|| श्रीकृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् || Hi People...A Tribute to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi…ಪಂಡಿತ್ ಭೀಮಸೇನ ಜೋಷಿ A Madhwa Brahmin…One of the most prominent and legendary Hindustani vocalist February 4, 1922 - 24 January 2011 Bhimsen Joshi was known for his powerful voice, amazing breath control, fine musical sensibility… Kirana gharana maestro Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi was born on February 4, 1922 in Gadag, Karnataka. Father – Gururaj Joshi, Mother – Godavaribai, A home maker. Bhimsenji was the eldest among 16 siblings. He lost his mother at a young age and was raised by his step mother. His father was a teacher whose contributions include a Kannada-English dictionary which is a standard reference work. He also authored Naadaputra a short biography of Bhimsen a rare example of a father writing about his son. Panditji was a good student, but he loved music. It ultimately prompted him to run away from home when he was 11 and his quest for a good teacher took him to Bijapur, Gwalior, Kolkata, Delhi and Jalandhar before he came back home to become a disciple of Sawai Gandharva, the disciple of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan whom Panditji admired. Bhimsenji began to live at his gurus house and was taught nothing for the first 18 months, primarily because his students voice was breaking and to test his sincerity. Bhimsen stayed with his teacher till 1940 and learnt raga Todi, Multani and Pooriya. Panditji has sung on occasions of national importance. He, along with Lata Mangeshkar, performed at Parliament house on the 50th anniversary of Indias independence. Awards for the legend - the nations highest civilian award Bharat Ratna was conferred, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan. The Maharashtra government honoured him with the Maharashtra Bhushan. He also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Tansen Sanman award. ***** The Karnataka Rathna presented to him in September 2005. His voice opened the short film on national integration Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and the second film on Des raga also became equally popular. The video was created for the purpose of national integration in India, and highlights the diversity of Indian culture. Bhimsen Joshi was also a part of Jana Gana Mana produced by A. R. Rahman on the occasion of 50th year of Indian Republic. In devotional music, Joshi was most acclaimed for his Hindi, Kannada and Marathi Bhajan singing. He has recorded bhakti songs in Marathi, Santavani and Kannada, Dasavani. Joshiji sang for several films. ***** Where latter fetched him National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. His song Bhagyadalakshmi baaramma, a Purandara Dasara composition, was used by Anant Nag and Shankar Nag in the Kannada film Nodi Swami Naavu Irodhu Heege. Madhav Gudi,Narayan Deshpande, Shrikant Deshpande, and others are some of his more well-known disciples. ***** Note – Bhimsenji 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. In 1951, he married Vatsala Mudholkar, his co-actor in the Kannada play Bhagya-Shree. He did not divorce or separate from Sunanda. With Vatsala, he had three children; Jayant, Shubhada, and Shrinivas. 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 rented house in Limayewadi in Sadashiv Peth, Pune, where Bhimsenji continued to visit them. Bhimsenji had a passion for cars. He was a swimmer, an enthusiast of yoga and a football player. Musicians all over the world grieved at the great loss of the world of music. Thank You… II Sarveh Janah Sukhinoh Bhavantuh II
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:35:18 +0000