Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

This post is dedicated in the fond memory of my grandfather Shrinivas(Sinuka) Parvatikar who in close quarters has witnessed the formative years of Bheemya (as they fondly referred to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi). His favorite song being "Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma ...".

Our nation's highest civilian award added a new jewel to its crown. The respected doyen of 'Khayal' tradition of Hindustani music Pandit Bhimsen Joshi has been awarded the Bharat Ratna award. In northern part of Karnataka (esp. Hubli-Dharwad, the place I come from), the name Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is a phenomenon. Every other family has folklore describing its interactions with the legend. Here are some insights which were passed on as stories (not facts) from elders in the family.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi , was born on Feb 4, 1922 in Gadag. His father Gurajachar Joshi owned the now famous property of Wakil Chawl of Gadag. Both Sunil Joshi(Indian cricketer) and Ananth Koppar(who recently won Kannada Rajyostava prahsasti for his excellence in the IT field) relate their origins to this small chawl of Gadag. Also this is the place where the blind vocalist Panchakshari Gavai set up the Vireshwar Punyashram - a music school which gives precedence to blind pupils. As folktale has it, Bhimsen ran away from his house at the age of 11 to gwalior in search of a good music teacher. Having sensed the urge in the kid, Gurajachar made arrangements for bhimsen to study music under Sawai Gandharwa(Pt. Rambhau Kundgolkar) at Kundgol (10 km away from Hubli). I guess this is the phase when most of the stories start off.

Hubli-Dharwad by then was already at its peak of Hindustani music. The origins of Hindustani music around Dharwad are quite an aberration. Historically, classical arts in India were protected and promoted in the precincts of temples, in the courts of rajas and nawabs. They flourished in places of historic significance with centuries of ripened culture and strong political background. The tinsel town of Dharwad however defies this norm. Out of nowhere, in twentieth century it emerged as a great hub for Hindustani music. This rise coincided with the time when the Bombay Presidency was formed by the British. The Mysore kingdom spanned up to Harihar, while the parts of Karnataka north of Tungabhadra were merged to Bombay Presidency. The effects of this division are evident to this day where the most large scale industries stretch till Harihar. This division also meant that there was now a more active interaction between the Marathi and the Kannada cultres. Marathi drama cultivated a taste for Hindustani music. At around same time Ganesha festivals were introduced by Bala Gangadhar Tilak. Relatively untouched by the rising fervor of nationalism, the sleepy, peaceful town of Dharwad achieved great heights in Music, drama, literature and education. The areas of Malmaddi, Sadankeri and Hosayellapura were centers bubbling with activity. A walk around Karnataka University will testify the cultural exuberance Dharwad once enjoyed.

The love of north Indian music was fostered by the fortuitous presence of some exemplars like Bhaskarbua Bhakle who stayed in Dharwad to teach at the training college and acquired fans and disciples. Vocalist Rehmat Khan also settled down in Dharwad at the same time. The Agra Gharana and Gwalior Gharana music slowly percolated into the streets of Dharwad. North Indian artists, invited to perform in Mysore, especially during the Dussera celebrations, often broke their journey at Dharwar where they found the weather as pleasant as the people. During one such halt, acclaimed vocalist Abdul Karim Khan made a visit to Kondgol. This artist from village Kirana in the north, happen to spot Ramrao humming Bhairavi which he had rendered the previous day. Khansab , immediately accepted him as his disciple and took him along to Miraj for musical teachings. Post his return, the polished voice of Ramrao made huge waves in the music oriented dramas. Back then dramas were the primary source of entertainment. This got him the title Sawai Gandharva or "Second Celestial". Some of the best years in life come from my stay at Deshpande nagar of Hubli , where the famous Sawai Gandharva hall is erected in his memory. A story has it that once when Abdul Karim Khan asked Sawai Gandharva to provide tanpura accompaniment at his concert, the sishya excused himself saying he had a sore throat. But Khansaheb found him performing his famous role of Subhadra that very evening, and cursed him with a permanent sore throat. This is one version which seeks to explain the deep alaaps being practiced by Hindustani musicians of the day. Sawai Gandharva’s contribution to Hindustani music is deep rooted in the very culture. Not only were his musical exploits exemplary, but his list of disciples would humble any other guru. The likes of Bhimsen Joshi, Firoz Dastur, Basavaraj Rajguru and Gangubai Hangal are house hold names. True to her guru, Gangubai Hangal still resides in Deshpandenagar and still performs at an annual event in Kundgol in the memory of her guru.

The life of little Bhimsen entered a new phase, where he started his music study under Sawai Gandharva. However life is not about fairy tales, life then was not easy. With singing as a career the survival options were very less. To musicians the establishment of Radio station in Dharwad came as a blessing. There were two ways to get in: One was to be an employee in the radio station, where one was prohibited from private sangeet bhaitaks (gatherings) of their own, but they were guaranteed a monthly income. The other was to be invitational performance at the radio station, but it was per event based and not a guaranteed source of income. Per performance used to fetch around 100 rupees (yes even with 100 bucks families could sail the entire month then). The social setup at that time was also different, something which is hard to picture at these times. Unlike today, there were hardly any restaurants then. The Kamaths’ were the pioneers who first started a restaurant in Hubli. The advantage with Bhimsen Joshi was that he was a Brahmin musician and people were more than happy to invite him. Interestingly , there was no expectation of money , while a song would do just fine.

Since the money sources were volatile, it meant Joshi had to roam around places to find occasions or events where his performance could be rendered. There was no concept of a fixed payment, but the payments were made as per the wish of the organizers. Also the far distance from either capitals( Bombay or Mysore) meant the political support was feeble. The picture was not all rosy and though musicians were respected, they were financially not in a good shape. Even in those tough times the fame of Bhimshen Joshi was spreading fast in Northern Karnataka and parts of Southern Maharastra. Luckily, new avenues opened up in Pune and Mumbai were the drama culture was taking new shapes. Even with tough competition, Bhimshen Joshi , with his talent made his mark and then there was nothing stopping him. An entry by Rajan Parrikar as part of Great Masters Series, covers in good detail the journey of Bhimsen Joshi to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. His Transition from train to car to Plane is a nice story. Also during his stints at the Lucknow radio station he shared space with his contemporary maestro Ustad Bismillah Ali Khan.

In the meantime, the Hindustani music was at its peak at Dharwad with the likes of Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur, Basavaraj Rajguru( who escaped to Pakistan to learn music during partition), Bale Khan, Pt.Arjun sa Nakod, Pt Raghunath Nakod, Balachandra nakod,Sanghameshwar Gurav,his son Kaivalya kumar Gurav,Pt.D kumardas,pt.Venkatesh kumar,sri Jayateerth mevundi,Shantaram Hegde,Chandrasekhar Puranikmath, Kaivalya Kumar, Sangameshwar Gurav and many others with their presence took Hindustani music to a peak never seen before. However musicians these days are not house-hold names unlike in the previous era. It’s sad but true that not many youngsters take up to music with the same levels of passion. Many don’t end up completing the rigorous training of Hindustani music. However the scene is not entirely that gloomy. There are many instances where the Karnataka is now standing up to take notice of the various performances. One of Pt. Bhimshen Joshi's favourite disciple is Madhav Gudi. Also notable among them being the renowned vocalist Sangeeta Katti(disciple of Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru for 12 years) who excels in different genres of singing. Also there are some upcoming superstars (not like rockstar) vocalists like Meghana Kulkarni who have sincerely pursued the rigors of Hindustani Music training. She is trained under the expert guidance of Rajyotsava Award winner Pt.Venkatesh Kumar from Dharwad. Considered as the torch bearer of Khayal style of music Kumar Mardur, son of Pt Somnath Mardur, reflects the very essence of classic Hindustani music.

Hopefully the time for a revival is in the reckoning and this Bharat Ratna has set the ball rolling. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the sixth person from the field of art and culture to get the Bharat Ratna award after Satyajit Ray, M S Subbulakshmi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Lata Mangeshkar and Ustad Bismillah Khan.

A question to ask is:

Will Bharath Ratna make a difference to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi ? Probably yes … probably no.

But the awareness levels which it generates for the field of his excellence, is of immense value.

To reflect this fact Pandit Bhimsen Joshi said --"I am happy to receive this award on behalf of all the great musicians and masters who represented the 'Khayal' tradition of Hindustani classical music in this country" -- after the award was bestowed upon him.