Ganesh Balawant Nawathe, better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

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 withou ...

, composer and scholar of

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...

, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished himself in Hindustani music, he is also credited for the revival of the Marathi musical theatre in the 1960s. Jitendra Abhisheki has been praised as being "among the stalwarts of Hindustani classical music who mastered other musical forms such as thumri, tappa, bhajan, and bhavgeet. His work in Marathi natyasangeet is well-known." An annual Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Mahotsav is held, and the last was held in mid-October 2018 at the Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha in Kothrud, Maharashtra. In Goa, a Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Music Festival held at the local

Kala Academy Kala Academy (Academy of the Arts) is a prominent cultural centre run by the Government of Goa, in Goa, India. Situated at Campal, Panjim Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of ...

also reached its 14th edition in 2018.

Early life and background

Jitendra was born in priestly

Padye Padhye Brahmin community hails from Goa, commonly known as " Bhatt", they speak a unique dialect of Konkani known as "Bhati Bhasha". Early history The reference to Padye Brahmins is found in the section of ''Karahastrabrahmanotpatti'' of Sahyad ...

Karhade Brahmin Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Classification Along w ...

family in Mangeshi,

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. His family was traditionally attached to the Mangeshi Temple of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. His father, Balawantrao aka Bikambhat, was a half-brother and a disciple of

Deenanath Mangeshkar Deenanath Mangeshkar (; 29 December 1900 – 24 April 1942) was a well-known Marathi theatre actor, a Natya Sangeet musician and a Hindustani classical vocalist. He is also the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Meena Kh ...

and the temple priest and a

Kirtankar Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts ...

(performer of Kirtana, a devotional music style). Balawantrao taught Jitendra the basic principles 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, si ...

. Jitendra received further training in vocal music from Jagannathbua Purohit of Agra Gharana, Azmat Hussain Khan of Khurja Gharana, and Gullubhai Jasdanwala of

Jaipur Gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is an Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity ('' gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th century. Evolved from the dhru ...

. Abhisheki was also well known for his renditions of his

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 * * ...

Natya Sangeet ''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi language literally means Musical Drama. As the name suggests, this form of drama combines prose as well as poetry in form of songs to convey the story. In a manner, they are very much similar to Musicals. ''Sangeet ...

compositions like "Guntatá Hrdáya Hai", "He Suránno Chandra Vhá" and other songs/Marathi

ghazals The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

such as "Májhe Jívana Gáne", "Kaivalyáchya", "Sarvátmaka sarveshvara", "Kátá rute kunálá" etc.

Career

After receiving a degree in Sanskrit literature, he joined

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 ...

(AIR) at

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

for a brief period, when he came in contact with several musicians and also got an opportunity to display his musical talents by composing several pieces for radio programs. Around this time, he received a scholarship from the Indian Government for advanced training in

under

Azmat Hussain Khan Azmat may refer to: Given name * S. Azmat Hassan, Pakistani Ambassador * Azmat Rana (1951–2015), Pakistani cricketer Surname * Ali Azmat (born 1970), Pakistani musician * Sadia Azmat (born 1987), English stand-up comedian of Pakistani descent ...

. He composed the padas (songs performed live during play) for the Katyar Kaljat Ghusali play. He composed vocal as well as background scores for 25 Marathi plays. After receiving a Homi Bhabha fellowship in the late sixties, he taught at a music school run in the USA by sitarist

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

. He maintained his ties to his homeland of Goa through his association with the Kala Academy, counseling and guiding students from that state.

Death

Abhisheki died on November 7, 1998 in Pune, after a prolonged illness related to diabetes that he was previously hospitalized for.

Legacy

The Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki Sangeet Mahotsav is held annually in Goa.

Students

Besides son Shounak Abhisheki, Abhisheki's well-known musical disciples include Asha Khadilkar,

Devaki Pandit Devaki Pandit ( mr, देवकी पंडित; born 6 March 1965) is an Indian classical singer. With melody in her voice and charm in her persona, Devaki Pandit has developed her own unique style of singing and has won many hearts throu ...

, Shubha Mudgal, Mohankumar Darekar, Hemant Pendse, Ajit Kadkade, Raja Kale, Prabhakar Karekar,

Vijay Koparkar Vidyadhar Koparkar (born 1962) is a Hindustani classical singer. He himself is a guru and is a disciple of Pt. Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande and Pt. Jitendrabuwa Abhisheki. He sings khyal, tarana, thumri, tappa, dadra, bhajan, abhang and natyageet amon ...

, Sameer Dublay, Dr. Hrishikesh Majumdar, Dr Mrs Madhuri Joshi,

Mahesh Kale Mahesh Kale ( Marathi: महेश काळे; born 12 January 1976) is an Indian Classical vocalist renowned for his specialization in Indian Classical ( Hindustani), Semi-Classical, Devotional music including Natya Sangeet. Mahesh Kale ...

Awards and recognitions

* Homi Bhabha Fellowship (1969) * Natyadarpan Award (1978) *

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

(1988) * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1989) * Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar (1990) * Gomantak Marathi Academy Award (1992) * Balgandharva Award (1995) * Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Award (1996) * Master Deenanath Smriti Award (1996) *

Lata Mangeshkar Award The Lata Mangeshkar Award is a national-level award instituted to honour works in the field of music. Various state governments of India present awards with this name. The state Government of Madhya Pradesh started this award in 1984. The award cons ...

(1996) * Balgandharva Award (Natyaparishad, 1997) * Saraswati Award (Kailas Math Nasik, 1997)

References

External links

Official siteJitendra Abhisheki in the Vijaya Parrikar Library: Musical Traditions of IndiaPandit Jitendra Abhisheki on Saregama.com (music)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abhisheki, Jitendra Konkani-language singers 1929 births 1998 deaths Hindustani singers Konkani people People from North Goa district Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Marathi-language singers 20th-century Indian male classical singers Singers from Goa Bandish composers