Shobha Gurtu | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Bhanumati Shirodkar (1925-02-08)8 February 1925 Belgaum, Karnataka, India |
| Died | 27 September 2004(2004-09-27) (aged 79) Mumbai, India |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupation | singer |
| Years active | 1940s–2004 |
Shobha Gurtu (1925–2004) was an Indian singer in theHindustani classical style. Though she had equal command over pure classical style, it was with light semi-classical music that she received her fame, and in time came to be known as theThumri Queen,[1] and for the 'Abhinaya' sung in her full-throated voice. She was awarded thePadma Bhushan in 2002.[2][3]
Bhanumati Shirodkar was born inBelgaum, (presentKarnataka) in 1925. Her mother, Menekabai Shirodkar, was a professional dancer. Menakabai was a 'gayaki' disciple ofUstad Alladiya Khan of theJaipur-Atrauli gharana.[4] It was from her that Shobha received her training in music from a very young age.
Shobha married Vishwanath Gurtu, aKashmiri Brahmin gentleman from a good family, and became known as Shobha Gurtu. Her father-in-law, Pandit Narayan Nath Gurtu, was a highly placed officer in the Police, a scholar and also, as a hobby, he played the sitar.[4] He was posted for several years in Belgaum district, which is how Shobha and Vishwanath became acquainted. The couple had three sons, Ravi, Trilok and Narendra. Their eldest son, Ravi Gurtu, was a rhythm player. Another son,Trilok Gurtu is a famed percussionist.[5]
Though Shobha's formal music training began with 'Ustad Bhurji Khan', the youngest son ofUstad Alladiya Khan, the founder of theJaipur-Atrauli gharana inKolhapur, from whom her mother was learning at the time, while she was still a younger girl, and seeing her talent, Ustad Bhurji Khan's family immediately took a liking of her, and she started spending long hours with them. Her ties with theJaipur-Atrauli gharana were to strengthen still, when she started learning from, Ustad Alladiya Khan's nephew Ustad Natthan Khan; though she really came into her own under the tutelage of Ustad Ghamman Khan, who came to stay with their family in Mumbai, to teach her mother thumri-dadra and other semi-classical forms.[6][7]
Shobha Gurtu specialised in semi classical forms such asthumri,dadra,Kajri, Hori etc., effortlessly adding pure classical passages into her singing, thus creating a new form, and reviving the magic of forms like Thumri, of which she became a greatest exponent in time. She was particularly influenced by singerBegum Akhtar and UstadBade Ghulam Ali Khan.[8]
She also performed music inMarathi andHindi cinema.[9] As a playback singer, she first worked inKamaal Amrohi's film,Pakeezah (1972),[10] followed byPhagun (1973), where she sang, 'Bedardi ban gaye koi jaao manaao more saiyyaan'. She earned aFilmfare nomination as Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Saiyyan Rooth Gaye" from the hit filmMain Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978).[11] InMarathi cinema, she sang for films likeSaamna andLal Mati. In 1979, The Gramophone Company of India (EMI) released her first albumAt Her Best... Shobha Gurtu, considered a high ranking classic recording displaying her dazzling vocal work in the eastern Uttar Pradesh (Purbi Gayaki) musical tradition rooted in the 19th century.
Over the years, she travelled all over the world for concerts, including one at theCarnegie Hall, New York City, performing alongside musical greats and, Pt.Birju Maharaj. Her album of gazal "Tarz" along withMehdi Hassan was popular.[12] She often lent her voice to the collaborative jazz albums of her sonTrilok Gurtu. In 2000, she featured in theJana Gana Mana Video, which was released to mark the 50th year of the Indian Republic, where she sang the Indian National Anthem,Jana Gana Mana, along with other leading classical singers and musicians of India.
In 1987, she received theSangeet Natak Akademi Award, and was later awarded theLata Mangeshkar Puraskar,Shahu Maharaj Puraskar and theMaharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. In 2002, she was awarded thePadma Bhushan.
After reigning overHindustani classical music genre, for five decades, as the Queen of Thumri, Shobha Gurtu died on 27 September 2004, and was survived by her two sons.
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