Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (BSVV), formerly Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University, Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music and Marris College of Music, is a state university in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

. Established in 1926 by

Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (10 August 1860 – 19 September 1936) was an Indian musicologist who wrote the first modern treatise on Hindustani classical music, an art which had been propagated for centuries mostly through oral traditions. ...

, it was declared a deemed university by University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2000, and upgraded into a

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univers ...

in 2022 by The Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya Act, 2022.https://upvidhai.gov.in/MediaGallery/Act2of2022.pdf It offers

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

in Vocal Music, Instrumental, Rhythms, Dance, Musicology and Research and Applied Music.

History

The Institute finds its origin in the Marris College of Music, established in 1926 by renowned classical singer and

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

and Rai Umanath Bali with the help of Dr. Rai Rajeshwar Bali, then Education minister of the United Provinces, the institution was formally inaugurated by then

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of United Provinces, Sir William Sinclair Marris, and was also named after him. Later, on 26 March 1966, the

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

took over the college and renamed it after its founder as Bhatkhande Music College of Hindustani Music, later and now Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University, after

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

through a notification on 24 October 2000, declared the institute a deemed university. During the 1970s & 1980s, the institute organized annual festivals in which the most eminent of the country's musicians performed. Some of the memorable concerts, that included performances by stars like Pd. Ravishanker, Amjad Ali Khan, Zakir Hussain, N Rajam, VJ Jog, Sitara Devi, etc. were part of the Lucknow Festival in the 1970s. During the same period various new courses, like "Thumri" (singer Mrs. Begum Akhtar was the honorary faculty), were introduced. In 2005, it organised a three-day classical music festival part of the Lucknow Mahotsav. Primarily teaching vocal, dance, musicology and applied music in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

, the institute also started teaching

western classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

in 2009, a move that didn't go well with some

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

s (not musicians or affiliated to the Institute), who feared that addition of Western classical music could later lead to replacement of

Bharatnatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

courses by 'belly dancing.' In 2022 it was upgraded into a teaching and affiliating state University, and name was changed into Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya.

Departments

* Vocal (''Gayan'')- Classical, Semi-Classical and Light Vocal. * Instrumental (''Vadan'') ** Swaravadya - Sitar, Sarod, Violin, Guitar, Sarangi, Flute and Harmonium or Keyboard . ** Talavadya -

Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

and

Pakhawaj The pakhavaj is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent, the oldest version of double sided drums and its descendants are mridangam of Southern India and kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South As ...

* Dance (''Nritya'') **

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

Manipuri dance , image = , alt = , caption = An illustration of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance, being depicted in a stamp from Armenia; transliterations of "Jagoi Raas" and "Manipuri Raas Leela", the terms in Meitei language (offi ...

and Folk dance. * Musicology & Research * Applied Music The institute offers courses in Vocal Music, Instrumental, Rhythms, Dance, Musicology & Research and Applied Music leading up to: Diploma in Music - 2 years, Bachelor of Performing Arts (B.P.A.) - 3 years,

Master of Performing Arts The Master of Performing Arts (M.P.A. or M.Perf.A.) is a graduate degree awarded in the fields of dance, drama, film and music. The degree generally requires a minimum of two years of full-time study to complete. The degree program is offered primar ...

(M.P.A.) - 2 years and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Apart from this there are special for the training in

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...

- Dhamar,

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...

singing and Light classical music which includes music composition and direction.

Notable alumni

Leela Desai Leela Desai, aka Lila Desai, was an Indian actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was the daughter of Umedram Lalbhai Desai and his second wife Satyabala Devi, a musician of the early 1900s. Desai was born in Newark, New Jersey when her parent ...

* Saraswati Devi, film score composers * Pt K. G. Ginde - Classical Vocal *

Anup Jalota Anup Jalota, (born 29 July 1953) is an Indian singer, musician and actor, best known for his contributions to the Bhajan genre of Indian Music. He is popularly known as the "Bhajan Samraat" (Emperor of Bhajans).Anindita Paul Anindita Paul is an Indian singer who sings predominantly in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi languages. Early life Anindita Paul was born in 1979 in Guwahati, Assam, into a Bengali family of Amal Kanti Paul and Shyamali Paul. Her father was in t ...

, singer, songwriter and composer * V. G. Jog *

Kanika Kapoor Kanika Kapoor (born 21 August 1978) is an Indian singer. She was born and raised in Lucknow. In 2012, she relocated to Mumbai to become a singer. Kapoor's first song "Jugni Ji" (2012) was for a music videowhich became a commercial success. In 2 ...

, singer *

Shanno Khurana Shanno Khurana (born 23 December 1927) is a noted Indian classical vocalist and composer, from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of Hindustani classical music. A disciple of the doyen of the gharana, Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan (d. 1964), she is know ...

Talat Mahmood Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the popular male Indian film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in actin ...

, playback singer *

W. D. Amaradeva Sri Lankabhimanya Wannakuwattawaduge Don Albert Perera ( si, වන්නකුවත්තවඩුගේ දොන් ඇල්බට් පෙරේරා; ta, டபிள்யூ. டி. அமரதேவா; 5 December 1927 – 3 Nov ...

, Sri Lankan Singer *

Nanda Malini Mirihana Arachchige Nanda Malini Perera ( Sinhala:නන්දා මාලනී: born 23 August 1943), popularly as Nanda Malini, is a Sri Lankan songstress and playback singer. One of the best known and most honored singers of Sri Lanka, Malin ...

, Sri Lankan Singer * Sujatha Attanayake, Sri Lankan Singer *

Amit Mishra Amit Mishra (born 24 November 1982) is an Indian cricketer. He is an right-arm leg-break bowler and right-handed tail-ender batsman. He plays for Haryana in the domestic Ranji Trophy and currently appears for the T20 franchise Delhi Capitals ...

* Dayarathna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan Singer *

Sumati Mutatkar Sumati Mutatkar (10 September 1916 – 28 February 2007) was an Indian classical music vocalist and musicologist from the Agra gharana of Hindustani classical music, and a Professor of Department of Music in University of Delhi. She was awarded ...

Sanath Nandasiri Prof. Sangeeth Nipun Herath Mudiyanselage Sanath Nandasiri (born 15 February 1942): si, සනත් නන්දසිරි) is a Sri Lankan singer, musician, music director, composer and playback singer. He is the current Chancellor of the ...

, Sri Lankan musician *

Kalpana Patowary Kalpana Patowary is an Indian playback and folk singer from Assam. She sings in 30 languages and has many folk and popular songs to her credit, while Bhojpuri music has been her most dedicated foray. In his book, Cinema Bhojpuri, Avijit Ghosh l ...

, payback and folk singer * Roshan, film score composer *

Sunil Santha Sunil Santha was a Sri Lankan composer, singer and lyricist. He was pivotal in the development of Sinhala music and folk songs in the mid to late 1940s and early 1950s. He composed the beloved soundtracks to Lester James Peries' films ''Rekava'' ...

, Sri Lankan musician *

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as ''Harano Sur'', ''Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. B ...

, Bengali film-actor *

C. R. Vyas Chintaman Raghunath Vyas (9 November 1924 – 10 January 2002), popularly known as C. R. Vyas, was an Indian classical singer. He was known for singing khyal style. Early life Vyas was born in Osmanabad, Maharashtra, into a family of San ...

Notable faculty

S. N. Ratanjankar Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar born 31 December 1899 and died 14 February 1974. He was a distinguished scholar and teacher of Hindustani classical music, from the Agra gharana. Foremost disciple of Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande and Faiyaz Khan of B ...

, principal *

Mohanrao Kallianpurkar Mohanrao Shankarrao Kallianpurkar (; 12 August 1913 – 1 December 1985) was a Kathak dancer and teacher from Karnataka, considered to be one of the greatest scholars and teacher of Kathak dance form. He belongs to Jaipur school of Kathak. Bio ...

Puru Dadheech Puru Dadheech (Purushottam Dadheech, 17 July 1939) is a Kathak dancer. He is a choreographer and educator of Indian classical dance, and is known for his pioneering work in the field of Kathak. At the oldest Kathak department which was formed i ...

References

External links