Ramachandra Kundgolkar Saunshi, popularly known as Pandit Sawai Gandharva (19 January 1886 – 12 September 1952), was a popular
Hindustani Classical
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 ...
vocalist
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
from
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. He was a master in the genre of
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 ...
Bhimsen Joshi
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' khaya ...
.
Pt. Gandharva is most well known for popularizing the stylings 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 ...
through his accomplished disciples, including Pt.
Bhimsen Joshi
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' khaya ...
Basavaraj Rajguru
Pandit Basavraj Rajguru (24 August 1920 – 1991) was a leading Indian classical vocalist in the Kirana gharana (singing style).
Early life and training
Basavraj was born into a family of scholars, astrologers and musicians in Yaliwal, a ...
.
Early life and background
Ramchandra Kundgolkar was born into
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
*
* ...
family on 19 January 1886, in
Kundgol
Kundgol also spelled as Kundagola is a panchayat town in Dharwad district in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Introduction
Kundgol is Located in Dharwad District of Karnataka is about 14 km south-west of Hubli and 32 km south-west of D ...
, 19 km. from
Dharwad
Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, he grew to be known as Rambhau. His father, Ganesh Saunshi, was a local clerk employed by Ranganagowda Nadiger, a landlord. Early on, Pt. Gandharva did not show interest in academics but progressed in school through the admiration his teachers had for how "sweetly" he sang poems. Later, he was admitted to Lamington High School in
Hubli
Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad distr ...
which he would travel to everyday by train. Pt. Gandharva's father found it increasingly difficult to fund his son's education and eventually his schooling stopped.
Initiation into music
After discontinuing his education, Pt. Gandharva's father put him under the tutelage of Balwantrao Kolhatkar who found himself in Kundgol. From Kolhatkar, Pt. Gandharva learned 75
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 ...
compositions, 25 Tarana compositions, a hundred other compositions and also mastered a few
Taals
The acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme (also known as acetohydroxy acid or acetohydroxyacid synthase, abbr. AHAS) is a protein found in plants and micro-organisms. ALS catalyzes the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids ( ...
. Kolhatkar died in 1898, leaving Pt. Gandharva's tutelage incomplete and without guidance.
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan
In traveling to high school everyday to Hubli, Pt. Gandharva would actively participate in the daily cultural events in Hubli, where he spent his time watching Nataks and listening to music. Once, he found himself listening to a young Ud. Abdul Karim Khan and was immediately captivated. From then onwards, Pt. Gandharva wished for the Ustad's tutelage.
After Balwantrao Kolhatkar's passing, Ud. Abdul Karim Khan began touring Karnataka, where he often stayed with the Nadiger family, Pt. Gandharva's father's employer, whom Pt. Gandharva was staying with.
It was a time when
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian language, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)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 ...
, was touring
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. He would often stay with the Nadigers for days on end. On such a trip, Ramchandra hovered around Abdul Karim Khan, humming jamunaa ke teer, the Ustad's Bhairavicheez. It caught Abdul Karim Khan's ear who asked, "Kaun hai yeh ladkaa? Galaa achchaa hai". Ranganagowda Nadiger pounced upon this opportunity: "Ustadji, he is our clerk's son. He wants to learn music from you". "Yeh baath hai tho chalo hamaare saath". Fortune smiled on Ramchandra. This was in 1901. Abdul Karim Khan did not want his name to be spoilt by disciples learning haphazardly. He made a contract with them that they would learn from him for at least 8 years.
Career
Against the wishes of his teacher, he joined a drama company and became popular as a singer in Marathi theatre. He received acclaim for playing female roles, and also the title, Sawai Gandharva after, Bal Gandharva, the doyen of Marathi theatre.''Two Men and Music: Nationalism in the Making of an Indian Classical Tradition'' by J. Bakhle; Oxford University Press, USA (2005), He worked for Govindrao Tembe's Shivraj Natak Mandali for some time, becoming famous for playing female roles.
In 1942, at the age of 56, his concert career ended abruptly following a paralytic stroke, but he continued teaching until he died in 1952.
Disciples
Although he became a well known classical vocalist, his most enduring legacy is that he trained vocalists such as Gangubai Hangal,
Bhimsen Joshi
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' khaya ...
,
Basavaraj Rajguru
Pandit Basavraj Rajguru (24 August 1920 – 1991) was a leading Indian classical vocalist in the Kirana gharana (singing style).
Early life and training
Basavraj was born into a family of scholars, astrologers and musicians in Yaliwal, a ...
and Firoz Dastur. Krishnarao Phulambrikar started his career as child singer-actor in Natyakala Prawartak music drama company where he got an opportunity to learn classical music intended for musical theatre from Sawai Gandharva.
Sawai Gandharva Festival
His disciple Bhimsen Joshi started the annual
Sawai Gandharva Music Festival
The Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (formerly known as the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav and simply known as Sawai) is an annual Indian Classical music festival held in Pune since 1953. The festival is hosted by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Ma ...
in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
, in memory of Sawai Gandharva. The festival was held on a modest scale for first two decades, but it became popular in the 1970s and 1980s.