Saraswati Rane (October 4, 1913 - October 10, 2006) was an Indian classical singer in the

Hindustani Classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

genre. She was a daughter of

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian language, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Kirana Gharana Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara). Singing style The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tuning ...

. Her family had a long and great music tradition. She got her initial training of vocal music of the Kirana Gharana style from her elder brother

Sureshbabu Mane Sureshbabu Mane (1902– 15 February 1953) was a prominent Hindustani classical music singer of Kirānā Gharānā in India. He was the son of a doyen of Kirana Gharana, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Early life and training Sureshbabu was born as A ...

and elder sister

Hirabai Barodekar Hirābai Barodekar (1905 – 1989) was an Indian Hindustāni classical music singer, of Kirana gharana. She was disciple of Ustād Abdul Wahid Khān. Early life and background Hirabai was born as Champākali to Kirānā Gharānā master Us ...

, who themselves were the doyen of Indian classical music of their times. Later she also sang along with elder sister, Hirabai Bododekar, especially in ''

jugalbandi A jugalbandi or jugalbandhi is a performance in Indian classical music, especially in Hindustani classical music but also in Carnatic, that features a duet of two solo musicians. The word jugalbandi means, literally, "entwined twins." The duet ca ...

'' style.

Early life and training

Born on October 4, 1913 to

, and Tarabai Mane, as Sakina, she grew up in a musical household. After separating from her husband, Tarabai, her mother, renamed all her five children; hence Sakina became Kumari Saraswati Mane. She was initiated into music by her brother

, later after 1930, she also started learning from her sister

. To enhance her musical knowledge she also got ''taleem'' (training) from ustads of different

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

s like the nephew of

Alladiya Khan Alladiya Khan (10 August 1855 – 16 March 1946) was an Indian Hindustani classical singer who founded the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, also referred as just Jaipur Gharana. He is recognized for his revival, reinterpretation, and creations of many ra ...

, Ustad Natthan Khan of Jaipur gharana, Prof.

B. R. Deodhar Professor B. R. Deodhar (11 September 1901 – 10 March 1990) was an Indian classical singer, musicologist and music educator. He was a vocalist of Khayal-genre of Hindustani classical music. He was awarded the 1964 Sangeet Natak Akademi Fell ...

and Pandit Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar of

Gwalior gharana The Gwalior Gharana (Gwalior school of classical music) is one of the oldest Khyal Gharana in Indian classical music. The rise of the Gwalior Gharana started with the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605). The favourite singers of t ...

Career

Saraswatibai started her musical career at a very early age of seven years with stage acting in musical dramas like ''Sangeet Saubhadra'', ''Sangeet Sanshaykallol'', ''Sangeet Ekach Pyala'' etc. Right from a young age, i.e., since 1929, she started acting in major roles with great noted artists like Balgandharva and other in shows all over India. In 1933, she started performing on Akashwani. She continued performing on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

as a top grade artist until 1990, when she declared her retirement from public performances. She is amongst the few classical vocalists to have participated in many Radio Sangeet Sabhas from Kanyakumari to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

(now in Pakistan) from the early 1940s to mid 1980s. She was amongst the first female artists to give

playback Playback or Play Back may refer to: Film * ''Playback'' (1962 film), a British film in the ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' series * ''Playback'', a 1996 film starring Shannon Whirry * ''Playback'' (2012 film), an American horror film by Michael A. N ...

for Hindi and Marathi films. Her first playback was in Marathi film ''Payachi Dasi'', directed by

Acharya Atre Prahlad Keshav Atre () (13 August 1898 – 13 June 1969), popularly known as Āchārya Atre, was a prominent Marathi language, Marathi writer, poet, educationist, founder–editor of ''Maratha'' (a Marathi language newspaper), and above all, a n ...

. She remained in the field till 1954. Her song from the Hindi film ''Ramrajya''..`Bina Madhur Madhur Kachu Bol’ reached the peak of popularity all over India, and she was awarded by HMV for the highest sale of gramophone records in those times. She also gave playback for

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

, '' Sargam'' (1950), and ''

Bhumika Bhūmikā (Sanskrit: भूमिका) is derived from the word, ''Bhūmi'', meaning ''earth'', ''soil'', ''ground'' or ''character''. Hinduism The Upanishads speak about the seven ''bhūmikās'' or ''jñānabhūmis'' (fields of knowledge) or ...

'' (1977), directed by noted director

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

. She had an opportunity to sing under the music direction of great music directors like

C. Ramchandra Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer.K. C. Day, and

Sudhir Phadke Sudhir Phadke (, 25 July 1919 – 29 July 2002) was an Indian singer-composer. He was regarded as an icon of the Marathi film industry and Marathi ''Sugam Sangeet'' (light music) for five decades. Apart from Marathi, Phadke sang and composed son ...

. Saraswatibai was invited to participate on the eve of first independence Day at Delhi. She was also invited to participate in a grand celebration at

Shivneri Shivneri Fort (Marathi pronunciation: �iʋneɾiː is a 17th-century military fortification located near Junnar in Pune district in Maharashtra, India. It is the birthplace of Shivaji, the emperor and founder of Maratha Empire. History Shivneri ...

on the first Maharashtra Din by the then chief minister Late

Yashwantrao Chavan Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan (Marathi pronunciation: əʃʋənt̪ɾaːʋ t͡səʋʱaːɳ 12 March 1913 – 25 November 1984) was an Indian politician. He served as the last Chief Minister of Bombay State and the first of Maharashtra after l ...

. In the same period she became a very popular singer of Marathi light classical songs, popularly known as ''Bhav-geet'', and her records got overwhelming response from all over Maharashtra. She was among the few top artists of India who was invited in prestigious music conferences held in places like Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Baroda, Bhopal, Gwalior etc. She often performed at the

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Sawai Gandharva Music Festival The Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (formerly known as the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav and simply known as Sawai) is an annual Indian Classical music festival held in Pune since 1953. The festival is hosted by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Ma ...

. Saraswatibai and her elder sister, Hirabai Barodekar were the first to start the concept of

vocal recital by ladies. Their jugalbandi recital was appreciated all over the world and got an overwhelming response from 1965 to 1980. Their jugalbandi (long playing) records and now cassettes are still in demand. Though Saraswatibai was busy in her own professional career, whenever she found free time, she carried on the work of teaching classical music to talented students some of whom are well-known artists in this field. Her grand daughter Meena Faterpekar is one of the very few female classical vocalists from Kirana Gharana pursuing the same tradition.

Personal life

She was married to Sunderrao Rane. She died on 10 October 2006.

Awards and recognition

Sarswatibai was awarded: 1. Balgandharva Purskar (

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

, 1966) 2. Balgandharva Gold Medal 3. ITC Sangeet Research Academy Award 4. Yeshwantrao Chavan Puraskar 5. Guru Mahatmya Puraskar (Maharashtra) 6. Ustad Faiyaz Ahmed Khan Memorial Trust (Kirana Gharana Award 1999)

References

External links

Saraswati Rane, Discography and Biography
at ''

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

'' * *also see

Prabha Atre Prabha Atre (born 13 September 1932) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. She has been awarded all three of the Padma Awards by the Government of India. Early life and education Atre was born to Abasaheb and Indirabai Atre ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rane, Saraswati 1913 births 2006 deaths Indian women classical singers Hindustani singers People from Sangli district Marathi playback singers Kirana gharana Indian women playback singers 20th-century Indian singers Women Hindustani musicians Singers from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Maharashtra 20th-century Khyal singers