Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi




Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (Marathi: पंडित भीमसेन गुरुराज जोशी, Kannada: born February 4, 1922) is an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition. A member of the Kirana Gharana (school), he is renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). He is the most recent recipient of the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, awarded in 2008


Early life

He was born into a Kannada Brahmin family in the town of Gadag in northern part of Karnataka state. His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen is the eldest in a family of 16 siblings. Some of the siblings still live in their ancestral home in Gadag. Bhimsen lost his mother when he was young, and his step mother raised him.


Musical Training

Until the first half of the 20th century, Khyal was principally taught in the Guru Shishya (master-disciple) tradition. Bhimsen's guru Sawai Gandharva was the chief disciple of Abdul Karim Khan, who along with his cousin Abdul Waheed Khan was the founder of the Kirana Gharana school of Hindustani music.

Search for a Guru

Pt. Joshi heard a recording of Utd. Abdul Karim Khan's Thumri "Piya Bin Nahi Aavat Chain" in Raag Jhinjhoti when he was a child, which inspired him to become a musician. In 1933, the 11-year-old Pt. Joshi left Dharwad for Bijapur[disambiguation needed] to find a master and learn music.[3] With the help of money lent by his co-passengers in the train Bhimsen reached Dharwar first and later went to Pune. Later he moved to Gwalior and got into Madhava Music School, a school run by Maharajas of Gwalior, with the help of famous Sarod player Utd. Hafiz Ali Khan. He traveled for three years around North India, including in Delhi, Kolkata, Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur, trying to find a good guru.[5] Eventually, his father succeeded in tracking him down in Jalandar and brought young Bhimsen back home. Bhimsen Joshi is also popularliy known as Anna (elder Brother) or Bhim-Anna.


Pt. Sawai Gandharva

In 1936, Pt. Rambhau Kundgolkar (alias Sawai Gandharva), a native of Dharwad, agreed to be his guru. Bhimsen Joshi stayed at his house in the traditional guru-shishya (teacher-student) tradition, gleaning knowledge of music from his master as and when he could, while performing odd-jobs in his house. Another renowned vocalist from the Kirana Gharana, Gangubai Hangal, was a co-student of Bhimsen during this time. Joshi continued his training with Sawai Gandharva till 1940.

Career

Pt. Joshi moved to Mumbai in 1943 and worked as a Radio Artist. He first performed live at the age 19. His debut album, containing a few devotional songs in Kannada and Hindi, was released by HMV when he was 22.


Hindustani Classical Music

Bhimsen's music has been hailed by both the critics and the masses. His performances have been marked by spontaneity, accurate notes, dizzyingly-paced taans which make use of his exceptional voice training, and a mastery over rhythm. He was ever the wanderer, engendering brilliant phrases and taans more intuitively than through deliberation. Never the one to be controlled by the rigours of theory, he sailed high, sometimes floundering, nevertheless reaching out to the stars. He makes occasional use of sargam and tihaais, and favours traditional compositions of the Kirana gharana. Over the years he has specialized in a few ragas, which he usually performs. Some of Pt. Joshi's more popular Raags include Shuddha Kalyan, Miyan Ki Todi, Puriya Dhanashri, Multani, Bhimpalas, Darbari, and Ramkali. Other than Utd. Abdul Karim Khan, Pt. Joshi has been influenced by many musicians, including Smt. Kesarbai Kerkar, Begum Akhtar and Utd. Amir Khan. Pt. Joshi's own style emerged over the years after assimilating various elements from what he liked in different musical styles and Gharanas.


Devotional Music

In devotional music, Pt. Joshi is most acclaimed for his Kannada, Hindi and Marathi Bhajan singing. His commercially successful CDs Daaswani and Enna Paliso included Kannada Bhajans, and Santawani included Marathi Abhangs.


Patriotic Music

Pt. Joshi is revered in India for his work in the Mile Sur Mera Tumhara music video (1985), which begins with him. Pt. Joshi was also invited to sing for the Bharat Bala production of the Indian National Anthem music video (2000).


Playback Singing

Joshi has sung for several films, including Basant Bahar (1956) with Manna Dey, Birbal My Brother (1973) with Pt. Jasraj and Nodi Swami Naavu Irodhu Heege. He also sung for films Tansen(1958)[citation needed] and Ankahee(1985).

Sawai Gandharva Music Festival

Pt. Joshi organized the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival as an homage to his guru, Pt. Sawai Gandharva, along with the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal in 1953, marking Pt. Gandharva's first death anniversary. The festival has been held ever since, typically on the second weekend of December in Pune, Maharashtra and has become not only a cultural event for the city, but an annual pilgrimage for Hindustani Classical Music lovers all over the world. Pt. Joshi conducted the festival annually since 1953, until his retirement in 2002.


Students

Pt. Joshi has taught many students, several of whom have gone onto commercial success.

* Pt. Madhav Gudi
* Shrikant Deshpande
* Pt. Vinayak Torvi
* Upendra Bhat
* Shrinivas Joshi, Pt. Joshi's son.
* Pt. Rajendra Kandalgaonkar
* Anand Bhate


Personal life

Pt. Joshi's family arranged his marriage at his early age to a girl named Sunanda Katti; she was his cousin. They had four children together; two sons and daughters.Later, Pt. Joshi married Vatsala Mudholkar with whom he had two sons, Jayant and Shrinivas, and one daughter, Shubhada. Sunanda died in 1992 and Vatsala passed away in 2005. Elder son Jayant is a painter and younger son, Shrinivas is a vocalist and composer and has issued a few commercial recordings. Pt. Bhimsen Joshi has been a very private and down to earth person. He likes to lead a very quiet and simple life.

Awards and Recognitions

* 1972 - Padma Shree
* 1976 - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
* 1985 - Padma Bhushan
* 1985 - National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
* 1986 - "First platinum disc" [8]
* 1999 - Padma Vibhushan
* 2000 - "Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar" [9]
* 2001 - "Nadoja Award" from Kannada University [10]
* 2002 - Maharashtra Bhushan [11]
* 2003 - "Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram" by Government of Kerala[12]
* 2005 - Karnataka Ratna
* 2008 - Bharat Ratna
* 2008 - "Swami Haridas Award" [13]
* 2009 - "Lifetime achievement award" by Delhi government[14]
* 2010 - "S V Narayanaswamy Rao National Award" by Rama Seva Mandali, Bangalore

Live at Pune - Pt Bhimsen Joshi