Pandit Vinayak Malharrao Torvi, (born 4 September 1948) is an

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindusta ...

vocalist. He belongs to the

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 ...

and Kirana gharanas (singing styles).

Early life and training

Pandit Vinayak Torvi was born on 4 September 1948 in Ranebennur, in Karnataka. His father Malharrao Torvi was a

Harikatha ''Harikatha'' (Kannada: ಹರಿಕಥೆ : ''Harikathe''; Telugu: హరికథ : ''Harikatha;'' Marathi: हरीपाठ '': Haripatha'', ), also known as ''Harikatha Kaalakshepam'' in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam(), is a form of Hindu ...

(musical discourse) exponent. He developed a passion for music, while listening to and accompanying his father during discourses. He started formal musical education at the age of 9 under Tammanna Gurav and then under Narayanacharya Dandapur. Pandit ji received training in

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the 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'' literally means classica ...

vocal music for 15 years in

Gurukul A () is a traditional system of religious education in India with ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru in the same house for a period of time where they learn and get educated by their guruji. Etymology The word is a comb ...

(a traditional system of learning employed in various disciplines throughout India), first from Gururao Deshpande, and later from

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 ...

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 ...

. Pandit ji received further reinforcement from musical greats such as

Gangubai Hangal Gangubai Hangal (05 March 1913 – 21 July 2009) was an Indian singer of the '' khayal'' genre of Hindustani classical music from Karnataka, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana. She was a ...

Mallikarjun Mansur Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur, (31 December 1910 12 September 1992) was a Hindustani classical singer from Karnataka. He sang in the khyal genre and belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Early life and background Mallikarjun was ...

and Basavraj Rajguru during his PG studies in music at Karnataka University, Dharwad.

Career

Pandit ji's career started in 1960, as he started performing in music concerts and winning various state and national level music competitions. In the early 1970s he earned a bachelor's degree in music from Karnataka University Dharwad. In 1976, Pandit ji became A graded artiste of

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 ...

. At around the same time, in the late 70s, he earned his Masters in classical music from Karnataka University. Pandit Vinayak Torvi worked for Canara Bank. In 1980 Pandit ji performed in his first major national level concert, a music conference organised by ITC at Hubli. He later served on the board of Karnataka state Sangeet Nritya Academy for two consecutive terms. In 1983 Pandit ji established Gururao Deshpande Sangeet Sabha in

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 ...

, which was inaugurated by the musician

. In 1991-92, Pandit ji toured England, Scotland, and France for concert and lecture cum demonstrations. This tour was sponsored by the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 April ...

(ICCR). Since 1985, Pandit Vinayak Torvi has performed at several music conferences., Tansen Festival, ITC SRA Kolkata among others. He was named artist of the month, by ITC SRA. Since 1991, Torvi has toured abroad, for concerts and lectures, demonstrations in various countries such as USA, England, Australia, Gulf countries etc. His music has been greatly appreciated by people worldwide.

Awards and recognition

*Surmani from SurSingar Sansad, Mumbai - 1982-83 *Rajyostav Award, Government of Karnataka - 1990 *Chowdiah Memorial Award, Bangalore - 02.11.1996 *Shruthi Sagara, Vasundhara Performing Arts Center, Mysore - 20.12.2004 *Swara Sadhana award from Ratna Swara Sadhana Samithi, Mumbai - 05.03.2005 *Kirana Gharana Award from Music Forum, Mumbai - 05.01.2006 *Sangeetya Puravankara Puraskar from Sangeet Asthan, Bangalore - 18.11.2006 *Nadashree Award from Hindustani Kalakar Mandali, Bangalore - 15.11.2008 *Chandrahasa Award from Sangeet Seva Samithi, Sorab - 07.02.2009 *Aryabhatta Prashasti, Aryabhatta Cultural Organization, Bangalore - 02.04.2011 *Karnataka Kala Tilaka, Sangeet Nritya Academy, Karnataka State *Celebrity Artiste of SRA, Kolkata. *Parishath Puraskara, Karnataka Gana Kala Parishath, Bangalore. *Gaayana Gandharva from KGF Music Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torvi, Vinayak 1948 births 20th-century Indian male classical singers Living people Gwalior gharana Singers from Karnataka Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Haveri district 20th-century Khyal singers