Ramanlal C. Mehta (31 October 1918 – 18 October 2014) was an Indian musician andmusicologist. In 2009, he was awarded thePadma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour.[1]
Ramanlal was aGujarati[2] who was born on 31 October 1918 inSurat in the state ofGujarat. He retired in 1978, from theMS University ofBaroda, after serving as Principal of the College of Indian Music, Dance & Dramatics / Faculty of Performing Arts for several years. He died after a fall in 2014 at the age of 95.[1]
He was trained inHindustani classical vocal music by Kanchalal Manawala and later followed theKirana style of UstadAbdul Waheed Khan. He was withAll India Radio for 9 years (1945–1953) prior to his taking up principal-ship of the Baroda Music College.[1] A vocalist of theKirana Gharana Style, he developed his own style inKhyal andThumri and gave several vocal concerts ofHindustani Classical Music in music circles, at music conferences and overAll India Radio. He composed and produced more than fifty musical dramas and features over A.I.R.,Bombay, Ahmedabad andBaroda (1945–1953).
Mehta worked in music education in India for over 45 years, serving as an expert member at national and state institutions and universities. He founded the Indian Musicological Society in 1970 and later served the society as honorary General Secretary.[3] He served as editor of theJournal of the Indian Musicological Society, since its 1970 inception, retiring in 2005. He also served as an expert member on the Central Music Audition Board (MAB) ofAll India Radio. On his suggestion, the first-ever conference on distance education in Indian Classical Music was organised byUstad Alauddin Khan Sangeet Academy. He also published a collection of papers presented asDistance Education in Music.[3]
He wrote and published on various aspects of music. His publications include :
Mehta also published several research papers in scholarly journals.
Prof. Mehta is the recipient of many awards, which include :
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