Honaji Sayaji Shilarkhane (1754–1844), known professionally as Honaji Bala, was a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

poet from

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, India. Honaji's compositions were sung by his friend ''Bala Karanjikar'', and together the pair was known for their ''"Honaji Balacha

Tamasha Tamasha ( mr, तमाशा) is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham ...

"''. He is known for contributions to the field of

Lavani Lavani () is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavan ...

music and several classical Marathi song.

Biography

Honaji was born into a Nandgawali family in

Saswad Saswad is a municipal council located on South-Eastern corridor of Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Saswad is situated on the banks of the Karha River. Saswad is about 31 km from Pune-Central Station. History Saswad is a ...

and moved to Pune with his mother Vithabai. His father, uncle (''Bala Bahiru''), and grand father (''Satappa'') were also musicians (''shahirs''). He was a milkman by day and musician in the evenings as a part of entertainment troupe at the Peshwa residence. Honaji was initially patronised by

Sawai Madhavrao Madhav Rao Bhat II (18 April 1774 – 27 October 1795) was the 12th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire in India, from his infancy. He was known as Sawai Madhav Rao or Madhav Rao Narayan. He was the posthumous son of Narayanrao Peshwa, murdered in 1773 ...

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

with an honorarium of 300 per year. After Madhavrao's death, he was supported by the last Peshwa

Baji Rao II Shrimant Peshwa Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him ...

. Later in career, he moved to

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

where he received an annual sum of 200 from the Gaekwad prince. Mutual enmity brought about his murder in a forest near Pune.

Career

Honaji composed over 200

and

Powada The powada ( mr, पोवाडा) is a genre of Marathi poetry that was during the late 17th century in India. Powada, which means ‘to glorify’, is a traditional Marathi ballad that traces its history to more than 750 years Powadas often glo ...

s. He contributed significantly for the development of ''Lavani'' music genre. He was the first to set Lavanis using classical

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

s and converted

s into musical concerts. Honaji's work often promoted female perspective in poetry, and with encouragement from Peshwa

, he composed

Sringara Sringara ( sa, शृङ्गार, ) is one of the nine rasas, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical Indian arts inc ...

lavanis. In his historical/mythological ''lavani''s, Honaji followed the lyrical style of Shridhar Kavi and Mukteshwar,

Eknath Eknath (IAST: Eka-nātha, Marathi language, Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, knath (1533–1599), commonly known as Sant (religion), Sant Eknath was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher and poet. He was a devotee of the Hindu deity ...

's grandson. He introduced ''

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� ...

'' in place of the traditional ''

dholki The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', '' kirtan'', '' lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...

''. He also developed the ''baithakichi Lavani'', a subgenre, which is presented by the singer in the seated position. He incorporated

Tambori The tambori ( ca, tamborí ) is a percussion instrument of about 10 centimetres diameter, a small shallow cylinder formed of metal or wood with a drumhead of skin. Its usual function is to accompany the playing of the flabiol in a cobla band, beati ...

in his performances. Honaji also wrote a few ballads but he was less successful in this regard.

Media

The Marathi film,

Amar Bhoopali ''Amar Bhoopali'' (English: ''The Immortal Song'', French: ''Le Chant Immortel'') is a 1951 Indian film, produced and directed by V. Shantaram and written by Vishram Bedekar. It is a true story about a simple cow herder who has an innate gift of ...

, produced and directed by

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

in 1953 is based on the life of Honjai Bala. Panditrao Nagarkar played the role of Honaji Bala with

Lalita Pawar Lalita Pawar (18 April 1916 – 24 February 1998) was a prolific Indian actress, who later became famous as a character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema. She holds a Guinness world record of longest ac ...

and Sandhya in supporting roles. The screenplay was written by

Vishram Bedekar Vishwanath Chintamani Bedekar (1906–1998), who professionally used the name Vishram Bedekar, was an Indian Marathi-language writer and film director. Bedekar was born on August 13, 1906 in Amravati. After receiving his college degree in Amra ...

. A Marathi play titled ''Sangeet Honaji Bala'' starring Bhalchandra Pendharkar and Suresh Haldankar, first aired in 1954.

Poems

* गोल तुझ्या शरीराचा Gol Tujhya Shariracha * घडीघडी अरे मनमोहना Ghadi Ghadi Are Man * घनश्याम सुंदरा श्रीधरा GhanShyam Sundara * तुझ्या प्रीतीचे दु:ख मला Tujhya Preetiche Dukha * तू पाक सूरत कामिना Tu Pak Surat Kamina * नको दूर देशी जाऊ Nako Dur Deshi Jau * लटपट लटपट तुझं चालणं Latpat Latpat Tujha Chalana * सांगा मुकुंद कुणि हा Sanga Mukund Kuni Ha * श्रीरंगा कमलाकांता Shriranga Kamalakanta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bala, Honaji Indian male poets Marathi-language poets Marathi-language writers Poets from Maharashtra Artists from Pune 18th-century Indian poets 1754 births 1844 deaths 18th-century male writers