Anjanibai Malpekar (22 April 1883 – 7 August 1974) was an Indian classical singer, belonging to the Bhendibazaar gharana of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

. In 1958, she became the first woman to be awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. Acclaimed for her beauty in her youth, Malpekar was the muse of painters

Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma () (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. His works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European academic art with a purely Indian sensibility and iconography. Especially, he was notable f ...

and M. V. Dhurandhar.

Early life

Anjanibai Malpekar was born on 22 April 1883, in Malpe, Pernem in

Portuguese Goa The State of India, also known as the Portuguese State of India or Portuguese India, was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded seven years after the discovery of the sea route to the Indian subcontinent by Vasco da Gama, a subject of the ...

, in music loving family that belonged to

Goan Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

Kalavant community. Both her grandmother Gujabai and mother Nabubai were respected names in music circles. At a young age of 8, she started her musical training under the tutelage of

Ustad Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ''ustād'') is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, incl ...

Nazeer Khan of Bhendibazaar gharana. The

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 musi ...

had its origins in the much older Moradabad gharana, and was based in the Bhendi Bazaar area of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Career

Malpekar gave her debut performance at a concert in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, in 1899, at the age of 16. In those days, women of "respectable families" never sang in public, while Malepakar went on to have a flourishing singing career, with both public and royal patronage. In time, she became the doyenne of the

. Besides her singing, she also got acclaim for her beauty. When painter M. V. Dhurandhar did an oil painting of her, another painter

was inspired, and went to do a series of paintings with her as muse, including "Lady in the Moonlight", "Lady Playing Swarbat", "Mohini" and "The Heartbroken", She modelled for him during his stay in Bombay in 1901 and 1903. However this wasn't without its drawback, especially when singing in public concerts meant singing primarily to a male audience, this often led to harassment. Thus in 1904, she even developed fear of singing in public, and lost her voice, though she regained it after a year.

Marriage and later years

Meanwhile, she married Seth Wasanji Ved. After a successful career as a singer, after the death of her Guru Ustad Nazeer Khan in 1920, she lost interest in concerts. Finally, after a last performance at Town Hall, Mumbai, she gave up her public singing career in 1923. Thus at age 40, she decided to devote the rest of her years, to teaching music. In the coming decades, she taught some notable names in Indian classical music, including Kumar Gandharva who was her first disciple,

Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was an Hindustani classical music, Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, Jaipur Gharana, or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She is cons ...

, Pandit T.D. Janorikar (1921–2006), Begum Akhtar and Naina Devi. By the 1960s, Bhendibazar gharana based in Mumbai, became famous all over India, with number of popular musicians, besides Aman Ali Khan, it had Jhande Khan, Mamman Khan, Shabbir and Amir Khan.

Honours

In 1958, when for her contribution to music, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest honour conferred by

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, she became the first woman to receive the award.

Death

She died on 7 August 1974 in

(now Mumbai), at the age of 91.

Gallery

File:Raja Ravi Varma, In Contemplation.jpg, ''The Heartbroken'' by Raja Ravi Varma File:Ravi Varma-Lady playing the swarbat.jpg, ''Lady Playing Swarbat'' by Raja Ravi Varma File:Ladies in the moonlight by RRV.jpg, ''Ladies in the Moon Light'' by Raja Ravi Varma

References

External links

Anjanibai Malpekar Biography and Audio
Vijaya Parrikar Library of Indian Classical Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Malpekar, Anjanibai 1883 births 1974 deaths Hindustani singers Indian women classical singers Musicians from North Goa district Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Singers from Mumbai Indian music educators 20th-century Indian singers 19th-century Indian singers Women educators from Goa 20th-century Indian educators Singers from Goa Women Hindustani musicians 20th-century Indian women singers 19th-century Indian women singers Educators from Goa Women musicians from Goa Indian women music educators 20th-century Indian women educators Singers from British India