He was a colossus among musicians, loved for his humility and simplicity as much as his mesmeric voice and talent. In a career spanning over six decades, he took the Kirana gharana and Hindustani music to a new high and earned fans among connoisseurs and ordinary folk alike. One of the most beloved and versatile musicians of our times has sung his last note. Bharat Ratna, PanditBhimsen Joshi passed away in Pune on Monday, the 24th January, 2011 after struggling with a brief illness. He was 88 years old.
"..he was an extremely affectionate man, simple and very good-natured. He was particularly encouraging of younger musicians. I remember a train journey from Kolkata to Mumbai in 1966. We were traveling together and out of the blue he turned around and told me: When I look back at those who are following in my footsteps, I see only you. For a young musician it was an overwhelming pat on the back. I met him the last time in December last year. I had sung at the Sawai Gandharva Festival he hosts in Pune and went to meet him the next morning to pay my regards. You did well last night, he said. I asked for and got his blessings. Then he said, I am tired, I want to sleep.." ~ Pandit Jasraj
"..among the many aspects of his life that come to my mind is his alcoholic phase. Occasionally, he would come to my place at 2 a.m. saying he had run out of a drink and I would push him out. But he had the constitution of a horse. He would never allow drinking come in the way of his singing. He would drink to a concert, collapse and emerge from it, singing again. He had fantastic physical fitness and his dedication to singing was total. More than collapsing, it would, perhaps, be accurate to say he would drink and come and sleep off on the stage on which he was meant to sing. He would be in deep sleep when the concert was to begin. The next day, he would wake up and sing to glory. Drink he may have had, but he never disappointed a soul, and no soul ever went back disappointed. Bhimsen would work hard on his singing and voice, going on for hours on end in the very early morning. He would work so hard it would frighten even the great Gangubai Hangal. She, in fact, said one day she was very scared by his practice.." ~ Girish Karnad
Presented in this post are a few gems from some of the most renowned artists of Indian classical music. These songs were picked up by me from various music forums and sites. A couple of these songs have been specially uploaded on visitors' requests. If your requested song is not here, please wait for the next Random Songs post.
Bhimsen Joshi - Thumri Bhairavi - Babul Mora Naihar :
The name of this school of music derives from Kirana or Kairana, a village in Haryana state of central India. It is the birthplace of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (1872-1937), who was one of the most important musicians of this Gharana and of Hindustani music in general in the twentieth century, and considered by some to be the real founder of the Kirana Gharana. A frequent visitor to the Court of Mysore, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was influenced by Carnatic music.
Much to the credit of Abdul Karim Khan, today most Hindustani musicians from Karnataka and Maharashtra are exponents of KiranaGharana and it has imbibed many of the features of the Carnatic tradition. Common traits of Kirana Gharana include systematic elaboration of a Raga, improvisation in the vilambit laya, and slow spacious alaps employing meendkari. The style is renowned for its melody and sweetness. The lineage of this Gharana includes Beenkars and Sarangi players. Influence of Sarangi is clearly noticeable in the style of many exponents.
Abdul Karim Khan - Jhinjhoti - Piya Bin Nahin Awat Chain :
Bhimsen Joshi - Bhairavi Thumri - Jamuna Ke Teer :
Firoz Dastur - Zila Kafi - Gopala Mori Karuna :
Roshanara Begum - Jaunpuri - Rang Gori :
Besides the above mentioned artists, famous names of KiranaGharana include Hirabai Barodekar, Sawai Gandharva, Gangubai Hangal, Basavraj Rajguru, Channulal Mishra, Prabha Atre and many more. As with other Gharanas, the list is long.
Here are some more songs of my choice and liking. A few gems from my favourite playlist. All the vocalists are renowned names. Firoz Dastur (1919–2008) was a well known, and probably the most successful, Hindustani classical singer from the Parsi community.
Firoz Dastur - Thumri Kafi - Bawre Dam De Gayo Kanha :
Bhimsen Joshi - Thumri Tilang - Kahe Ko Neha Lagaye :
They say music has no language or religion. Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma is a beautiful Hindu Kannada devotional song composed by 15th century poet Purandara Dasa and is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, the divine consort of Lord Vishnu. Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck to Hindus. The word Lakshmi is derived from the Sanskrit word Lakshya, meaning aim or goal, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. Here is a compilation of this song, sung and played on instruments by various artists at different times, a Diwali gift to all my readers.
M S Subbulakshmi :
Bhimsen Joshi :
S P Balasubramaniam :
The lyrics roughly translated into English go like this :
Oh, Goddess of Fortune, Lakshmi Devi, Do come slowly with your anklets making the jingling sound, Come to us like butter emerging out of buttermilk when it is churned.
Come and shower on us a rain of gold and fulfill our aspirations, Come with the brightness of countless number of rays of the sun, Come and bless us, Oh, Devi, who has taken incarnation as Sita.
Oh, lotus eyed Devi who is the pride of Mahavishnu, Appear before us wearing the shining golden bracelets on your wrists, and the auspicious vermilion mark on your forehead, Oh, Consort of Purandaravithala.
Welcome to You who shine auspiciously in the hearts of great sages, Oh, Queen of Alagiri Ranga, Come to our worship on Friday when ghee and sugar will overflow.
It has been my endeavour all along to provide a download link for all the songs that I post on this blog, so that you may soak into the music at your leisure. However, I must tell you in clear terms that all these uploads have been deliberately encoded in a very lo-fi quality and are meant for sampling purpose only. As such, these songs can be best heard on a desktop computer or laptop speakers only. Any attempt to load these songs on your iPods or playing them on a high fidelity audio system could harm not only your precious ears with high static and crackle, but also the commercial interest of our striving artists. So if you like the music posted on this blog, please buy the original CDs. Don't hesitate, gather enough courage and go for it. I bet, you won't be disappointed. It would be a proud moment for all classical music lovers, and a dream come true for the artists, to see at least one Bhimsen Joshi CD along with one of Himesh Reshamiya, lying side by side on the CD rack, in all homes of the subcontinent.
Based upon visitors' requests and also the 'search words' that led people to this blog, here are a few more songs, specially posted for you.
Begum Akhtar - Dadra - Hamari Atariya Pe :
Bhimsen Joshi - Bhairavi - Boli Na Bol Humse Piya :
Another installment of songs that I picked up from here and there, while surfing the web. For the first time, I am not giving you the download links due to bandwidth restriction on the respective servers. You may however, fish out these files from the Internet Explorer Cache after playing them to their full length :
Rashid Khan - Raga Jogkauns - Peer Parayi Jane Nahi : (Download)
Amidst all the depressing events that we watch these days on TV news channels and which have almost become an integral part of our day to day life, here comes a heart warming news at last. This year, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the doyen of hindustani classical music has been chosen for the much coveted 'Bharat Ratna' award, the nation's highest civilian honour.
Although his singing career of more than seven decades has landed him several distinguished awards, including the prized Padma Shri (1972), Padma Bhushan (1985) and Padma Vibhushan (1999). But Bhimsen Joshi, is just the fourth 'classical musician' after M S Subbulakshmi(see earlier post), Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan to be awarded the 'Bharat Ratna'.
Celebrating this occasion I am tempted to post a few musical gems rendered by him.
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, who was born on February 4, 1922, in Gadag, Karnataka, ran away from home at the age of 11 in search of a good music teacher. He finally enrolled as a disciple of Sawai Gandharva, the foremost disciple of Abdul Karim Khan, whom Joshiji admired. In accordance with the 'guru shishya' tradition, Joshiji started living with his guru.
Joshiji's meeting with Begum Akhtar got him a job as a staff artist at Lucknow radio station where he befriended noted shehnai player Ustad Bismillah Khan. In 1943, Joshi shifted to Bombay (sorry, Mumbai), but his real break came in 1946 at a concert to mark the 60th birthday of Sawai Gandharva. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is a big draw at the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival held in Pune every year.
Maru Bihag - Rasiya Ho Na & Tadpat Raina Dina : (Download)
Puriya Kalyan - Aj So Bana & Bahut Din Beete : (Download)
May Panditji live for a hundred more years and enthrall his audience for a long time to come.
P.S : My earlier posts on a series on the 'Voices along the Ganges' have received a boost too : River Ganges has been declared the National River of India (wasn't it so, even before the declaration, or at least in the hearts of all Indians ??).
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, was born in Gadag (Karnataka) on 14 Feb 1922. Pt. Bhimsen Joshi left his home for Gwalior, then to Calcutta then Rampur where he took lessons from Mushtaq Husain Khan.
He finally became student of Savai Gandharva (Pt. Rambhan Kundgolkar), the eminent khyal singer student of Abdul Karim Khan. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the long-reigning king of Hindustani classical vocal music. His unpretentious style, his soulful appeal and his divine sur have made him the paragon of reverence. Loyal to Kirana tradition, yet innovative, he has contributed immensely to Indian music.
A few years of his youth were thus spent in the company of well known musicians at Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur, serving them and learning as much as he could from them. His father, coming to know of Bhimsen's fervent desire for knowledge in music, abandoned his policy of opposition, fetched his son back and made arrangements for him to learn under the guidance of Sawai Gandharva of Kundol. This opportunity opened the vaults of rich and rare musical treasures to Bhimsen. Bhimsen's natural tuneful voice received further polish from his guru. Like a diamond which sparkles all the brighter after it is expertly cut, Bhimsen's voice began to shine with a new lustre and brilliance which has dazzled and cast a spell on the entire country.
With his increasing popularity Bhimsen started getting invitations to sing at various cities and towns in Maharashtra and Karnataka. To facilitate the keeping of these engagements, he bought a big car and took to driving. The car was so big that it could easily accommodate him and his 4 accompanists besides two tanpuras and other instruments. In this car Bhimsen travelled extensively. One day he would go from Bombay to Belgaum - then on to Bangalore the next day, and back to Pune- only to go off again to Nagpur, Raipur or Bhilai. Back again in Pune, he would rush off to Hyderabad, Solapur and so on these whirlwind tours became a habit with him and in a short while he became an expert driver.
His unbelievably flexible voice enabled him to traverse at terrific speed, the great range of 3 octaves. While at the wheel, he used the same technique as in singing. The spread of his fame and popularity beyond the boundaries of Maharashtra brought him invitations from far off places like Jullundur, Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Calcutta and Gauhati. Bhimsen, who had so far matched the speed and agility of his voice with the speed of his car. He then had to switch to air travel. The pilots of Indian Airlines and airport oficials came across Bhimsen so frequently that he was soon known as the 'flying musician of India'.
One can easily imagine the tremendous difficulties involved in getting hold of an ever-busy singer like Bhimsen for recording. Fortunately as his popularity increased rapidly, the recording technique also improved for the better. 78 R.P.M. records were now replaced by the 45 R.P.M., extended play records and 33 R.P.M. long-playing records. Extended play records played twice as long as the 78 R.P.M. The long-playing microgroove records were also proportionately higher priced. These records gradually became the exclusive privilege of the affluent in society. His EP included Zanak Zanakuva in Raga Darbari. Piya To Manat Nahee (see link below at the bottom of this post) , a thumri, Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada, a bhajan, and the most enchanting thumri - Piya Ke Milan Ki Aas
Every performer has his favourite items, in which he excels. On the strength of these- his mehfil becomes a memorable experience. Bhimsen is no exception. After hearing a number of his concerts some people remarked that his programmes are repetitive. It is a peculiar characteristic of our music that the ingenuity of a musician is known by his ability to unfold and create new and novel facets of known raas. The same composition, same notes in the same ragas, presented on successive occasions can sound ever-new, fresh and enchanting and receive enthusiastic approval from listeners and critics in the audience. It is very necessary therefore that the listeners should cultivate a knowledgeable interest and a musical ear to appreciate our classical music.
Supreme confidence in his own abilities and unfailing loyalty are two prominent qualities of Bhimsen. Every year he observes the punyatithi (death anniversary) of his guru Sawai Gandharva with a music festival at Pune. Those privileged to attend it are indeed very fortunate, for the spectacle is one fit for the gods. For three consecutive nights about 10,000 people attend the programme from 8 at night to 7 the next morning. Eminent artists in the world of Indian classical music vie with each other for a chance to appear on the stage on this occasion. There are two reasons for this. Firstly the programme is at the behest of a great fellow artist like Bhimsen, and secondly it is rare and almost impossible for a musician to get a chance to perform before such a vast, discerning and appreciative audience. During these celebrations, Bhimsen works like an ordinary volunteer. On occasion he is even noticed sweeping the stage, bringing the instruments on stage and helping the artist to tune the tanpuras perfectly. He looks after the comforts of the artists and audience alike. He does this untiringly for three successive nights. One cannot help but admire him for his love and reverence for his guru.
The late Sawai Gandharva was a disciple of Abdul Karim Khan. A galaxy of veterans are among his disciples. They include top names like Gangubai Hangal, Hirabai Badodekar, Phiroz Dastur and Bhimsen, who is the youngest of them all. The characteristics of the Kirana gharana are precision-oriented tunefulness (lagav of swaras) presentation of a bandish with an impressively grace- ful style, and a disciplined, systematic and methodical raga de- velopment, punctuated with an elegantly elaborate alap and skil- ful decoration with the choicest forms of embellishments - taans. With the help of all these, Bhimsen makes such a terrific favourable impact on his audience right from the start of the concert that listeners remain glued to their seats till the last notes of his Bhairavi. Within a few minutes of his arrival in a concert hall Bhimsen measures correctly the pulse of the audi- ence. His discerning eye unfailingly recognizes the knowledgeable in the congregation and, by the time the tanpuras are tuned, and accompaniment arranged, he has decided on the musical menu he will dish out to achieve a resounding success.
Bhimsen is a versatile singer; he is an expert in khayal singing but he is also adept in the presentation of thumris, songs from plays, or devotional compositions. His lilting thumris (Jadu Bhareli, Piya Ke Milan Ki Aas or Babul Mora) and his innumerable popular Abhangs composed by the saints of Maharashtra are instances in point.
Bhimsen is a prodigy - unique - a divine miracle. We should admire his tremendous accomplishments in the realm of music, revel in the heavenly experience of his gayaki and pray to God Almighty to bless this musical genius with a long life. In the whole of India there is no one else who has atained so much and given so much to music lovers. Listeners in he U.S.A. and the U.K. love and admire him. It is a pity that our Government has only bestowed a mere Padmashri on him, instead of the higher honours deserved by an artist of Bhimsen's calibre who has received the greatest acclaim abroad.
Listen to a Thumri in Raga Kafi performed by him, which is an all time favourite of mine :
