Omkarnath Thakur | |
|---|---|
 Pandit Omkarnath Thakur | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Omkarnath thakur (1897-06-24)24 June 1897[1] |
| Died | 29 December 1967(1967-12-29) (aged 70)[2] |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupations | Professor, musicologist, composer |
| Instruments | singing, israj, mridangam, harmonium |
| Years active | 1918–1960s |
PanditOmkarnath Thakur (24 June 1897 – 29 December 1967), was an Indian music teacher, musicologist andHindustani classical singer. A disciple of classical singerVishnu Digambar Paluskar ofGwalior gharana and the founder ofAkhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal he became the principal ofGandharva Mahavidyalaya,Lahore, and later went on become the first dean of the music faculty atBanaras Hindu University.He also wrote book "sangeetanjli" vol 1 to 6
Thakur was born in 1897 in a village called Jahaj[1] in thePrincely State of Baroda (15 km fromKhambhat in present-dayAnand District, Gujarat, into a poor military family. His grandfather Mahashankar Thakur had fought in theIndian Rebellion of 1857 forNanasaheb Peshwa. His father Gaurishankar Thakur was also in the military, employed by Maharani Jamnabai of Baroda, where he commanded 200cavalrymen.[3] The family moved toBharuch in 1900, though soon the family faced financial difficulties, as his father left the military to become a renunciate (sanyasi), leaving his wife to run the household, thus by the age of five Thakur started helping her out by doing various odd jobs, in mills,Ramlila troupe and even as a domestic help. When he was fourteen his father died.[3]
Impressed by his singing Thakur and his younger brother Ramesh Chandra were sponsored by a wealthyParsi philanthropist Shahpurji Mancherji Dungaji inc. 1909 to train inHindustani classical music in theGandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music school in Bombay, under classical singerVishnu Digambar Paluskar.[4] Thakur soon became a singer in the style of theGwaliorgharana and started accompanying his guru and other musicians. Later in his career he developed his own distinct style.[4] Eventually, he made his concert debut in 1918, though he continued his training under his guru, Paluskar, until the latter's death in 1931.[2]
Thakur was made the principal of aLahore branch of Paluskar's Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1916. Here he became acquainted with thePatialagharana singers likeAli Baksh and Kale Khan, paternal uncle ofBade Ghulam Ali Khan. In 1919, he returned to Bharuch and started his own music school,Gandharva Niketan. During the 1920s, Thakur worked for thenon-cooperation movement ofMahatma Gandhi on a local level, as he became the President of Bharuch District Congress Committee ofIndian National Congress.[4] His performances of patriotic songVande Mataram were a regular feature of annual sessions of theIndian National Congress.[5] Thakur toured Europe in 1933 and became one of the first Indian musicians to perform in Europe. During this tour, he performed privately forBenito Mussolini.[6] Thakur's wife Indira Devi died the same year and he began to concentrate exclusively on music.
Thakur's work as a performer and musicologist led to the creation of a music college atBanaras Hindu University that emphasized both, here he was first dean of the music faculty.[2] Thakur has composed the university anthem, theBanaras Hindu University Kulgeet.[7] He wrote books on Indian classical music and its history. Thakur's work is criticized in contemporary music literature as ignorant of the contribution of Muslim musicians, which he blamed for deteriorating classical music.[8][9]
Thakur performed in Europe until 1954 and received thePadma Shri in 1955[10] and theSangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1963.[11] He retired in 1963 and was awarded honorary doctorates fromBanaras Hindu University in 1963 andRabindra Bharati University in 1964. Having survived a heart attack in 1954, he suffered a stroke in July 1965, which left him partially paralyzed for the last two years of his life.[2]
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