A remarkable flowering of Hindustani music happened in the Hubli - Dharwad region of Karnataka.
One of, if not the greatest exponents of Hindustani Classical Music is Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. He would've turned 100 today!
A thread 🧵celebrating BhimaNNa, THE maestro!
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was a bit of a family black sheep. He kept running away from home as a very young child, following whichever troupe of musicians passed through his village.
His father, fed up with having to go looking for him wrote “son of teacher Joshi” on all his shirts so people who found him could send him back.
Hubli Dharwad was resolutely in Carnatic country geography wise. However, due to the sublime maestro Ustad Abdul Karim Khan frequenting the region, Hindustani gained a foothold here.
Abdul Karim Khan had a tragic personal life. Appointed to the Baroda court as musician, he fell in love with Tarabai Mane, daughter of a high ranking nobleman Sardar Marutirao Mane, and the couple eloped.
They had four children, but Tarabai fell out with him and left with her children, all very accomplished musicians in their own right.
Here’s the Ustad, singing a Miyan ki Malhar!
Uff. Sublime
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi is part of his lineage. His guru, Sawai Gandharva, was Abdul Karim’s direct disciple.
Here’s Pt. Bhimsen Joshi reprising the Ustad’s inestimable Basant. Guaranteed to move you!
Further, in 1934 Pt. Joshi started learning the Dhrupad from the legendary singer Pandit Mangatram in Punjab.
Many believe it is here that Joshiji mastered his "taans" - improvised vocalisation (typically the extended a that you most often associate with Hindustani music)
Later during the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan in Jalandhar, the Gwalior Gharana stalwart Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan told BhimaNNa to return to his hometown where Sawai Gandharva lived and trained pupils!
As an example of his mastery over taans, check out this performance by Panditji.
The energy is UNBELIEVABLE!
Aptly, the youtuber who uploaded this describes it as an "explosive performance"
Pt. Joshi was like a sponge soaking up skills & various aspects of Hindustani music.
His son says "When he was working at All India Radio, Lucknow, he would often travel to Benaras to listen to renowned ‘thumri’ singer Siddheshwari Devi.”
This quote Panditji encapsulates his attitude about assimilating different traditions into his own:
“I have never been choosy about imbibing from various traditions. I have heard countless performances of numerous great artistes of all ‘gharanas’ throughout my life . . .
. . . One never knows how and where
whose influence can sink in and show up while you perform. Some of these concerts seem to me like they happened just yesterday.”
Panditji's on-stage histrionics are legendary, but he was a colorful character off stage too & enjoyed his life!
Many fans recount this hilarious story.
Midway during a concert in Pune, Panditji took a break & announced "Just ten minutes. I want to watch Wimbledon too!" 😂
Although a Kannadiga, BhimaNNa also held the city of Pune very close to his heart.
BhimaNNa became the legend that he is today in the city of Pune.
Jayant Deshpande recounts this quote by Panditji: "If it weren’t for Bharat Gayan Samaj (Pune) there would’ve been no Bhimsen"
Panditji was also an institution builder & played an important role in the setting up of Lalit Kala Kendra of Pune University.
The university established the Bhimsen Joshi Chair in his honor at its Centre for Performing Arts.
unipune.ac.in/chairs/Bhimsen…
Coming back to his influences:
A lesser known fact about BhimaNNa is that he idolised the legendary Ustad Amir Khan.
Quick aside for some bollywood buffs: There is a comedic sequence in the 2003 film Hungama where Ustadji's name is confused for actor Aamir Khan
Pt. Joshi: He not only idolised Ustad Khan but also patterned his taans after Khan sahib.
But this was a mutual admiration society!
Amir Khan apparently said that only after listening to at least 25 BimaNNa's mehils can one think of becoming a mehfil singer!
📸 via @vktkv
For multiple generations of his fans in Karnataka, Joshiji's rendition of Purandara Dasas - considered as the earliest proponent of Carnatic music - songs are an inseparable part of their musical experience.
The maestro's renditions are truly unique!
Panditiji also had some songs in the films. The most famous is the one where Panditji and Manna De's voice compete in the song Ketaki Gulab from the movie Basant Bahar
Surprisingly, Manna De's voice defeats Bhimsen Joshi
Manna De probably thought this was absurdly hilarious.
According to this @cinestaan article, Manna De refused to sing and also went AWOL.
Later Manna De said “I should sing with Bhimsen Joshi, compete with him, and defeat him too?"
cinestaan.com/articles/2018/…
His version of the song Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma was used in the Kannada film "Nodi Swami Naavu Irodu Heege" (Sire, This is How We Are) directed by Shankar Nag, & starring Shankar Nag, Lakshmi, Anant Nag, Arundhati Nag Master Manjunath, and Ramesh Bhat.
Panditji also had international fans.
Apparently, Pakistani ghazal legends Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali asked for Bhimanna's presence whenever they performed in Pune!
We want to end the thread with Panditji's appearance on @shekharsuman7's 90s TV classic Movers & Shakers.
The master talks about his search for a guru, trip to Kabul, Jawaharlal Nehru among other things!
Sources: 1. cinestaan.com/articles/2018/…
2. angelfire.com/blog2/jayant-d…
3. tribuneindia.com/news/features/…
4. Portions of this thread were contributed by @shenoyn!
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