sign in sign up
<<
Home , Agra gharana, Alladiya Khan, Asad Ali Khan, Faiyaz Khan, Gwalior gharana, Kesarbai Kerkar

Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Prof. R Thiagarajan Presidency College, Chennai.

Prof. Suneera Kasliwal Vyas University, .

Prof. Anjali Mittal , New Delhi.

1

Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian Aesthetics and Fine Arts

Module Name/Title Vocalists and Scholars of North -1

Module Id I C / IAFA / 28

Pre requisites An interest to know about the famous musicians who were expert vocalists and scholars of North Indian Classical Music.

Objectives To draw a short biographical sketch and achievements of some eminent vocalists and scholars of North Indian Classical Music who were monumental in bringing the glory of hindustani classical music art to the world through their performances.

Keywords , Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, , , , Faiyaz Hussain Khan, Aman Ali Khan, , Krishnarao Shankar , Thakur Jaidev Singh, Vilayat Hussain Khan, , Vinayak Rao Patwardhan, Srikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar, Prof.B.R.Deodhar.

E-text (Quadrant-I) : Introduction In this module, let us get familiar with some of the greatest vocalists and scholars who lived in the past years. The biographical details, tutelage and achievements of some the vocalists and scholars have been provided. This list is not exhaustive and is presented in a chronological manner. Alladiya Khan (1855 - 1946) Born in 1855, , Alladiya Khan was a great vocalist and was known as “Gaan Samrath”. He was the founder of the - Atrauli . He was taught and khayal forms of singing by his uncle, Jehangir Khan. Alladiya Khan served in the court of various kings of Rajasthan, including that of Amlata. Later he settled down in as the court musician of the local king, Shahu Maharaj. He moved to after the king died in 1922. With his distinguished reputation, Alladiya Khan became a gem among the many masters in Mumbai. Alladiya Khan gained recognition for creating several new like Nat Kamod, Bhoop Nat, Kaunsi Kanada, Sampoorna Malkauns, Basanti Kedar, Shuddha Nat, Malawi, Savani , and many more. Alladiya Khan’s great traditions were carried forward by disciples like Kesarbai Kerkar, , Laxmibai Jadhav and his son, Bhurji Khan, among others. The succeeding generation of disciples comprise vocalists like , Padmavati Shaligram and Wamanrao Sadolikar, to name a few. “The Annual Alladiya Khan Music Festival” is celebrated in Mumbai each year, where several singers and musicians perform to honour this legend. Alladiya Khan passed away in 1946. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860 - 1936)

2

Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860-1936) known as “Chatur ” was a dedicated musician and musicologist who made immense contribution to Hindustani Classical Music. He learnt the flute, and vocal music from some very eminent gurus like, Belbag Kar, Ali Husain Khan, Vilayat Hussain Khan and others. His significant achievement is the concept of the ten or basic parent scales from which ragas are derived.He introduced a notation system named Bhatkhande Paddhati. He is credited for a large number of publications in Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi and English such as Abhinava Manjari, Abhinava Tala Manjari, Lakshya Sangeetam, Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati, Kramik series in 6 volumes, Swaramalika and Geet Malika series, Grantha sangeetam, Bhavi Sangeetam, A Short Historical Survey of Music, Philosophy of Music, and so on. He also published several ancient music-granthas whose manuscripts he had salvaged during his countrywide tours. Under his inspiration and direction, music colleges sprang up in various places like Baroda, , , Bombay and . Appropriately titled as the "Father of Music Conferences", Bhatkhande was the life and soul of five consecutive All India Music Conferences held in Baroda, Delhi, Lucknow (twice) and . These conferences provided a common platform for interaction of musicians and musicologists from all over the country. S. N Ratanjankar, Shri. Dilip Kumar Roy, K. G. Ginde, S.C.R.Bhatt, Ramashreya Jha 'Ramrang', and Kumar Kapoor are among the notable scholars who followed in the footsteps. He passed away in 1936. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872 - 1931) Born in 1872, Bombay, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was a musician, musicologist, scholar and teacher. He was trained under the guidance of Balkrishna Bua Ichalkaranjikar. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar established a music school, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, in ,in 1901 and later in Mumbai in 1910, which changed the course of hindustani music. It was the first school run by a middle class musician without the direct patronage of rajas and maharajas.He introduced a notation system known as Paluskar Swarlipi Paddhati.He wrote several books on music. His books on children's music education named “Sangeet Bal Prakash” in three volumes, and 18 volumes on ragas are very useful till date. His disciples,Omkarnath Thakur,,, Narayanrao Vyas, Shankarrao Vyas, and B. R. Deodhar became renowned classical singers and teachers. His son Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar was also trained in classical music and carried on his father's mission but he died early. Many of his disciples opened music schools all over the country and worked diligently towards the propagation of music education. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar passed away in 1931. Abdul Karim Khan (1872 - 1937) Abdul Karim Khan was born in 1872 in Kirana, a village in . He received training in music from his father, Kale Khan. After his father’s untimely death, he continued his music lessons with his uncle, Abdullah Khan and also from Haider Khan. He was influenced by Rahmat Khan of . Apart from vocal and , he also learnt Veena (Been), Sitar and . He blended some features of with Hindustani style. He borrowed Raga Abhogi from Carnatic music and popularised it in North India. He evolved a new system of music notation.He served the Royal Court of . Some of his outstanding disciples were Savai Gandharva, Sureshbabu Mane, , Balkrishna Kapileshwari, Roshanara Begum, Sureshbabu Mane, Dashrath Mule, Vishwanath Jadhav, Waheed Khan, Hafizullah Khan, Mahmood Khan, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Arshad Ali etc. Abdul Karim Khan passed away in the year 1937. Mushtaq Hussain Khan (1880-1964) Mushtaq Hussain Khan was a hindustani classical vocalist. He was born in the year 1880. Mushtaq Hussain Khan was considered one of the leading lights of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. He was trained by his father Kallan Khan and elder brother Ashiq Hussain Khan.

3

Mushtaq Hussain Khan also sought training from his father-in-law, Inayat Hussain Khan, the doyen of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, and Wazir Khan of Senia gharana. Mushtaq Hussain Khan was honoured with the President’s Award In 1952 and the in 1957. He trained a number of students. Mushtaq Hussain Khan passed away in 1964. Faiyaz Hussain Khan (1886 - 1950) Faiyaz Hussain Khan was born in in 1886. His father died three months before his birth. He was brought up by his maternal grandfather, Ghulam Abbas and granduncle,Kallan Khan of . They taught him music up to the age of 25. He was also a student of "Daras Piya", his father-in-law. 's specialities were dhrupad and khayal but he was also capable of singing , , and . He was appointed State musician in Baroda in 1912 and was awarded the title of “Aaftaab-e- Mousiki” by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1925. Some of his best-known disciples were Dilip Chand Bedi, Sohan Singh, , Khadim Hussain Khan, Vilayat Hussain Khan, Latafat Hussain Khan, Ata Hussain Khan and . Faiyaz Khan himself was an admirer of Abdul Karim Khan. S.N.Ratanjankar was perhaps the last of his pupils who excelled both as a teacher and as a performer. Faiyaz Hussain Khan passed away in the year 1950. Aman Ali Khan (1888 - 1953) Born in 1888, U.P, Aman Ali Khan (Amar) was a vocalist and composer. He represented the Bhendi Bazar Gharana. Aman Ali Khan learned Carnatic music under the guidance of Kalanidhi Bidaram Krishnappa when he shifted to Bombay. Later he introduced many carnatic ragas in hindustani music. His disciples include T. D. Janorikar, Muhammed Hussain Khan, playback singers and , music director Nisar Bazmi, Wali Ahmed Khan, B. Chaitanya Deva and harmonium player Shantilal. He passed away in 1953. Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar (1892 - 1977) Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar was an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She was born in Keri () and shifted to Kolhapur for some time at the age of ten, where she received some training from Abdul Karim Khan. In 1901, she returned to Goa from Kolhapur and received serious training from Vazebuwa. In 1911 - 12, she left for Bombay and after one year’s guidance from Barkat Ullah Khan( beenkar), her real talim from Alladiya Khan of Jaipur gharana began and continued for about fifteen years (from 1920 onwards). She was recorded for the first time in 1933. Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar went on to become one of most noted khayal singer in the second half of the 20th-century. awarded her with the title “Surashree” in 1938. She was awarded the Akademi Award in 1953, followed by Padma Bhushan which is the third highest civilian award in India, in 1969. She was a recipient of many other honours . Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar was one of those artists who exercised an undisputed sway over at least two generations of musicians in the 20th century. Krishnarao Shankar (1893 - 1989) Krishnarao Shankar Pandit was a great vocalist of Gwalior gharana. He was born in 1893 in an illustrious family of musicians of Gwalior. He received his early musical tutelage from his father, Shankarrao , who was a legend himself and a disciple of the great Haddu Khan and Nathu Khan - the innovators of the Gwalior style. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit was an expert in Khayal, and Tarana. He was considered a master of `Layakari`. He served as musician in the court of Madhavrao Scindia of Gwalior.He also opened a music school in Gwalior, Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, in 1914. He was a respected performer for over thirty years and the various positions of distinction he held also included State Musician of the erstwhile State of Satara (), Emeritus Professor of Madhav Music College, Gwalior and Producer

4

Emeritus and Doordarshan. For his immense contribution to the world of classical music, he received numerous awards including the Padma Bhushan and the award. His disciples included Laxman Krishnarao (son), Prof. Sharadchandra Arolkar, Balasaheb Poonchwale, Meeta (granddaughter). He evolved an easy and independent notation system in 1914 and also published several books .Krishna Rao Shankar Pandit passed away in 1989 at Gwalior. Thakur Jaidev Singh (1893 - 1986) Born in 1893, U.P, Thakur Jaidev Singh was an eminent scholar of literature, philosophy and music. He became the student of Krishna Hari Hirlekar, a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. Later he learnt from Nanubhai Telang of Gwalior gharana. For seven years (1925 - 32), he dedicated himself to the study of music. During this period, he became closely associated with V.N.Bhatkhande. Thakur Jaidev Singh was honoured with Padma Bhushan. He worked as Chief Producer of Music in AIR, became Chairman of Uttar Pradesh . He was a recipient of several honours like “Sangeet Vacaspati”, “Sarangdev Fellowship”, “Tansen Samman”, “Saraswat Samman”. The awarded him for his special contribution to the study of sanskrit language. He wrote many books, important amongst which are Indian Music,Kabira Vanmaya(three volumes, editing and commentary) and english translation of “Pratyabhijnahrdayam”, Vijnanabhai -rava and Siva-sutra. He passed away in 1986. Vilayat Hussain Khan (1895 - 1962) Vilayat Hussain Khan was born in 1895. He belonged to the Agra gharana and was an important figure in hindustani classical music. Vilayat Hussain Khan was a great vocalist and teacher. He received his early training from his father, Nathan Khan who was also a famous singer and teacher of Agra gharana. Later Vilayat Hussain Khan learnt from his uncles, Kallan Khan and Muhammad Baksh. He was also a disciple of Faiyaz Khan. Vilayat Hussain Khan had a large repertoire of compositions in dhrupad, dhamar, khayal etc and his renditions were marked by distinctive extempore bol-bant and fine layakari. He composed in many ragas including some very rare ones under the pen name ` Piya`. He also composed rubaiyat, nazm, marsiya and soz under the pen name, `Shafaq`. Vilayat Hussain Khan was the author of “Sangeetagyon Ke Samsmaran”, a collection of biographical sketches of a large number of musicians. His significant contribution has been in the Drut-Chhota Khayal in some uncommon ragas, in which till then, only Vilambit Khayals were available. His command over difficult and complicated ragas made them seem deceptively easy. Vilayat Hussain Khan’s well known students were Jagannath Buwa Purohit (Gunidas), Menaka Shirodkar (mother of ), Ram Marathe, Gajananrao Joshi, Sumati Mutatkar, as well as his sons in law, Sharafat Hussain Khan and Latafat Hussain Khan and his son, Yunus Hussain Khan. His most famous guru-shishya relationship was with Jagannath Buwa Purohit and each of them composed several bandishes dedicated to the other. After independence, Vilayat Hussain Khan was appointed as a Sangeet Salhakar (Advisor) to All India Radio, Delhi. He was conferred the title of “Sangeet Acharya” from Mysore Darbar and received the “Sangeet Ratnakar” from Sangeet Parishad. He passed away in 1962. Omkarnath Thakur ( 1897 - 1967) Omkarnath Thakur was born in in 1897. He was groomed in the Gwalior gharana of hindustani music which was propagated by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. Omkarnath Thakur

5

worked in many areas connected with hindustani classical music. He was a performer, composer, educationist as well as a theoretician. He was popularly known as “Pranav Rang”. Omkarnath Thakur became the principal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya , Lahore. He was primarily responsible for instituting the Faculty of Music in the Benaras Hindu University (1950) and the Dean of the Faculty till 1957. He represented India in many International Conferences( Florence in 1933, Budapest in 1953, Germany in 1954). Omkarnath Thakur was awarded Padmashree (1955) and many other honours. Six parts of the book Sangitanjali (1938 - 1962) and Pranava Bharti (1956) were his other major scholastic contributions. His noted disciples are N.Rajam(violin), Dr.Premlata Sharma and Balwant Rai Bhatt. Omkarnath Thakur passed away in the year 1967. Vinayak Rao Patwardhan (1898 - 1975) Vinayak Rao Patwardhan was born in 1898 in Maharashtra. He was a vocalist of Gwalior gharana in hindustani classical music. He was a disciple of V.D.Paluskar. Vinayak Rao Patwardhan was well versed in dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, tarana etc. Though essentially a vocalist Vinayak Rao Patwardhan also learnt instruments like harmonium, tabla, jal tarang, sitar violin etc. He also learnt about the basics of Kathak dance form. He also composed many lakshan geets and khayal . He achieved his Sangeet Praveen from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1919. He founded a branch of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at in 1932 and devoted himself to teaching music. He sang solo and duet with his guru bhai Narayanrao Vyas. He was the author of the famous work Raga Vijnan . Vinayak Rao Patwardhan was awarded Padma Bhushan. Famous among his disciples were D.V. Paluskar, V.R.Athavale, Vishnu Ghag, Janardhan Marathe, V.D.Ghate, Mukundrao Gokhale, Rambhau Chandurkar, Leela Sardesai, Sunanda Patnaik, his sons Narayanrao, Madhusudan, daughter in law Sudha Patwardhan and , a fine musician and Principal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. He passed away on August 23, 1975. Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar (1900 - 1974) Born in 1900, Mumbai, Sangeet Acharya Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar is well known scholar and teacher of Agra gharana in hindustani music. He was trained under the guidance of Krishnam Bhatt, Anant Manohar Joshi, Faiyaz Khan and Chatur Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. He was the Principal of Bhatkhande College, Lucknow for several years, Vice - Chancellor in Indira Kala Sangeet University, Khairagarh and chairman of Music Audition Board, AIR. Pt Ratanjankar wrote several hundred compositions, in hindi and sanskrit under the pen name, “Sujan”. He experimented on new types of compositions like Varnams from Carnatic music. He also composed several new ragas like Marga-, Kedar Bahar, Sawani Kedar, which gained popularity. He also wrote several musical operas. His Abhinava - Raga Manjari, in three parts, contains several of his compositions. As a member of the Syllabus-Committee, he wrote and published Sangeet Shiksha and Taan Sangraha in three parts each.He was honoured the Padma Bhushan. His teaching produced a string of distinguished musicians such as S.C.R. Bhat, Chidanand Nagarkar, K.G. Ginde, Dinkar Kaikini and Sumati Mutatkar.He passed away in 1974. Prof. B.R.Deodhar (1901 - 1990) Born in 1901, Maharashtra, Prof. B.R.Deodhar was a vocalist, musicologist and teacher. He was a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Abdul Karim Khan, Vinayakrao Patwardhan, Inayat Khan, and many more. He made a collection of rare compositions particularly from all the people he learnt from. Prof. B.R.Deodhar founded the Deodhar School Of Music, Mumbai, authored several books, biographies, articles on music. His main research was on voice culture. Prof. B.R.Deodhar was honoured the Padma Shri. Amongst his noted disciples, were singer , Saraswati Rane, and Laxmi Ganesh Tewari. He passed away in 1990.

6