Shri Ram Marathe was an outstanding vocalist of rare
distinction. He was born in Pune in the year 1924 and had the proud privilege of receiving
extensive training from stalwarts like Pandit Manohar Barve, Pandit Mirashibua, Master
Krishna Rao Phulambrikar, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan and Pandit Jagannathbua Purohit.
Apart from his gurus, he was influenced by Pandit Gajanan Rao Joshi as well, and, assimilating the best of Gwalior, Agra and
Jaipur Gharanas of Khayal singing, Ram Marathe developed a style of his own.
Ram Marathe was known for his exquisite
`Bandishes' and purity in Raga rendition. He had a rich collection of uncommon Ragas and
rare compositions. His performances, always having the traditional flavour, were marked by
intricate but clear ‘Taans’, prolific ‘Boltaans’ and astounding
‘Layakari’. He was greatly
successful in his Radio broadcasts, music conferences and concerts all over the country,
and was one of the most popular artistes of his time.
Ram Marathe received great admiration for his performances on the Marathi stage and
in Hindi, Gujrati and Marathi films. Not only as a popular singer of the Marathi stage, he was also a respected music director, composing for popular plays like Ekach Pyala,
Maan Apamaan, Mandarmala and Meghamalhar. His name will certainly go down in the history
of Marathi stage along with the famous names of Bal Gandharva, Vinayakrao Patwardhan ,
Master Krishnarao, Master Dinanath and other Maestros.
Shri Ram Marathe was awarded the title of
Sangeet Bhushan by the Government of Maharashtra and besides many other honours, he has
been the recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademy Award in the year 1987.
