Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' khayal'' form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music ('' bhajans'' and '' abhangs''). Joshi belongs to the

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 tunin ...

tradition of

Hindustani Classical Music 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, si ...

. He is noted for his concerts, and between 1964 to 1982 Joshi toured

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and USA. He was the first musician from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

whose concerts were advertised through posters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Joshi was instrumental in organising the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival annually, as homage to his guru, Sawai Gandharva. In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. Subsequently, he received the

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...

's highest civilian honour, in 2009.

Early life

Bhimsen Joshi was born on 4 February 1922 in a

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family to Gururajrao Joshi and Godavaribai at

Gadag Gadag-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined cit ...

Dharwad district Dharwad is an administrative district of the state of Karnataka in southern India.The administrative headquarters of the district is the city of Dharwad, also known as Dharwar. Dharwad is located 425 km northwest of Bangalore and 421&nbs ...

that was then in the Bombay Presidency of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen was the eldest among 16 siblings. He lost his mother at a young age. As a child, Joshi was fascinated with music and musical instruments like the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

and

tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...

and would often follow processions accompanied by music bands. This exercise often tired him and he would curl up somewhere and sleep, forcing his parents to go to the police after efforts to trace him failed. Fed up, his father Gururajacharya Joshi came up with the solution, writing "son of teacher Joshi" on Joshi's shirts. This worked and those who found the boy sleeping would safely deposit him back to his house.

Musical training

His first music teacher was Channappa of Kurtakoti, who had trained with the veteran singer Inayat Khan. After learning Ragas Bhairav and

Bhimpalasi Bhimpalasi or Bheempalasi (also known as Bhimpalas or Bheempalas) is a Hindustani classical raga. Raga Bhimpalasi belongs to the Kafi Thaat. Theory * Aarohana: * Avaroha: The raag has komal Ni and Ga. It is an Audava-Sampoorna jati raga, imp ...

, the one and only unique vigorous style of rendering he developed along with advanced trainings by other teachers is attributed to the basic training he received from Channappa. Joshi next went to Pandit Shyamacharya Joshi, who hailed from Bagalkot and was a priest and classical singer. Pandit Shyamacharya taught him to sing as well as play the harmonium. Shamacharya Joshi was a descendant of Great

Haridasa The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...

Shree Mahipati Dasaru. As revealed by Shyamacharya Joshi himself when he was alive, it was a turning point in Joshi's life that Shyamacharya Joshi went to Bombay for recording his songs by HMV where Joshi also accompanied him and due to ill health Shyamacharya Joshi returned to Bagalkot after recording few songs and asked Joshi to render the rest of the songs which Joshi did and this proved to be a major breakthrough for Joshi in the initial stage of his career.

Searching for a guru

Joshi heard a recording of Abdul Karim Khan's

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

"Piya Bin Nahi Aavat Chain" in Raga

Jhinjhoti Jhinjhoti is a Hindustani classical raga from the Khamaj Thaat. This is a light and playful raga. Theory Aarohana Avaroha Pakad / Chalan Vadi Ga Samavadi Ni Raga description This is a light and playful Raga, apt for instrume ...

when he was a child, which inspired him to become a musician. During this time, he also heard Pandit Sawai Gandharva at a performance in Kundgol. In 1933, the 11-year-old Joshi left

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

for Bijapur to find a master and learn music. With the help of money lent by his co-passengers in the train, Joshi reached

first and later went to

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( 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 As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. Later he moved to

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

and got into Madhava Music School, a school run by Maharajas of Gwalior, with the help of famous ''

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

'' player Hafiz Ali Khan. He traveled for three years around North India, including in Delhi,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

and Rampur, trying to find a good guru. He met Ustad Mushtaq Husain Khan of Rampur Gharana and stayed for more than one year. Eventually, his father succeeded in tracking him down in

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

and brought young Joshi back home.

Sawai Gandharva

In 1936, Sawai Gandharva, a native of

, agreed to be his guru. Joshi stayed at his house in the ''guru-shishya'' (teacher-student) tradition. Joshi continued his training with Sawai Gandharva.

Career

Joshi first performed live in 1941 at the age of 19. His debut album, containing a few devotional songs in Marathi and

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, was released by HMV the next year in 1942. Later Joshi moved to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

in 1943 and worked as a radio artist. His performance at a concert in 1946 to celebrate his guru Sawai Gandharva's 60th birthday won him accolades both from the audience and his guru. In 1984, he received his 1st Platinum Disc, being the first Hindustani Vocalist to receive the award.

Hindustani classical music

According to Joshi himself, the biggest influence on his singing is of Ustad Amir Khan's. Joshi's performances have been acknowledged by music critics such as S. N. Chandrashekhar of the

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Print ...

to be marked by spontaneity, accurate notes, dizzyingly-paced ''

taan ''Taan'' (Hindi: , ur, ) is a technique used in the vocal performance of a raga in Hindustani classical music. It involves the improvisation of very rapid melodic passages using vowels, often the long "a" as in the word "far", and it targets a ...

s'' which make use of his exceptional voice training, and a mastery over rhythm. In his especially mid singing career (i.e. the 60s & 70s) Joshi's most iconic and noticeable trait was his use of swift and long aakar taans, exemplifying tremendous and almost unrivalled breath-control, although he rarely used sargam taans. The Hindu, in an article written after he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, said: ''Bhimsen Joshi was ever the wanderer, engendering brilliant phrases and tans more intuitively than through deliberation''. Joshi occasionally employed the use of sargam and tihai, and often sang traditional compositions of the . His music often injected surprising and sudden turns of phrase, for example through the unexpected use of boltaans. Over the years, his repertoire tended to favour a relatively small number of complex and serious ragas; however, he remained one of the most prolific exponents of Hindustani classical music. Some of Joshi's more popular ragas include Shuddha Kalyan, Miyan Ki Todi, Puriya Dhanashri, Multani,

Darbari Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-c ...

, Malkauns, Abhogi, Lalit, Yaman, Asavari Todi, Miyan ki malhar and

Ramkali Raga Ramkali is an early morning raga in Hindustani classical music which belongs to Bhairav Thaat. In this raga, as in Bhairav, Rishabh and Dhaivat are Komal( flat), but the Teevra and the flat nishad are added. The vadi-samvadi are Pancham a ...

. He was a purist who has not dabbled in experimental forms of music, except for a series of Jugalbandi recordings with the Carnatic singer M. Balamuralikrishna. Joshi's singing has been influenced by many musicians, including Smt. Kesarbai Kerkar,

Begum Akhtar Akhtari Bai Faizabadi (7 October 1914 – 30 October 1974), also known as Begum Akhtar, was an Indian singer and actress. Dubbed "Mallika-e-Ghazal" (Queen of Ghazals), she is regarded as one of the greatest singers of ghazal, dadra, and thu ...

and as aforementioned,

Ustad Amir Khan Ustad Amir Khan (; 15 August 1912 – 13 February 1974) was one of the greatest and most influential Indian vocalists in the Hindustani classical tradition. He was the founder of the Indore gharana. Early life and background Amir Khan was born ...

. Joshi assimilated into his own singing various elements that he liked in different musical styles and

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. He along with Smt. Gangubai Hangal along with others took

to heights and are proudly referred as worthy son and daughter of kirana gharana. Both were from Old Dharwad district.

Devotional music

In devotional music, Joshi was most acclaimed for his

and Marathi and Kannada Bhajan singing. He has recorded bhakti songs in Marathi,''Santavani'', Kannada ''Dasavani''.

Patriotic music

Joshi was widely recognised in India due to his performance in the

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara "Ek Sur" () or "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" () as it is better known, is an Indian song and accompanying video promoting national integration and unity in diversity. The concept for ''Mile Sur'' was developed in 1988 by Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad a ...

music video (1988), which begins with him and which was composed originally by him when he was asked to do so by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The video was created for the purpose of national integration in India, and highlights the diversity of Indian culture. Joshi was also a part of

Jana Gana Mana "" (Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata' ...

produced by A. R. Rahman on the occasion of the 50th year of Indian Republic.

Playback singing

Joshi sang for several films, including '' Basant Bahar'' (1956) with

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhe ...

, in Marathi movie "Swayamvar zale Siteche" (1964) for famous song "Ramya Hi Swargahun lanka", in Kannada movie Sandhya Raga (1966) where he has sung extensively. It includes a song "e pariya sobagu" rendered in both Hindustani and Carnatic () styles along with M. Balamuralikrishna. He sang ''Birbal My Brother'' (1973) with Pandit Jasraj. He also sang for the Bengali film Tansen (1958) and Bollywood Movie ''Ankahee'' (1985) which later fetched him

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award (Silver Lotus Award) for Best Male Playback singer. The award was first granted to Mahendra Kapoor in the year 1967. The singers whose performances have won awards have worked in nine ...

. His song 'Bhagyadalakshmi baaramma', a

Purandara Dasa Purandara Dasa ( IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-pr ...

composition, was used by

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

and

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

in the Kannada film ''Nodi Swami Naavu Irodhu Heege''. He also sang as a playback singer for the Marathi film Gulacha Ganapati, produced and directed by P. L. Deshpande

Sawai Gandharva Music Festival

Joshi and his friend Nanasaheb Deshpande organised the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival as a homage to his guru, Sawai Gandharva, along with the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal in 1953, marking Gandharva's first death anniversary. The festival has been held ever since, typically on the second weekend of December in

, Maharashtra also in kundagol Dharwad district and has become not only a cultural event for the city, but an annual pilgrimage for

Hindustani Classical music 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, si ...

lovers all over the world. Joshi conducted the festival annually since 1953, until his retirement in 2002.

Legacy

A classicist by training and temperament, Joshi was renowned for having evolved an approach that sought to achieve a balance between what may be termed as "traditional values and mass-culture tastes" and as such he went on to have supposedly the largest commercially recorded repertoire in Hindustani vocal music. Pt. Joshi's iconic status in the music world has earned him a whole generation of who by merely listening to him have picked up his style and not through any formal tutelage. His greatest endeavour in perpetuating his legacy could be the Sawai Gandharva Festival held at Pune annually since the year 1953 which seeks to promote a certain music culture. Madhav Gudi, Prof Baldev Singh Bali, Narayan Deshpande, Shrikant Deshpande, Shrinivas Joshi, Anand Bhate and others are some of his more well-known disciples. In September 2014, a postage stamp featuring Joshi was released by

India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...

commemorating his contributions to Hindustani music.

Personal life

Joshi 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. Bigamous marriages among Hindus were prohibited by law in the Bombay Presidency; so he took up residency in Nagpur (capital of Central Province and Berar in 1951) where bigamy was allowed and married there for the second time. He did not divorce or separate from Sunanda. With Vatsala, he had three children; Jayant, Shubhada, and Shrinivas Joshi. 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 house in Limayewadi in Sadashiv Peth, Pune, where Joshi continued to visit them. Joshi struggled with alcoholism, which he overcame by the late 1970s. Outside of music, Joshi was passionate about cars and had a deep knowledge of auto mechanics.

Death

Joshi was admitted to Sahyadri Super Speciality Hospital on 31 December 2010 with

gastrointestinal bleeding Gastrointestinal bleeding (GI bleed), also called gastrointestinal hemorrhage (GIB), is all forms of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the rectum. When there is significant blood loss over a short time, symptoms may include ...

and

bilateral pneumonia Pneumonia can be classified in several ways, most commonly by where it was acquired (hospital versus community), but may also by the area of lung affected or by the causative organism. There is also a combined clinical classification, which combi ...

. Due to difficulty in breathing, he was put on ventilator support. He suffered convulsions and was put on dialysis too during his stay in hospital. Though he recovered briefly for three days when he was taken off the ventilator, his condition deteriorated thereafter. He died on 24 January 2011 . He was cremated at Vaikunth Crematorium in

with full state honours.

Discography

Awards and recognitions

* 1972 –

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

* 1976 – Sangeet Natak Akademi Award * 1985 –

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

* 1985 –

* 1986 – "First platinum disc" * 1999 –

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

* 2000 – "Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar" * 2002 – Maharashtra Bhushan * 2003 – "Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram" by

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

* 2005 – Karnataka Ratna * 2008 –

* 2008 – "Swami Haridas Award" * 2009 – "Lifetime achievement award" by Delhi governmentBhimsen happy about Delhi govt award
/ref> * 2010 – "S V Narayanaswamy Rao National Award" by Rama Seva Mandali,

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

* 2017 – Bharatratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Hospital By Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation, Bhayander West

References

External links

Bhimsen Joshi
at

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