PT. Vinayak Rao Patwardhan: In Memoriam Of A Stalwart
·
·
Among the many stalwarts in the realm of Hindustani Classical sangeet, there have been none as versatile and multi-faceted as Pt. Vinayak Rao Patwardhan.
Deemed one of the most prominent vocalists from the early twentieth century, Patwardhan started learning to sing at the tender age of 6 while attending school.
Luckily, he got under the radar of Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, who is credited for producing a galaxy of distinguished disciples, further advancing and uplifting Classical Hindustani Music. Vinayak Rao’s gracious manners and dedicated service to Paluskar led him to be called ‘Nit Namo’, the first words of a famous bandish.
Later, Vinayak Rao became a Gandhabandha (formal) disciple of the great Ramakrishnabuwa Vaze, who was known for not sharing his repertoire of ragas and bandishes with would-be learners. However, Vinayak Rao became hell-bent on uncovering the treasures Ramakrishnabuwa Vaze was clasping away.
In a sense, this would also come under Vinayak Rao’s achievement as he did manage to learn ragas like Malativasant, Bhankar, Bhatiyar, Khat, Nand, Desi, and Jayant Malhar from a generous miser named Ramakrishnabuwa Vaze.
Furthermore, Vinayak Rao became an equally competent teacher as he was the founding member of a prestigious school named Gandharva Vidyalaya in Poona. He later went on to teach Bhimsen Joshi for a brief period.
As a theatre enthusiast during the times when musical dramas had become a prevalent form of expression, Vinayak Rao went on to act in many famous plays of the time, such as ‘Draupadi’, 'Menaka', 'Mrichcha- Katika', and ‘Sakuntala'. Perhaps he also became the first classical singer to sing for films.
Vinayak Rao’s sweet and high-pitched singing reflected straightforward approaches to raga, a characteristic of the Gwalior Gharana. Apart from this, he was awarded a Padma Bhushan in 1972 by the President of India.
‘In Memoriam’ comprises delightful compositions in Raga Hameer and Raga Anandi Kedar produced by The Gramophone Company Limited in reverence to the Hindustani Classical sangeet grandee.
Also read: Lachhu Maharaj - The Tabla Virtuoso from Benaras.
Comments