Bhimsen Joshi | |
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.jpg) Joshi in 1971 | |
| Born | Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (1922-02-04)4 February 1922 |
| Died | 24 January 2011(2011-01-24) (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Hindustani ClassicalVocalist |
| Years active | 1941–2000 |
| Parent(s) | Gururajrao Joshi (father) Rama bai (mother) |
| Awards |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | (in the form ofbhajans andabhangs) |
| Instruments | |
Musical artist | |
| Signature | |
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Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (/ˌbiːmsɛnˈdʒoʊʃɪ/ ⓘ;BHEEM-SAYNjoe-SHEE; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by thehonorific prefixPandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists in theHindustani classical tradition from theIndian subcontinent. He is known for thekhayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans andabhangs). Joshi belongs to theKirana gharana tradition ofHindustani Classical Music. He is noted for his concerts, and between 1964 and 1982 Joshi touredAfghanistan,Italy,France,Canada andUSA. He was the first musician fromIndia whose concerts were advertised through posters inNew York City.[1][2] Joshi was instrumental in organising theSawai Gandharva Music Festival annually, as homage to his guru,Sawai Gandharva.[3]
In 1998, he was awarded theSangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred bySangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.[4] Subsequently, he received theBharat Ratna,India's highest civilian honour, in 2008.[5]
Bhimsen Joshi was born on 4 February 1922 in aKannada[6]Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family[7] to Gururajrao Joshi and Godavaribai atRon inDharwad district inKarnataka.[8][9] His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen was the eldest among 16 siblings. He lost his mother at a young age.[10]
As a child, Joshi was fascinated with music and musical instruments like theharmonium andtanpura[11] and would often follow processions accompanied by music bands. This exercise often tired him and he would curl up somewhere and sleep, forcing his parents to go to the police after efforts to trace him failed. Fed up, his father Gururajacharya Joshi came up with the solution, writing "son of teacher Joshi" on Joshi's shirts. This worked and those who found the boy sleeping would safely deposit him back to his house.[12]
His first music teacher was Channappa of Kurtakoti ofdhobi community, who had trained with the veteran singer Inayat Khan. After learning RagasBhairav andBhimpalasi, the one and only unique vigorous style of rendering he developed along with advanced trainings by other teachers is attributed to the basic training he received from Channappa.
Joshi heard a recording ofAbdul Karim Khan'sThumri "Piya Bin Nahi Aavat Chain" in RagaJhinjhoti when he was a child, which inspired him to become a musician. During this time, he also heard PanditSawai Gandharva at a performance in Kundgol. In 1933, the 11-year-old Joshi leftDharwad forBijapur to find a master and learn music.[13][14] With the help of money lent by his co-passengers in the train, Joshi reachedDharwad first, briefly studying with Dharwad-nativePt. Gururao Deshpande, and later went toPune. Later he moved toGwalior and got into Madhava Music School, a school run by Maharajas of Gwalior, with the help of famoussarod playerHafiz Ali Khan. He traveled for three years around North India, including in Delhi,Kolkata,Gwalior,Lucknow andRampur, trying to find a good guru. He met Ustad Mushtaq Husain Khan of Rampur Gharana and stayed for more than one year.[15] Eventually, his father succeeded in tracking him down inJalandhar and brought young Joshi back home.[16]
In 1936,Sawai Gandharva, a native ofDharwad, agreed to be his guru. Joshi stayed at his house in theguru-shishya (teacher-student) tradition. Joshi continued his training with Sawai Gandharva. His senior fellow student wasGangubai Hangal of Besta (fishermen) community, whom Joshi used to respectfully address asakka (elder sister).
Joshi first performed live in 1941 at the age of 19. His debut album, containing a fewdevotional songs inMarathi andHindi, was released byHis Master's Voice the next year in 1942. Later Joshi moved toMumbai in 1943 and worked as a radio artist. His performance at a concert in 1946 to celebrate his guru Sawai Gandharva's 60th birthday won him accolades both from the audience and his guru.[17] In 1984, he received his 1st Platinum Disc, being the first Hindustani Vocalist to receive the award.[18]
Joshi's performances have been acknowledged by music critics such as S. N. Chandrashekhar of theDeccan Herald to be marked by spontaneity, accurate notes, dizzyingly-pacedtaans which make use of his exceptional voice training, and a mastery over rhythm.[19] In his especially mid singing career (i.e. the 60s & 70s) Joshi's most iconic and noticeable trait was his use of swift and long aakar taans, exemplifying tremendous and almost unrivalled breath-control, although he rarely used sargam taans. 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.[20] Joshi occasionally employed the use ofsargam andtihai, and often sang traditional compositions of theKirana gharana. His music often injected surprising and sudden turns of phrase, for example through the unexpected use of boltaans. Over the years, his repertoire tended to favour a relatively small number of complex and serious ragas; however, he remained one of the most prolific exponents of Hindustani classical music. Some of Joshi's more popularragas include Shuddha Kalyan, Miyan Ki Todi, Puriya Dhanashri,Multani,Bhimpalasi,Darbari, Malkauns, Abhogi, Lalit, Yaman, Asavari Todi, Miyan ki malhar andRamkali. He was a purist who has not dabbled in experimental forms of music, except for a series of Jugalbandi recordings with the Carnatic singerM. Balamuralikrishna.[citation needed]
Joshi's singing has been influenced by many musicians, includingSmt. Kesarbai Kerkar,Begum Akhtar and as aforementioned,Ustad Amir Khan. Joshi assimilated into his own singing various elements that he liked in different musical styles andGharanas.[19]He along with Smt. Gangubai Hangal along with others tookKirana gharana to heights and are proudly referred as worthy son and daughter of kirana gharana. Both were from Old Dharwad district.
Pandit Purshottam Walawalkar used to accompany Pandit Bhimsen Joshi on theharmonium.[21] AlsoPandit Tulsidas Borkar used to accompany Panditji on the harmonium.
In devotional music, Joshi was most acclaimed for hisHindi,Marathi andKannadaBhajan singing. He has recordedbhakti songs in Marathi,Santavani, KannadaDasavani.[19]
Joshi was widely recognised in India due to his performance in theMile Sur Mera Tumhara music video (1988), which begins with him and which was composed originally by him when he was asked to do so by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The video was created for the purpose of national integration in India, and highlights the diversity of Indian culture. Joshi was also a part ofJana Gana Mana produced byA. R. Rahman on the occasion of the 50th year of Indian Republic.[22]
Joshi sang for several films, includingBasant Bahar (1956) withManna Dey, in Marathi movie "Swayamvar zale Siteche" (1964) for famous song "Ramya Hi Swargahun lanka", in Kannada movieSandhya Raga (1966) where he has sung extensively. It includes a song "e pariya sobagu" rendered in both Hindustani and Carnatic (Karnataka shastriya sangeetha) styles along withM. Balamuralikrishna. He sangBirbal My Brother (1973) withPandit Jasraj. He also sang for the Bengali film Tansen (1958) and Bollywood MovieAnkahee (1985) which later fetched himNational Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the songThumak Thumak Pag.[23] His song 'Bhagyadalakshmi baaramma', aPurandara Dasa composition, was used byAnant Nag andShankar Nag in the Kannada filmNodi Swami Naavu Irodhu Heege.[19] He also sang as a playback singer for the Marathi film Gulacha Ganapati, produced and directed byP. L. Deshpande.[24]
Joshi and his friend Nanasaheb Deshpande organised theSawai Gandharva Music Festival as a homage to his guru, Sawai Gandharva, along with theArya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal in 1953, marking Gandharva's first death anniversary. The festival has been held ever since, typically on the second weekend of December inPune, Maharashtra also in kundagol Dharwad district and has become not only a cultural event for the city, but an annual pilgrimage forHindustani Classical music lovers all over the world. Joshi conducted the festival annually since 1953, until his retirement in 2002.[citation needed]
Bhimsen Joshi toured several countries between 1964 and 1982, such asAfghanistan,Italy,France,Canada, and theUnited States, significantly contributing to the global reach of Hindustani classical music. His distinct performance style was marked by frequent reinterpretations of the same compositions, ensuring that each rendition was unique.[25]
Bhimsen Joshi's partnership with the famous Carnatic artistM. Balamuralikrishna stands out. Their jugalbandi showcased a unique blend of Hindustani and Carnatic music, successfully maintaining the essence of both styles while innovating something original. Bhimsen Joshi continued to perform into his later years, with his final major concert occurring in 2004, where he once again shared the stage with Balamuralikrishna.[25]
Bhimsen Joshi’s final performance at the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival in 2007 marked an important chapter in his career, where he both performed and played a key role in enriching the festival's history. In December 2010, shortly before his death, he made a brief appearance at the festival’s 58th edition. Although he did not perform, the audience gave him a standing ovation, reflecting the lasting impact of his work and legacy.[25]
A classicist by training and temperament, Joshi was renowned for having evolved an approach that sought to achieve a balance between what may be termed as "traditional values and mass-culture tastes" and as such he went on to have supposedly the largest commercially recorded repertoire in Hindustani vocal music. Pt. Joshi's iconic status in the music world has earned him a whole generation ofsuni shagirds who by merely listening to him have picked up his style and not through any formal tutelage.His greatest endeavour in perpetuating his legacy could be the Sawai Gandharva Festival held at Pune annually since the year 1953 which seeks to promote a certain music culture.[26]
Madhav Gudi, Prof Baldev Singh Bali, Narayan Deshpande, Shrikant Deshpande, Shrinivas Joshi, Anand Bhate and others are some of his more well-known disciples.[13]
Since 2012Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Lifetime Achievement Award is given by the Government of Maharashtra to artist who has been doing outstanding work in the field of classical singing and playing for a long time.[27]
In September 2014, a postage stamp featuring Joshi was released byIndia Post commemorating his contributions to Hindustani music.[28]
Joshi married twice. His first wife was Sunanda Katti, the daughter of his maternal uncle, whom he married in 1944. He had four children from Sunanda; Raghavendra, Usha, Sumangala, and Anand.[29] In 1951, he married Vatsala Mudholkar, his co-actor in the Kannada play Bhagya-Shree. Bigamous marriages among Hindus were prohibited by law in the Bombay Presidency; so he took up residency in Nagpur (capital of Central Province and Berar in 1951) where bigamy was allowed and married there for the second time. He did not divorce or separate from Sunanda. With Vatsala, he had three children; Jayant, Shubhada, andShrinivas Joshi.[13] Initially, both his wives and families lived together, but when this did not work out, his first wife moved out with the family to live in a house in Limayewadi inSadashiv Peth, Pune, where Joshi continued to visit them.[26][30]
Joshi struggled with alcoholism, which he overcame by the late 1970s.[31]
Outside of music, Joshi was passionate about cars and had a deep knowledge of auto mechanics.[32]
Joshi was admitted toSahyadri Super Speciality Hospital on 31 December 2010 withgastrointestinal bleeding andbilateral pneumonia. Due to difficulty in breathing, he was put on ventilator support. He suffered convulsions and was put on dialysis too during his stay in hospital. Though he recovered briefly for three days when he was taken off the ventilator, his condition deteriorated thereafter. He died on 24 January 2011.[33] He was cremated at Vaikunth Crematorium inPune with full state honours.[34]
| Album | Year | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Miyan Malhar + Puriya Kalyan)[35] | 1960 | LP |
| Raga Lalit / Raga Shudh-Kalyan[36] | 1961 | LP |
| Pt. Bhimsen Joshi Sings Raga Malkauns / Marubihag | 1962 | LP |
| Miya Ki Todi / Puriya Dhanashri / M. Gara Thumri | 1963 | LP |
| Ragas Yaman-Kalyan, Multani | 1967 | LP |
| Chhaya / Chhaya-Malhar / Darbari / Suha-Kanada | 1968 | LP |
| Raga Komal Rishabh Asawari/ Raga Marwa | 1968 | LP |
| Raga Lalit-Bhatiyar / Raga Kalashree | 1971 | LP |
| Raga Pooriya / Raga Durga | 1973 | LP |
| Raga Brindavani Sarang / RagaGaud Sarang | 1973 | LP |
| Enchanting Melodies (6 melodies from 45 rpm releases) | 1974 | LP |
| Raga Soor Malhar / Raga Shuddha Kedar | 1980s | LP |
Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi was born in a Kannadiga Brahmin family on February 4, 1922 in Gadag, an idyllic village in Dharwad district of Karnataka.
Eldest of 16 siblings, Bhimsen Joshi is born to a family that belonged to a Kannada Deshastha Madhva Brahmin lineage. His family cherished and preserved traditional values for many generations and learning and fellowships were an integral part of their life.
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