Pandit Gajananrao Joshi

by Mohan Nadkarni

Times of India 29-6-87 

It is rare to find a good vocalist who is also a good instrumentalist and vice versa. The only name that comes to mind is that of Pandit Gajananrao Joshi: Although he was 76 and remained mostly indoors because of old age, he would conduct tuitions to a large number of his young students till about three months ago.

Panditji can be rightly described as a musicians' musician cast in the traditional mould. He had made his mark both as an eminent vocalist and also as an equally noted violinist. In this sense, he was a rare example of versatility in music.

Traditional music has run in Panditji's family for three generations. His grandfather, Manoharbuva, was-a leading exponent of dhrupad and dhamar, while his father, Anantbuva was an outstanding disciple of Balkrishnabuva Ichalkarnajikar who is credited to have brought the khayal style of Hindustani music from Gwalior to Maharashtra.

Anantbuva was under the patronage of the ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Aundh, in south Maharashtra, and it was here that he initiated young Gajanan into vocal music from the age of 7. The father also managed to send his son to school at the same time.

Although the youngster showed good progress in his music and school lessons alike, he was mischievous and once ran away from home. The father brought him home after a long search. In the process, the boy's school education suffered a permanent break. Later, however, as he grew in age, teenaged Gajanan devoted all attention to learning singing diligently under his father's guidance and direction.

It is interesting to know how and when Gajananrao took to violin playing. The ruling prince of Aundh, Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, was a man of letters, a perceptive painter, and erudite musical kirtankar rolled into one. It would appear that the prince set his heart on the violin - of all instruments - and decided to include it in the repertory of Indian vadyas, like the pakhavaj, and handed a violin over to Gajananrao, with a command that he should first try to understand its basics to prepare himself as an accompanist at the regular kirtan sessions.

Although the violin had made its entry into Indian music in the South, it had not found exponents in this part of the country. Gajanan himself was a total stranger to the western instrument, nor could he find anyone to guide him in the technique of playing it. But in the face of the princely command, he had no alternative but to accept the instrument and spend hours in experimenting on it. Gajananrao's sound musical background as a vocalist obviously stood him in good stead in his determination to learn and master the mechanics of its playing.

In time to come, the self-taught teenager matured into an artiste capable of providing perfect support at the kirtan performances of his hard-to-please patron.

Strange but true, Gajananrao Joshi made his mark in Hindustani music first as a violinist and then as a vocalist. But this success did not lead him to neglect vocal music. In fact, his quest for gaan-vidya inspired him to widen the horizons of his khayal gayaki. Even while maintaining his unshakable moorings in the Gwalior gharana, he sought tutelage with the leading lights of other gharanas such as Agra and Jaipur gharanas. As a result, the kind of style he embodied was a very ingenious blend of grace from other leading gharanas.

So much is made of gayaki-ang these days by instrumentalists like Vilayat Khan. One had only to listen to Gajananrao Joshi, both as a violinist and as a vocalist, to rasp the true significance of gayaki-ang, which is one of the most widely misused terms in musical parlance today.

Panditiji's command over ragadari was as impeccable as that on layakari. He had earned unstinted praise from percussion maestros, like Ahmedjan Thirakhwa, acknowledged as the greatest Tabla stalwart of this century. He held responsible positions in AIR and several other cultural and educational institutions. He set up a foundation, known as Shivanand Swami Sangeet Pratishthan, at Dombivli with the object of promoting the cause of traditional music and encouraging young and deserving talent.