Ramanlal C. Mehta (31 October 1918 – 18 October 2014) was an Indian musician and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. In 2009, he was awarded the

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 ...

, India's third-highest civilian honour.

Life

Ramanlal was a Gujarati who was born on 31 October 1918 in

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. He retired in 1978, from the MS University of Baroda, after serving as Principal of the College of Indian Music, Dance & Dramatics / Faculty of Performing Arts for several years. He died after a fall in 2014 at the age of 95.

Musical career

He was trained in Hindustani classical vocal music by Kanchalal Manawala and later followed the Kirana style of Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan. He was with

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

for 9 years (1945–1953) prior to his taking up principal-ship of the Baroda Music College. A vocalist of the Kirana Gharana Style, he developed his own style in

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 ...

and Thumri and gave several vocal concerts 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 music circles, at music conferences and over

. He composed and produced more than fifty musical dramas and features over A.I.R.,

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 ...

, Ahmedabad and Baroda (1945–1953).

Academic

Mehta worked in music education in India for over 45 years, serving as an expert member at national and state institutions and universities. He founded the Indian Musicological Society in 1970 and later served the society as honorary General Secretary. He served as editor of the ''Journal of the Indian Musicological Society'', since its 1970 inception, retiring in 2005. He also served as an expert member on the Central Music Audition Board (MAB) of

. On his suggestion, the first-ever conference on distance education in Indian Classical Music was organised by Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet Academy. He also published a collection of papers presented as ''Distance Education in Music''.

Author and critic

He wrote and published on various aspects of music. His publications include : *(1) Agra-Parampara, Gayaki Aur Chizen (Hindi) Pub. By the M.S. University, *(2) Sangeet Charcha 1963 (Guj.) (Music Criticism) *(3) Guajarati Geya Kavita (Guj.) 1954 (Song Form in Gujarati Literature) Mehta also published several research papers in scholarly journals.

Awards and honours

Prof. Mehta is the recipient of many awards, which include : *An honorary degree of Doctor of Music by the Akhil Bharatiya Ghandarva Mahavidyalaya Mandal (1967) *State Award for Music by the Govt. of Gujarat (1978) *Emeritus Fellowship of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Govt. of India (1983) *Sarangadeva Fellowship – by Sursingar Samsad, (1988) *''SRA – ITC'' award for Distinguished and lifelong services to the cause of Hindustani Music (1990) * “Shrestha Sangeeracharya” Award by Pt. Bhatkhande Institute of Music and Musicology, Raipur (M.P.)( 1993 ) *Swar Sadhna Ratna award by Swar Sadhana Samiti - Bombay (1995 ) *Kaka Hathrasi Sangeet Sanmaan by Kaka Hathrasi Puraskar Trust – Hathras (U.P.) (2001) *Centenary Celebration honour for Life Time Contribution to Music by Bangalore Gayana Samaja –

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

(2005) * Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2008) *

(2009) *Pt. Omkar Nath Thakur Award (2010) by the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

. *Sangeetvikas Award (2011) instituted by ''Samakalika Sangeetham'', a Journal dedicated for Indian Classical Music, for the book, ''Indian Classical Music & Gharana Tradition'' (Read Worthy Publications (P) Ltd, New Delhi) * An honorary degree of Doctor of Literature awarded by Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh. (2014)

References

*The latest biographical note on R. C. Mehta written by Dr. Bhalchandra Panchakshari, Retired Reader, Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh was published in Hindi periodical “Sangeet Kala Vihar”, July 2006 issue, pages 13, 14, 15 & 16.

External links

Works by R.C. Mehta
- Edited by R.C. Mehta {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, R C 1918 births 2014 deaths Hindustani singers Indian musicologists Indian music educators Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship People from Vadodara People from Surat Academic staff of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda 20th-century Indian musicians Gujarati people Musicians from Gujarat