at the young age of 16, he became a teacher at his old alma mater, the Ganesh Sangeet Vidyalaya. He brought to it the experience gained by him in Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and laid emphasis on strict discipline, concentrated study, proper syllabi for the courses, use of text books on music theory, writing music in notation and a system for examinations - all modelled on what prevailed in Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Not surprisingly, the school attracted many youngsters, among them one who would later become very renowned, Prof. B.R. Deodhar.

In April 1921, Patwardhan joined the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Nagpur as its Principal on a salary of 60 rupees a month, with an allowance of 16 rupees for food. This post he held till May 1922. He was very popular in the institution where he was known as Buasaheb. He also taught music to children of well-to-do barrister families. But the vidyalaya was facing financial difficulties, with large outstanding debts incurred for meeting the cost of constructing a new building. Paluskar issued orders that the teachers should retain only 30 rupees from their pay and donate the balance for the upkeep of the school. The teachers, many of them now married, found it very difficult to manage with just 30 rupees a month. This was the time between the demise of Patwardhan's first wife in 1922 and his remarriage 30 months later, in June 1924, to Radhabai, daughter of Govindrao Marathe. His relatives were asking him to remarry. On the other hand, Paluskar took the view that, rather than remarry, Vinayakrao should devote his life singlemindedly to the service of the vidyalaya. Faced with these strains, Vinayakrao, now about 25 years old, parted company with Vishnu Digambar with whom he had spent about 15 years. He went back to Miraj and then on to Kolhapur. This was a turning point in his life.

Career on Marathi stage

Vinayakrao Patwardhan's uncle Harikrishna Patwardhan lived in Kolhapur. Though a homoeopath by profession, he was an ardent music and drama enthusiast. He was very fond of Vinayakrao who, he thought, should become an actor - which implied singing as well - in a good, popular stage group. Musical theatre had by then become very popular in Maharashtra. Characterised by the interposition of classical and semi-classical songs between parts of dialogue, the theatre had a large number of very famous singer-actors, the most notable among them being Bal Gandharva of the Gandharva Natak Mandali.

Bal Gandharva was among those who attended Patwardhan's second wedding. He was then on the lookout for a good actor with handsome features and an impressive personality. He himself used to play the female lead roles in his plays and wanted a male to act and sing opposite him. His attention fell on Vinayakrao and he tried to persuade him to join the Mandali.

The Mandali was a prestigious institution and it was no easy task for a greenhorn in acting to find a place in it. Reportedly, Patwardhan was the only person ever recommended by Bal Gandharva for recruitment as an actor by the Mandali. Yet Patwardhan was reluctant to accept the offer. Firstly, he was not sure he had the credentials to be a good actor. Furthermore, his main interest was in music in which he was well trained. But the economic factor now became important. Having had no formal education, he had no hope of finding a regular job. At this time, he did not have the backing of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and it was more difficult to get concert opportunities. He was also unable to find enough disciples whom he could teach. Too, he was apprehensive that Paluskar would frown on his joining the stage as an actor. But his uncle and Bal Gandharva took it out of his hands and went directly to Paluskar with their proposal. Though initially opposed to the idea, Paluskar gave his approval after he was convinced that a career on the stage would not interfere with Patwardhan's concert career. But he did so rather reluctantly yet because he was afraid that a career in the theatre might affect Vinayakrao's personality and behaviour.

In the event, Vinayakrao joined the Gandharva Natak Mandah in August 1922 on a monthly remuneration of 60 rupees. This association with the stage lasted 10 years. Aiding him in his success on the stage was the fact that Marathi natya sangeet of this period had a classical flavour. In fact, many in audiences were there to listen to the songs rather than watch the plays.

Bal Gandharva was very fond of Vinayakrao and respected his steadfast devotion to classical values in music, his character and his way of life. He later raised his salary to 160 rupees a month. This of course led to some envy among his fellow artists. Some of them did not anyway regard Patwardhan's Gwalior gharana way of singing highly.

Vinayakrao made his debut on the Marathi stage as Narada in the play titled 'Saubhadra', within a month of his joining the Mandali. The play was staged at the New Elphinstone Theatre in Bombay. The character of Narada demanded that the person playing the role should be a good singer and have enough histrionic abilities to project a jovial countenance. Vinayakrao was a good singer but he was by nature of a serious disposition. A critic is said to have remarked that, as Narada, Vinayakrao was overcome by fear. The youngster showed his concern for doing well in whatever he did by taking instruction from Ganpatrao Bodas in Sangli whom he visited from time to time.

Vinayakrao went on to act in many popular plays, like 'Draupadi', 'Ekacha Pyala', 'Kanhopatra', 'Manapaman', 'Menaka', 'Mrichcha- katika', 'Nandakumar', 'Sakuntala', 'Samsayakallol', 'Sapasambhrama', 'Swayamvar' and 'Vidhilikhit', which were staged in several places. With his strong voice, which had a rich timbre and swara-suddha, he soon came to be regarded as one of the famous triumvirate of the stage, along with Bal Gandharva and Master Krishnarao. At the request of Bal Gandharva himself, he set to music the hero's songs in some plays. This in itself was an honour, as the Mandall had on its rolls eminent music directors like Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle and Govindrao Tembe. For about 10 years, he held an important place on the Marathi stage, despite having to compete with the great Bal Gandharva himself. The latter incidentally played the heroine in the plays in which Vinayakrao starred as the hero.

Some specialities of natya sangeet which Vinayakrao incorporated in his singing, included the use of aakaara phrases and the use of drut taan-s. He, however, did not like to take the liberty of using the graces (laalityapoorna gaayan) in his singing roles.

Vinayakrao had promised Paluskar that he would continue to give classical music recitals even while performing for the Mandali. And he did keep his promise. He also taught music to Vishnu Ghag and Janardhan Marathe, two young members of the cast of the Mandali, for nine years beginning in 1922.

Vinayakrao was one of those who stayed away from the pleasures usually associated with the world of drama in those times. In fact, he would not even drink tea. In spite of all this, Paluskar could not really reconcile himself to the fact that one of his favourite students was now member of a drama company. Accordingly, he had instructed his students not to allow Vinayakrao inside the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. However, Vinayakrao was not deterred by this. Once when he was visiting Bombay, he went straight past the protesting students to meet his guru. Paluskar was initially angry but, when the visitor told him he was just the same old Vinayak and that he had abstained from drinking and other bad habits, he was appeased and the guru-shishya relationship was soon back on the old footing. In fact, in 1926, Paluskar advised Vinayakrao to bring out a book of natyageet-s, with notation, in order to propagate this genre of music. Vinayakrao agreed to do so with alacrity and 3000 copies of the first edition of _Natya Sangeet Prakash_, Part 1 was published in 1930. In 1932 he wrote Maharashtra Sangeet Prakash and then some more books.

Return to first love

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar died in August 1931 and this caused Patwardhan to ponder over what he was doing. His great devotion to his guru filled him with self-doubt and he felt that the time had come to leave the stage and return to his first love: music and its propagation. So he bade goodbye to the Mandali though he did act in a play one more time many years later. This was in 1971, on the occasion of the death anniversary of Bal Gandharva; he played the lead role in 'Sangeet Samsayakallol'.

There was a meeting of all the gurubandhu-s on 30 and 31 December to consider how best to carry forward the work of Paluskar. Vinayakrao and the others decided to establish what was called the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, linking the vidyalaya-s in different places. Vinayakrao was elected to serve as its first President.

This apart, Patwardhan set about founding a music school - a new Gandharva Mahavidyalala - in Pune. He had to start from scratch. After a building was located, he launched the academy in May 1932. The launch was a grand event, presided over by the Editor of Kesari, N.C. Kelkar. Leading luminaries of the city were present. Vinayakrao and his disciples rendered the bandish _Param vimal tujhe charan_ in raga Patdeep. He followed it up with a speech in which he waxed eloquent about the form, greatness and scope of Hindustani music and laid emphasis on the need to set up the school for its propagation. He voiced the view it was his moral duty to spread Indian culture, namely, Indian music.

Vinayakrao immersed himself in the task of running the school, which was quite difficult in the early years. He managed to procure four tambura-s and two harmoniums along with a few carpets. He arranged for the classes to be conducted on the third floor of the building. The small staff consisted of Vinayakrao's disciples, Vishnu Ghag and Janardhan Marathe. His own salary as Principal of the school was a paltry 30 rupees a month! Not only that, he used a good part of the money he earned from his concerts for the school.

Vinayakrao named the school as a Mahavidyalaya after the wishes of his guru Vishnu Digambar. He saw his school as a place to teach youngsters not only to sing, but also the art and science of music. He saw it too as a place to groom performers and teachers of music who would carry on his own mission.

The school, which followed the broad vision of Vishnu Digambar, had some important distinguishing features:

* Its aim was the propagation of music. The hope was that some of its students at least would help in teaching and spreading music in different parts, while the rest would develop a keen ear for music.

* It paid special attention to the students' progress in music as well as developing their knowledge of music.

* It attached a great deal of importance to discipline in music, as well as in conduct and life.

* The Principal of the school led by precept and example. He practised what he preached and was a model for his staff and students.

* It kept the tuiton fee low as a matter of policy, in order to encourage boys and girls belonging to different strata of society to enrol as students.

The Gandharva Mahavidyalaya soon gained in popularity and even adults evinced interest in learning music. On their request, separate classes were held from 5 to 6 pm so that they could attend the music class after their return from work.

The smooth running of the institution was badly disrupted for a period of three or four months when plague struck Pune. The school had to be closed during that period. When it was eventually reopened, it faced a new kind of problem: the available space was inadequate to accomodate the swelling number of students. This was in 1934. At this juncture, Maharaja Sankarrao Patwardhan of Jamkhindi, a patron of the arts, came to the rescue. He leased a 12-room mansion of his to the school at a monthly rental of only 90 rupees.

The student strength had now gone up to 150 and classes were held morning, afternoon and night. Students were taught at four levels for different examinations: Pravesika, Madhyama, Visharad and Sangeet Kushal. Vinayakrao lived on the premises and devoted most of his time to the school, whether it was teaching, supervision or administration.

Patwardhan trained a very large number of students. There was of course his own son Narayanrao (b. 1925) who later became associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal. A most illustrious musician who was taught by Patwardhan was Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar, son of Vishnu Digambar. D.V. Paluskar was only 10 years of age when he lost his father. He was first sent to Narayanrao Vyas for training but the latter could not find sufficient time to teach the boy. Then Patwardhan took over the task, considering it his sacred responsibility and a duty owed to his late guru. The book Vandey Vinayakam, published by Pt. Vinayakrao Patwardhan Smarak Samiti, lists the names of as many as 91 disciples of Vinayakrao. Some of them were Vinaychandra Maudgalya, S.B. Deshpande, V.R. Athavale, Lakshmanrao Kelkar, Vishnu Ghag, V.D. Ghate, Janardhan Marathe, Mukundrao Gokhale, Rambhau Chandurkar, Sunanda Patnaik, Sakuntala Palasopkar, Leela Sardesai and Kamal Ketkar. Three others, Lila Limaye, Sita Mavinkurve and Indu Sohni were called the Three Nightingales at a music conference held by the Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad in 1934. A royal, Rajkumari Mangalraje Patwardhan of Miraj, studied under him for several years.

In 1942, Patwardhan handed over his school to the Bharatiya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal. He did so because he felt that it should not be dependent on one individual and that the Mandal, which was being run by a team of trustees, could better assure continuity. He did not, however, discontinue his association with the institution.

On 1 May 1952, Vinayakrao established the Vishnu Digambar Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Pune in memory of his guru.

In keeping with his role as music missionary, Vinayakrao established another institution, the Vishnu Digambar Smarak Mandir, in Miraj on 25 February 1966. It was inaugurated by the then ruler of Miraj Srimant Narayanrao alias Tatyasaheb Mirajkar. The Smarak Mandir served as an effective platform for showcasing numerous musicians, and the death anniversary of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was observed every year without fail. It is a standing testimony to the memory of Paluskar and his mission of propagating music.

Career as concert artist

Vinayakrao's career as a concert artist began even when he was a student.

In 1913, he sang at the wedding of the daughter of the Holkar of Indore and received the then princely sum of 500 rupees as well as a 'mahavastra'.

He had several opportunities to sing also at the sangeet sammelans or music conferences organised from time to time. The first one he attended was organised in the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya premises in March 1918, and it helped him to get an insight into the practical aspects of music first hand. He found that giving recitals, however brief, in the presence of stalwarts like Ichalkaranjikar, Bakhle, Vaze, A.M. Joshi and Rahmat Khan, was also a learning experience.

He presented a number of music concerts in Nagpur when he was Principal of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya there.

He continued his pursuit of classical music even during his long innings with the Gandharva Natak Mandali. Bal Gandharva was very fond of him and respected him for his steadfastness to classical Hindustani music.

In March 1926 he was introduced to Mahatma Gandhi and sang two songs before the latter in Sabarmati.

Vinayakrao's first programme broadcast by All India Radio was on 15 August 1927.

The calendar entries continued like this, for all of 52 years. Altogether, he had a rich and varied experience, giving more than 1000 performances in various places and on various occasions.

His concert career took him abroad also. In 1954, he went to the U. S. S. R., Poland and Czechoslovakia as a member of a cultural delegation and, in 1956, to Nepal with a team of musicians.

Vinayakrao's gayaki was essentially that of the Gwalior gharana to which Paluskar belonged, but it was generally considered a subsidiary branch of it. He gave importance to the alapa in his music. He would develop his singing- boltaan, bolbant and taan- on the lines of the bandish.

Vinayakrao's deep respect for classical values was reflected in his music. He was faithful to traditional raga-s and was not interested in discovering new ones. He would usually sing raga-s like Asaveri, Bagesree, Bhoop, Darbari, Desi, Hameer, Jaunpuri, Jaijaiwanti, Suddha Sarang and Todi. Sometimes he would choose less frequently heard raga-s, like Anandi Kedar, Jayant Malhar, Malgunji and Ramdasi Malhar. He also learnt a few raga-s of Carnatic music.

Khayal, tarana and bhajan were his favourites; he shunned thumri, dadra and tappa. He had a forceful style in rendering tarana-s, with tongue-twisting syllables. He used expressions like 'dir-dir' and effortlessly pass from drut to anudrut. In 1954, when Vinayakrao went to the U.S.S.R. and sang before an august gathering which included the nation's leader, this aspect of tarana-singing aroused the curiosity of the Soviet leader. After the concert, the latter complimented Vinayakrao and then asked him whether he had kept some kind of device in his mouth!

Possessed of a powerful voice, Patwardhan had full mastery over laya, and speed did not deter him, Once, when some mischievous organisers of a concert put two master tabla players on the stage along with him in the hope they would trip him up, he took it in his stride and got through the concert without any discomfiture.

So confident of his own mastery of music was he that he would openly encourage his accompanists and express his appreciation of their performance freely. He would also give them sufficient opportunity to play, just as he gave chances to his accompanying disciples to sing.

According to Dr. Sumati Mutatkar, his music was a strange combination of discipline and freedom.

Patwardhan revelled in singing bhajan-s. Some of his favourite bhajan-s were Ab ke thek hamarey in Kafi, Raghukul reet sada in Jaunpuri, Mai Giridhar aagey nachoongi in Bahar and, of course, Jogi mat jaa in Bhairavi, which he sang to great effect. He would also sing popular numbers from natyasangeet when there were requests from members of the audience, as there were often.

One well-known critic averred that Patwardhan's bhajan-s lacked the correct style and sounded like orders to god. He likewise disliked Patwardhan's tarana-singing which he described as an exercise in the display of speed. But he seems to have been in a minority.

Even when performing, education was always on Vinayakrao's mind. For the benefit of the audience, he would announce the names of the raga-s before rendering them.

He had many other achievements as well to his credit.

He served for some time on the audition board of All India Radio.

As the Principal of the Vidyalaya in Nagpur and later as the head of the institutions he himself set up, he showed himself to be an able administrator. In between, in 1928, he demonstrated his administrative acumen and skills serving as the secretary of a three-day music conference. He did that again when, in 1934, he led a fund-raising programme organised by the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya to help the victims of the earthquake in Bihar.

He was an author as well. He wrote many text-books on music for use in his school

He received many honours, including Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1965) and the Padma Bhushan (1972).

Altogether, he had a long and illustrious career spanning more than half a century. Through all this, he remained true to the memory of his revered guru Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and modeled his life and career in keeping with his vision and teachings. Even during his years in the theatre, he defied all temptations and stayed true to the path he had chosen. A god-fearing man, he would recite the Gayatri mantra every day. He was uniformly courteous to everyone, great or humble. And he was an interesting conversationalist.

He died on 23 August 1975 in Pune. He was scheduled to sing a jugalbandi with Narayanrao Vyas that evening but it was not to be.

From: https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~mausam/patwardhan.html

Mushtaq Ali Khan (1911-1989) - Sitar - Cassette published in India

Download wave

Download mp3

Many thanks again to Danny for sharing generously this cassette.

For more information on the great artist see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushtaq_Ali_Khan

See also the external links given there.

Bolingo had posted a while ago this LP:

http://bolingo69.blogspot.de/2011/05/ustad-mushtaq-ali-khan-miyan-ki-malhar.html

For decades there were no recordings available by this great artist. Now at least three CDs have been published. They can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com

Radhika Mohan Maitra (1917-1981) - Sarode & Mohan Veena - Cassette published in India

Download wave

Download mp3

Many thanks to Danny for sharing this cassette.

Here a very detailed article about the great artist in 5 parts:

http://debatesangeet.blogspot.de/2008/05/radhika-mohan-maitra-i.html

See also this DVD about instruments from Radhika Mohan Maitra's collection of instruments:
https://katalogshop-smb.museumsportal.org/startseite/sarodiyo-bin.html

"Das Spektrum der vorgestellten Instrumente neben der populären Sarod ist gleichermaßen erstaunlich und faszinierend. Die Sursringar verbindet das bundlose Metallgriffbrett der Sarod mit dem horizontal geschnittenen Kürbisresonator, der Holzdecke und der flachen Brücke der Surbahar. Sie kommt ohne Resonanzsaiten aus und war, ähnlich wie die Surbahar, von Mitte des 19. bis Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts beliebt für die Interpretation von Alap im Dhrupad-Stil. Die Sur Rabab gleicht baulich weitgehend der Sursringar, hat aber statt der Holzdecke eine Ziegenhautbespannung und einen schmalen Steg wie die Sarod. Die Mohan Vina wiederum gleicht einer Sarod, hat aber statt der Ziegenhautbespannung eine Holzdecke mit breiter Brücke. Sie ist eine Erfindung von Radhika Mohan Maitra aus den 1940er Jahren und nicht zu verwechseln mit der von Vishwa Mohan Bhatt im letzten Viertel des 20. Jahrhunderts entwickelten modernen Mohan Vina, einer modifizierten Slide-Gitarre - mehr dazu hier. Letztes der fünf Instrumente ist die Dhrupadiya Rabab, neben der afghanischen Rabab eines der Vorläuferinstrumente der modernen Sarod. Sie hat ein bundloses Holzgriffbrett, Darmsaiten und eine Hautbespannung und war im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert neben der Rudra Vina das verbreitetste Melodieinstrument der Dhrupad-Musik."

from:  http://www.india-instruments.de/newsletter-archiv/566-rundbrief-maerz-april-2014.html

After been neglected for a long time by record labels there are now at least six CDs on the market by this great artist. They can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com

Siddheswari Devi (1908-1976) - Light Classical Vocal - From the archives of All India Radio - LP published in India in 1985

Side 1:

Thumri - Misra Tilang

Side 2:

1. Tappa - Bhairavi

2. Dadra - Gara

Download wave

Download mp3

Smt. Siddheswari Devi

With the passing away of Siddheswari Devi on March 18 1977, the last of the four great pillars of Hindustani light classical music is gone. First went Begum Akhtar in 1974 at the age of 60, and then her older contemporaries, Rasoolan Bai, Badi Moti Bai and Siddheswari Devi. All four of them were inheritors of great traditions of music from a glorious era of the past when music dominated the lives of musicians from childhood to death. They were musical `stars' who shone brilliantly in the courtly era; but when the `darbari' era ended they did not hesitate to step out into the glare of public acclaim. 

Thumris were once sung with abhinaya. When classicists began to frown down on this type of music with abhinaya, the singers took to the Bol-Banav-ki Thumri in which the emotional contents of songs are effectively brought out through vocal expressiveness only, that is, beauty of notes, voice modulations swara-combinations, and a specially emotion-charged style of singing. Bhaiya Ganpatrao, Moizuddin, and Shyamlal Khatri were some of the trail-blazers who gave this modern orientation to Thumri. Among those who have kept up these traditions till now in full glory, the outstanding names of this century have been Siddheswari Devi, Rasoolan Bai, Badi Moti Bai, Begum Akhtar, Mahadev Prasad Misra, and Girija Devi. Girija Devi is far younger than the others, and is of a different generation.

Born into a famous musical family in Varanasi in 1903, Siddheswari traced her musical lineage to her maternal grandmother Maina Devi, a reputed singer of Kashi of nearly a century ago. She was the inheritor of great musical traditions from a family which produced several famous singers like Maina Devi, Vidyadhari Devi, Rajeswari Devi and Kamaleswari Devi. As Siddheswari lost her mother when she was barely 18 months old, she was brought up by her maternal aunt, Rajeswari, who was a famed disciple of Maina Devi, Mithailal, and of the great Moizuddin himself. Brought up in this musical atmosphere, Siddheswari absorbed a great deal of the art right from her infancy. Her childhood was an unhappy one as she lost her father also very soon. About this period of her life, she once said : "We did not have luxuries like the gramophone. But our neighbours had one. I used to go to them to listen to the records of popular singers like Janaki Bai, Gauharbai and several others. How their music used to captivate me!".

Noticing the talent and eagerness of the young girl, Siyaji Maharaj began to teach her. Siyaji's father Shyamacharan Misra, and uncle Ramcharan Misra had been good musicians. About her guru, Siddheswari used to say : "No one could possibly get a more generous and affectionate guru. Having no children of his own, he treated me like his own daughter. He taught me all the basic ragas and a large number of Khayals, Tappas, and Taranas. He taught me with all his heart, and I practised my music with intense concentration and devotion. Nowadays, alas! the students are all in a hurry to acquire a diploma or a degree; they have no lagan."

After the death of Siyaji Maharaj, she learnt for a while from Ustads Rajab Ali Khan of Dewas, and Inayat Khan of Lahore. However, her greatest guru, the one to whom she attributes most of her musical training was none other than Bade Ramdasji of Varanasi. Her face glowed with pride and veneration whenever she spoke about this generous guru who taught the eager disciple magnanimously. Nostalgically recalling those times of close guru-shishya bonds, Siddheswari once remarked to me : "The age of such great and generous gurus seems to have gone. No longer does one come across the really devoted type of pupils either. Today they are all in such a hurry----"

Later on in life, when she joined the Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi as a professor, she earned the reputation for being a sincere and conscientious teacher. When I mentioned this to her, she simply remarked : "Why not, Beti? Let something of my treasures remain with others after l am gone".

Siddheswari made her unforgettable debut at a Calcutta conference many many decades ago. Young Siddheswari's name was billed along with those of many of the veterans of the time, such as Pt. Omkarnath Thakur, Pt. Dilip Chandra Vedi, Ustad Faiyaz Khan and others. Her khayals in Malhar and Suha-Sughrai, and her thumris, elicited high praise and medals galore from Pt. Omkarnathji and Ustad Faiyaz Khan. Another glorious performance of her's was in the All India. Music Conference in Bombay in which Ustads Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Faiyaz Khan also were to sing. Siddheswari concluded her superb recital with such an intensely emotional rendering of the Bhairavi-Thumri (Kaahe Ko daari re gulal Brajlal Kanhayi) that the Aftab-e-Mausiqui refused to sing after her! He said to her : "After such music there is no room for any more. After Gauhar Malika, the crown of the Thumri rests on your head". Such was the grand magnanimity of the musical giants of the past!

After her first concert appearance at the age of 18, she began to receive invitations for performances in Rampur, Jodhpur, Lahore, Mysore and various other states which used to patronise classical music during that time. In the next 4 or 5 decades, she sang in many royal durbars, music conferences national programmes, radio concerts and so on until she became "an institution by herself in view of her enormous repertory and heritage of a rich musical tradition." In recognition of her valuable contributions to the enrichment and perpetuation of the Banaras (Poorab) ang of light classical music, Siddheswari was honoured with the Presidential Award in 1966, the Padmasri in 1967 the D. Litt from Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, and the title of "Desikottama" from the Viswa Bharati University. When we felicitated her on the Award, her humble and philosophical reply was : "It's all very well; but I shall continue to deserve these, only as long as I can go on singing well enough to please you all". In spite of all the fame that she earned, she remained simple, unassuming and homely till the end. Among contemporary musicians, Kesarbai Kerkar and M.S. Subbalakshmi were the artistes she admired most.

Few musicians in recent times had such a vast repertoire as Siddheswari had. Her rich storehouse included a large number of Khayals, Thumris, Dadras, Tappas, Kajaris, Chaitis and Bhajans. "A feeling heart, a fecund mind, and an expressive voice" are the prime requisites for a good light classical singer. Even when her voice had become "temperamental and thick" in old age, she could make up for it by a rare emotional fervour, and she could hold her audiences by her mood of intense absorption and her ability to bring out the emotional contents of the romantic or devotional themes. Siddheswari's music brought out all the salient features of the Banaras style, such as simple charm, intensity of feeling, and effective expression of emotions through sheer purity of notes, "meends" and voice modulations. She said to me once : "Although my thumri is fully of the Banaras ang, I incorporate elements of the Khayal into it. You may say that my thumri- singing is Khayal angapradhan". She added spice and charm by sprinkling short, swift tappa-like taans and trills. In her early days, she was deeply impressed by the singing of Gauharjan, Zohrabai, and Malikajan. As a member of cultural delegations, Siddheswari gave recitals in Rome, Kabul, and Kathmandu.

Siddheswari cherished not only the songs galore that she had learnt from her revered guru Bade Ramdasji, but also the lofty principles that he impressed on his disciples. He used to advise her: "Music is the medium for pleasing and attaining God. You should never feel proud of any success. Always remain humble. The day your tears flow during your sangeetsadhana, your music will have attained mellowness and maturity".

No wonder she always believed that both "Siddhi" and "Ishwar" can be attained through devoted sangeet-sadhana. Her deeply religious temperament had a great impact on her singing. In the last years of her life, the Pukaars in her Thumris and Bhajans were like cries from an anguished devotee's heart. With eyes closed, mind absorbed, and left hand cupping her left ear (to receive the full drone of the Tanpura), she used to pour her heart out through her music. Siddheswari remained a most warm-hearted, simple, and loveable person, "an extraordinary amalgam" of innocence, courage, humour, generosity, youthful zest for life, and a rare dignity. Her life was, by no means, a happy or smooth one. She had an unhappy childhood and "an emotionally tumultuous" youth, and she had to undergo many bitter experiences in life. But all of these seem to have added to her natural dignity, strength and wisdom. One of her admirers described her as "a vast reservoir of warmth, an unfailing fountainhead of inspiration, a manifestation of humanity at its most compelling and earthy.... and yet a being full of sparks and sudden vertical ascents to the mystic regions where inspiration has its divine origins". She did not have the facilities to devote herself to sadhana; living like a recluse. She practised her music all the time, while she was cooking, washing clothes, or doing any of the ordinary household chores. Music was her very Iife.

The death of Siddheswari Devi has left a big void in the world of light classical music. Shanta Devi, her elder daughter whom she had trained up to follow her footsteps has remained in obscurity owing to poor health. Surprisingly, it is her younger daughter Savita Devi who has zoomed into the limelight as a delightful and popular singer, and it is Savita who shows every sign of taking her illustrious mother's place. Versatile and attractive Savita is not only a graduate (an M.A, and Sangeetalankar) and a good Sitariya, but she has also shaped into a confident and popular vocalist with a wide repertoire of Khayals, and light classical varieties. Gifted with an appealing, melodious voice covering 3 octaves or more, she has undergone years of training in khayals under Pt. Moni Prasad of the Kirana gharana. She has a natural flair for the light classical varieties in which she was extensively trained by her mother whom she used to accompany as a supporting singer in many concerts. While working as Head of the Department of Music in Daulatram College (University of Delhi), she is continuing her own music riyaz tirelessly.

Many years before her death, Siddheswari had once told me : "My greatest ambition is to die while singing a perfect taan. I feel closest to God when I am lost in my music." Begum Akhtar also had expressed an almost identical wish which was fulfilled because she died in the peak of her glory, giving a memorable performance before the dropping of the final curtain.

But Siddheswari who lived till her seventies, had no such luck. She had been helplessly bed-ridden for many months prior to the sad end. In a TV interview prior to her last illness, she had confessed with dignity:- "There was a time when I used to sing for the public. Now I sing to please my God. My soul craves to go back to its original abode".

Malini Menon, one of Siddheswari's pet-pupils who had become more like a daughter to her, writes:- "Maa remained a student all her life. . .She had a child-like thirst for knowledge and she was ever so generous as she could not bear to see anybody in want... Maa was turbulent as the waves, and yet calm like the distant sea. She was at peace with herself and had prepared for the journey of the soul to eternity. When the moment came, she accepted it with grace."

Siddheswari Devi's last brilliant recital was in the Radio Sangeet Sammelan (a couple of years before her end) in which she sang with a bubbling, youthful zest, accompanied on the Sarangi by Pt. Gopal Misra (who is no more), and on the Tabla by Ramji Misra. Eyes twinkling, the solitary diamond in her big nose ring flashing points of light, a warm smile on her paan-reddened lips, Maa's homely figure emerges in one's memory. But as soon as she sat on the stage for a recital, one realised that she belonged to an entirely different world, and that her life had known "no horizons other than music". As I recall that last inspiring recital of hers in the Radio Sangeet Sammelan, memories of several other great past concerts of this music-devotee come to my mind, and her plaintive Jogiya echoes in my memory:"O Jogi ! Constantly uttering the name of Rama, you have become one with Him, leaving your little hut so empty---".

Posted on RMIC by Rajan Parrikar as part of Great Masters Series.
From: "Great Masters of Hindustani Music" by Susheela Misra.

From: http://www.chembur.com/anecdotes/siddheshwari.htm

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddheshwari_Devi