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Bhimsen Joshi

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Bhimsen Joshi
Born(1922-02-04)February 4, 1922
Gadag, Karnataka
DiedJanuary 24, 2011(2011-01-24) (aged 88)
Pune, Maharashtra

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (Kannada: ಪಂಡಿತ ಭೀಮಸೇನ ಗುರುರಾಜ ಜೋಷಿ, Marathi: पंडित भीमसेन गुरुराज जोशी), (February 4, 1922 - January 24, 2011) was 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.[1]

Early life

He was born into a Kannadiga family in the town of Ron which was then in Gadag District in northern Karnataka state of India.[2][3] His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen was the eldest in a family of 16 siblings. Some of the siblings still live in their ancestral home in Gadag.[4] Bhimsen lost his mother when he was young, and his step mother raised him. His parents lived initially with his grandfather as tenants of a Kulkarni household, but then moved to Gadag District.

As a child, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi's craving for music was evident to his family as he managed to lay his hands on a 'tanpura' used by his 'Kirtankar' grandfather, which had been kept away from his gaze at home. Music had such a magnetic pull over him that a 'bhajan singing' procession or just 'azaan' from a nearby mosque was said to draw him out of house.[5]

Musical Training

Until the first half of the 20th century, Khayal 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 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.[6] Eventually, his father succeeded in tracking him down in Jalandar and brought young Bhimsen back home.

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 Joshi is a rare artiste whose music has been hailed by both the critics and the masses. His performances are marked by spontaneity, accurate notes, dizzyingly-paced taans which make use of his exceptional voice training, and a mastery over rhythm. The Hindu, in an article written after he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, said: Bhimsen Joshi was ever the wanderer, engendering brilliant phrases and tans more intuitively than through deliberation [7]. He makes occasional use of sargam and tihaais, and often sings traditional compositions of the Kirana gharana. His music often injects surprising and sudden turns of phrase, for example through the unexpected use of boltaans. Over the years, his repertoire has tended to favor a relatively small number of complex and serious ragas; however, he remains one of the most prolific exponents overall of Hindustani classical music. Some of Pt. Joshi's more popular ragas include Shuddha Kalyan, Miyan Ki Todi, Puriya Dhanashri, Multani, Bhimpalas, Darbari, and Ramkali. He is considered a purist and has not dabbled in experimental forms of music, except for a well-known series of Jugalbandi recordings with the Carnatic signer M. Balamuralikrishna.

Apart from stalwarts of the Kirana Gharana, Bhimsen Joshi's singing is thought to been influenced by many musicians, including Smt. Kesarbai Kerkar, Begum Akhtar and Ustad Amir Khan. He has assimilated into his own singing various elements that 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. Bhimsen Joshi is widely recognized in India due to his performance in the Mile Sur Mera Tumhara music video (1985), which begins with him. The video was created for the purpose of national integration in India, and highlights the diversity of Indian culture. Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was also invited to sing for the Bharat Bala production of the Indian National Anthem music video (2000).

Playback Singing

Pt. 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) and Ankahee(1985). [8]

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.

Legacy

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was known for his powerful voice, amazing breath control, fine musical sensibility and unwavering grasp of the fundamentals, representing a subtle fusion of intelligence and passion that imparted life and excitement to his music.[5] A classicist by training, and temperament, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is renowned to have evolved an approach that sought to achieve a balance between what may be termed as "traditional values and mass-culture tastes" as he went on to have supposedly the largest commercially recorded repertoire in Hindustani vocal music.[5]

Personal life

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was well known to have a passion for cars. He was known to be an expert swimmer, a keen enthusiast of yoga and a football player in his younger days. He had acknowledged his weakness for alcohol but left it in 1979 after it started affecting his career.[5]

Pt. Joshi passed away on 24th January 2011, at the age of 88 years in Pune. [9]

Awards and Recognitions

References

  1. ^ "Bharat Ratna for Vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi". Rediff. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  2. ^ "Kannadiga family". The Hindu. 2002-10-31. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  3. ^ a b "Relentless riyaz- Bhimsen Joshis recipe for success". Deccan Herald. 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  4. ^ "Naughty lad turned muse is 'Bharat Ratna'". Deccan Herald. 2008-11-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateaccess= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d "Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the glory of Indian music". NDTV. 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2011-01-24.
  6. ^ "A class apart". Mumbai Mirror. 2008-11-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateaccess= ignored (help)
  7. ^ http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/11/07/stories/2008110751130100.htm. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ "Bharat Ratna Bhimsen Joshi passes away in Pune". IBN Live. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Bharat Ratna Bhimsen Joshi dead". The Economic Times. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Pandit Bhimsen Joshi: A Profile". ZEE News. 05 November 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Bhimsen Joshi: Living legend in Indian classical music - Entertainment - DNA
  12. ^ Screen -The Business of Entertainment
  13. ^ 'Nadoja' for Bhimsen Joshi
  14. ^ Times Of India Article
  15. ^ "Award presented to Bhimsen Joshi". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2003-12-02.
  16. ^ Bhimsen Joshi to be presented Swami Haridas Award
  17. ^ Bhimsen happy about Delhi govt award

Further reading

  • Nadkarni, Mohan (1983). Bhimsen Joshi: the man and his music. Prism Communications.
  • Nadkarni, Mohan (1994). Bhimsen Joshi: a biography. Indus, New Delhi. ISBN 8172231261.
  • Majumdar, Abhik (2004). Bhimsen Joshi: A Passion for Music. Rupa & Co. ISBN 8129103540.

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