Chintaman Raghunath Vyas (9 November 1924 – 10 January 2002), popularly known as C. R. Vyas, was an Indian classical singer. He was known for singing

khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian language, Persian/Arabic language, Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with rom ...

style.

Early life

Vyas was born in

Osmanabad Osmanabad, officially known as Dharashiv, is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. The city is the administrative headquarter of Osmanabad district. It is the ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, into a family of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

scholars and

Hari Hari () is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress. The name Ha ...

kirtankar Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

s. He was influenced by the singing of his father and grandfather, episodes from Ramayan and

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. He had his initial music training from Govindrao Bhatambrekar of the

Kirana gharana The Kirana Gharana is a Hindustani music apprenticeship tradition (''gharana'') made popular by Bande Ali Khan in the 19th Century and his cousins Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan. Evolved from the instrumental and vocal Gauharbani dhru ...

for a decade. Then he learnt from Rajarambua Paradkar of

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

. While he was training in the Gwalior style of singing, he was impressed by Jagannathbuwa Purohit who belonged to the

Agra gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician o ...

and started learning from him. He also got guidance from Yeshwantbuva Mirashi. He also benefited from association with other scholars/musicians, namely

S N Ratanjankar Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar (31 December 1899 - 14 February 1974), was a scholar and teacher of Hindustani classical music, from the Agra gharana. Foremost disciple of Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande and Faiyaz Khan of Baroda State, he also remai ...

, Chidanand Nagarkar, S.C.R. Bhat and K. G. Ginde.

Career

C. R. Vyas had an open-throated voice and sang a blend of all the 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 musi ...

s he was trained in, but the influence of the

gayaki is quite prominent. He had been employed at ITC in a white collar job. Music was not a primary vocation. In his own words, "In our time we did not think of earning either fame or money through music". He was a leading artist in

AIR An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and on TV. He has participated in major musical events in India as well as abroad. Among his disciples are Shripad Paradkar (son of his own guru Legendary Gwalior gharana vocalist Pt Rajarambua Paradkar),

Prabhakar Karekar Pandit Prabhakar Karekar (1944 – 12 February 2025) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, born in Goa, Portuguese India. He was awarded Tansen Samman in 2014 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in the year 2016. Background Prabhakar Janard ...

Sriram Parasuram Sriram Parasuram is a cross-genre Hindustani classical vocalist. He also plays the violin. Early life He was born into a family steeped in musical tradition, and he was really inclined to music since childhood. His first guru, and mother was Smt ...

, Mangala Ranade,

Sanjeev Chimmalgi Pandit Sanjeev Chimmalgi (born 29 July 1972) is an Indian music composer and Hindustani vocalist. He is a disciple of C. R. Vyas. His music reflects the voice culture of Kirana gharana as well as the bandish oriented singing of the Gwalior gh ...

Ganapati Bhat Pandit Ganapati Bhat, popularly known as Ganapati Bhat Hasanagi, is an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist. He belongs to Kirana - Gwalior Gharana. He is a resident guru at Dr. Gangubai Hangal Gurukul Trust in Hubli. He was born and brought u ...

and his son Suhas Vyas.

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished hims ...

was his student for almost ten years.

Personal life

He was married to Smt Indira Vyas. They have three sons-Suhas Vyas, a veteran classical vocalist himself, Satish Vyas, prominent Santoor Player and Shashi Vyas, a Chartered Accountant by profession and now the Managing Director of Pancham Nishad, the leading most event management/organising company of Classical Music. He also researched traditional

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

s and

bandish Bandish, cheez or gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhawaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, ...

es and composed more than 200 bandishes in different ragas under the pen-name ''Gunijaan''. As a tribute to his

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Gunidas he started the Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan in 1977. He has written a book ''Raag Sarita'' which sums up his work in the field of music. The updated edition of the book was recently released in 2019 by his son Suhas Vyas.

Awards and recognition

Tansen Rāmtanu ( – 26 April 1589), popularly referred to as Mian Tānsen (), or Sangeet Samrāt (), was a Hindustani classical musician. Born into a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family in Gwalior, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest regio ...

Sanman by Government of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

in 1999 * Master

Dinanath Mangeshkar Deenanath Mangeshkar (; 29 December 1900 – 24 April 1942) was an Indian actor, Natya Sangeet musician and, Hindustani classical vocalist who was active in Marathi theatre. He is the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, ...

Puraskar in 1999 *

Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...

Gaurav Puraskar in 1998 * Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award in 1994 *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

in 1992 *

Gaurav Puraskar in 1990 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1987

Discography

* Etched in Time — Pandit C. R. Vyas (VCD — Released in 2007) * Tapasya — Vol 1 & 2 (2005) This album features Live recordings of

Pandit Jasraj Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the ''Mewati gharana'' (musical apprenticeship lineage). His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame, ...

Bhimsen Joshi Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists in the Hindustani classical tradition from the Indian subcontinent. He is known for the ''kha ...

& Vyas * Sangeet Sartaj - C R Vyas (Vocal) This double volume album will feature the great Hindustani classical vocalist Vyas. The maestro has rendered in this album ragas like Bihag, Bimpalasi and Ahiri Lalit to name a few. * Eternal Rhapsody - C R Vyas Live Recording In

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

References

https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/fan-of-classical-music-raag-sarita-2-0-is-your-chance-to-grab-original-compositions-by-vocalist-pandit-cr-vyas-in-pune-on-feb-9/story-C4HNJmkiCnuZNaeAe602gL.html https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/unwind/the-river-flows-on/articleshow/67872673.cms {{DEFAULTSORT:Vyas, Chintaman Raghunath 1924 births 2002 deaths Hindustani singers Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Osmanabad People from Marathwada 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Maharashtra