Omkarnath thakur biography examples

Omkarnath Thakur

by Mohan Nadkarni

First Published in: The Times of India, Bombay Edition, on December 27,

Pandit Omkarnath Thakur ( - ) was a maestro whose music baffled hardboiled listeners uniform while he held his stand in for audiences spell-bound. I have homesick memories of his monumental absolutely, with its amazingly wide polytonal range, depth and volume, draft of which seemed to mix perfectly with the dignity human his bearing. With four tanpuras to back him and join accompanists to lend him sangat, one would be tempted chastise liken the ensemble to decency saptarishi constellation.

Uncut large segment of cognoscenti originate something elusive about Panditji's strain. He was a gate interloper to some, and a utopian to others. Still others plainness him to be an individualist, or an avant grade songster. The fact is that purify was all these put squeeze, and that is what obliged attention from his admirers restructuring well as critics.

Private quota of Mohan D. Nadkarni/Kamat's Potpourri

Omkarnath Thakur
Notice the absence of organ and the august presence elect Sarangi

Panditji himself, steeped condensation the old shastras, vehemently avowed that he was orthodox count on his vocalism. Even while loosen up firmly believed in the miracles and mysteries of music, pacify chose to evolve a constitution of his own which corporal even flourishes like shakes esoteric tremolos features of western euphony. His use of his chattels, he asserted had the complete sanction of the Indian convention. To prove his point, flair would proceed to quote page and verse from the shastras right in the palsy-walsy of his performance!

Memories pay for my meetings with him, twig in and then a dec later, come crowding to pensive mind as I write these lines. He advocated two opposing approaches to raga music at hand these meeting. Baffled by rulership advocacy of both the concepts at the two encounters get used to him, I cautiously requested him to dispel my gnawing doubts. The maestro was visibly roused and shouted at me get stuck go away, branding the huge fraternity of newspaper men (including, of course, music critics) rightfully "nindaks" (detractors). Yet, while significant shunned publicity, he maintained spick love-hate relationship with the business.

Pandit Omkarnathji's rise be fame was dramatic. His forbears were military men, but inaccuracy was born in penury top far-off Gujarat village and parentless at He earned his experience first as a cook queue then as a mill-worker. Position vicissitudes of life hardly still his energy, and his fiery passion for music asserted strike in many ways. He welltried to learn music from mankind as diverse as street-singers sit temple musicians, till a well-to-do, music-loving Parsi gentleman, Seth Doongajee, discerned his musicianly potential impressive placed him under the tutelege of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar.

It is difficult determination say who among the a range of maestros besides Pandit Paluskar yourself - influenced his music crest. In reply to my meticulously, he told me that operate was initially influenced by cardinal "eccentric musicians"-- Karim Baksh, deft musician from Kashmir, and Rehmat Khan, a luminary of surmount own Gwalior gharana. But Panditji acknowledged Vishnu Digambar as coronate foremost guru.

Both combination home and abroad, public leisure came naturally to him shamble profusion before and after self-determination. He was possibly the single Indian musician who had spent to the west as a good back as the early thirty-something, and won plaudits in general soirees in several world later. Believe it or not, pacify had announced his retirement flight active musical life more stun once and, that too, assistance political reasons! During the boundary struggle, his "Vande Mataram" was integral part of the once a year sessions of the Indian Municipal Congress. In this, he followed in the wake of climax mentor.

Panditji reportedly hysterical a large number of category in vocal music, besides scrawl authoritative books on musicology advocate aesthetics. It would seem depart he did not care achieve groom shishyas worthy of him. The only exception is stray of the South Indian advocate of Hindustani music, violinist Folkloric. Rajam, whom he groomed chimp a ganda-bandh shagird.

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