Ramanlal C. Mehta (31 October 1918 – 18 October 2014) was an Indian musician 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 ...

. In 2009, he was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, India's third-highest civilian honour.

Life

Ramanlal was a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

who was born on 31 October 1918 in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. He retired in 1978, from the MS University of

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 ...

, after serving as Principal of the College of Indian Music, Dance & Dramatics / Faculty of Performing Arts for several years. He died after a fall in 2014 at the age of 95.

Musical career

He was trained in Hindustani classical vocal music by Kanchalal Manawala and later followed the Kirana style of Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan. He was with

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

for 9 years (1945–1953) prior to his taking up principal-ship of the Baroda Music College. A vocalist of the

Kirana Gharana Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara). Singing style The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tuning ...

Style, he developed his own style in

Khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfor ...

and

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 ...

and gave several vocal concerts of

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 ...

in music circles, at music conferences and over

. He composed and produced more than fifty musical dramas and features over A.I.R.,

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, Ahmedabad and

(1945–1953).

Academic

Mehta worked in music education in India for over 45 years, serving as an expert member at national and state institutions and universities. He founded the Indian Musicological Society in 1970 and later served the society as honorary General Secretary. He served as editor of the ''Journal of the Indian Musicological Society'', since its 1970 inception, retiring in 2005. He also served as an expert member on the Central Music Audition Board (MAB) of

. On his suggestion, the first-ever conference on distance education in Indian Classical Music was organised by

Ustad Alauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation ...

Sangeet Academy. He also published a collection of papers presented as ''Distance Education in Music''.

Author and critic

He wrote and published on various aspects of music. His publications include : *(1) Agra-Parampara, Gayaki Aur Chizen (Hindi) Pub. By the M.S. University, *(2) Sangeet Charcha 1963 (Guj.) (Music Criticism) *(3) Guajarati Geya Kavita (Guj.) 1954 (Song Form in Gujarati Literature) Mehta also published several research papers in scholarly journals.

Awards and honours

Prof. Mehta is the recipient of many awards, which include : *An honorary degree of Doctor of Music by the Akhil Bharatiya Ghandarva Mahavidyalaya Mandal (1967) *State Award for Music by the Govt. of Gujarat (1978) *Emeritus Fellowship of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Govt. of India (1983) *Sarangadeva Fellowship – by Sursingar Samsad, (1988) *''SRA – ITC'' award for Distinguished and lifelong services to the cause of Hindustani Music (1990) * “Shrestha Sangeeracharya” Award by Pt.

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. ...

Institute of Music and Musicology, Raipur (M.P.)( 1993 ) *Swar Sadhna Ratna award by Swar Sadhana Samiti - Bombay (1995 ) *Kaka Hathrasi Sangeet Sanmaan by

Kaka Hathrasi Kaka Hathrasi (18 September 1906 – 18 September 1995) was a Hindi satirist and humorist poet of India. Life and career Hathrasi was born as Prabhu Lal Garg. He wrote under the pen name ''Kaka Hathrasi''. He chose "Kaka", as he played the ch ...

Puraskar Trust –

Hathras Hathras is a historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the headquarters of Hathras district, formed on 3 May 1997 by merging parts of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. It is a part of the Aligarh Division. The primary spoken language is a ...

(U.P.) (2001) *Centenary Celebration honour for Life Time Contribution to Music by

Bangalore Gayana Samaja Bangalore Gayana Samaja ( kn, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಗಾಯನ ಸಮಾಜ) is one of the oldest cultural organisations in Bangalore and was established in 1905. It is the oldest operational sabhā (or arts society) in India. The organisat ...

–

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

(2005) *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

(2008) *

(2009) *Pt. Omkar Nath Thakur Award (2010) by the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciary ...

. *Sangeetvikas Award (2011) instituted by ''Samakalika Sangeetham'', a Journal dedicated for Indian Classical Music, for the book, ''Indian Classical Music & Gharana Tradition'' (Read Worthy Publications (P) Ltd, New Delhi) * An honorary degree of Doctor of Literature awarded by

Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya (IKSV), also Indira Kala Sangeet University, is a public university located in Khairagarh, Rajnandgaon district, Chhattisgarh, India. History In 1956, Maharaja Birendra Bahadur Singh and maharani Padmavati Dev ...

, Khairagarh. (2014)

References

*The latest biographical note on R. C. Mehta written by Dr. Bhalchandra Panchakshari, Retired Reader,

, Khairagarh was published in Hindi periodical “Sangeet Kala Vihar”, July 2006 issue, pages 13, 14, 15 & 16.

External links

Works by R.C. Mehta
- Edited by R.C. Mehta {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, R C 1918 births 2014 deaths Hindustani singers Indian musicologists Indian music educators Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship People from Vadodara People from Surat Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda faculty 20th-century Indian musicians Gujarati people Musicians from Gujarat