In the book The Great Masters: Sawai Gandharva, Mohan Nadkarni recalls how the maestro’s performances were “masterpieces in sculptured music”. “Those of us old-timers who were fortunate enough to listen to Sawai Gandharva feel deeply saddened by the way the present generation of music lovers are, by and large, content to remember him. At best, they refer to him as the guru of present-day stalwarts like Gangubai Hangal, Bhimsen Joshi and Firoz Dastur and not as one of the most celebrated Hindustani vocalists of his time. Fewer still may be aware that he was also one of the early pioneers who popularised Hindustani music in the Kannada-speaking region,” writes Nadkarni.
The first notes
Sawai Gandharva was born in Kundgol village near Dharwad in 1886. His original name was Ramachandra Kundgolkar Samsi (‘Sawai Gandharva’ was a title he earned for his genius on the Marathi stage). Nobody in his family practised music but the child displayed a wonderful voice and a passion for music. His initial training in singing was from a local kirtankar.
Dharwad was a pitstop for many Hindustani musicians en route to Mysore, where Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV was a patron of Hindustani and Carnatic music. Musicians passing through Dharwad would be invited by local music lovers to perform at informal baithaks. It was at one such event that the teenage Samsi first heard Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, a singer blessed with a sweet, meditative quality. He became the first disciple of the Ustad.
“Teachers used to make disciples practise a single note for days so that the voice box was trained fully. Sawai Gandharva also had a mellifluous voice so there was magic in his music,” says Sheela Deshpande, the wife of the late Shrikant Deshpande, the grandson of Sawai Gandharva and a Kirana gharana vocalist. She adds that it was hard work and constant riyaz (practice) that turned the young boy, whose voice had cracked during his shagirdi (discipleship) with Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, into a stalwart.
Deshpande talks about a time when during the Ganesh festival, there used to be sangeet jalsas or gatherings in Mumbai, in Laxmibaug, Chunam Lane and Deshmukh Lane, among others. Greats like Sawai Gandharva, Faiyaz Khan, Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze, Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar and Hirābai Barodekar used to participate. “The audience moved from one place to the other to soak in their music,” she says.
Nadkarni captures the effect that Sawai Gandharva had on listeners by describing a night-long concert in 1942 that was a tribute to the late Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. “Time had, as it were, stood still till his performance came to a close in the early hours of the morning,” writes Nadkarni.
Greatness in simplicity
“He was a very quiet person and he had a routine of his own. His greatness was in his simplicity,” says Deshpande. In Bombay, Sawai Gandharva used to walk a couple of kilometres to teach Pt Firoz Dastur, who lived on Grant Road. “Once, it began to rain but Sawai Gandharva waded through the water to reach his pupil,” says Deshpande. “While he was teaching, Pt Dastur’s mother picked up his slippers and put them on a tawa to dry so that they were warm when he slipped into them,” she adds.
The flood waters of Panshet Dam have washed away all the photographs that she had of the maestro, but Deshpande has preserved a few diaries. The diaries are in Marathi, with Sawai Gandharva writing a few lines of a bandish (composition), mentioning payments or a meeting with somebody. “It is inspiring just to see the words, written in his hand, in the diary,” she says.
Sawai Gandharva spent his final years in Pune, with his daughter Pramila and son-in-law Dr Nanasaheb Deshpande. A paralytic stroke cut short his career as a concert musician. “What heightened the tragedy was that destiny ordained the maestro to outlive his art by almost a decade,” writes Nadkarni.
A festive tribute
Now in its 69th year, the Sawai Gandharva festival is one of the most prestigious in the country. Dedicated purely to classical music, with tanpuras and no Western instruments, it has become a part of Pune’s living tradition. The festival was started by Dr Nanasaheb Deshpande and Pt Bhimsen Joshi and carried forward by their sons Shrikant Deshpande and Shrinivas Joshi, respectively. After the former passed away, Sheela Deshpande is actively associated with the festival.
“This year, we will pay a tribute to Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Ram Marathe and Pandit C R Vyas on their birth centenary year through a series of performances,” says Shrinivas Joshi, executive president of the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, the festival organisers. The festival will be held from December 13 to 17 this year.
Music lovers, for whom the festival is a pilgrimage, can soak in the music of Kalapini Komkali, the daughter and disciple of Pt Kumar Gandharva, Pt Ajay Pohankar and Begum Parveen Sultana, among others. The finale will be a performance by Dr Prabha Atre.
“To the younger generation who are unfamiliar with Indian classical music, I say, be a lay person and then listen. You will see that life will become more easy and calm. This is the calm that Indian music gives,” says Deshpande.
