A article written by me on my Grandfather and Guru Pt. S. K. Abhyankar. I have written this with the help of my father and my elder sister. Also special thanks to Mr. Mahesh Phanse for initiating me to write this as well as helping in the write up.
Pt. S.K. Abhyankar – Classical and Semi Classical Vocalist (March 30, 1919 – November 30, 2003)
Pt. Shreedhar Keshav Abhyankar popularly known as S. K. Abhyankar was my grandfather. He was the first classical vocalist of Dombivli. He settled in Dombivli in 1943 when its population was about 5000. At that time, he was the only classical vocalist in Dombivali who was a staff artist at All India Radio (AIR). He used to give broadcasts on AIR, act in musical plays as a lead actor singer and also taught classical vocal. Subsequently, many more artists came and settled in Dombivli.
His love and aptitude towards singing was developed due to my great grandfather who was a very good singer with a powerful and melodious voice in spite of not receiving any formal training. He used to act in musical plays as a lead singer hero during religious and festive occasions at our native place Kurdhe near Ratnagiri. This musical legacy was passed on to my grandfather.
My grandfather’s initial training started with Pt. G. R. Behre (senior disciple of Ustad Abdul Karim Khansaheb) at Kurdhe. My great grandmother was very keen to see that my grandfather learns classical music. Meanwhile when his training had just started under Behrebua, my great grandmother came to know that Pt. Vinayakrao Patwardhan was about to start Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Pune and wanted some good students with good interest in music. She immediately got my Grandfather’s training started with Pt. Vinayakrao Patwardhan. After receiving taalim from him for many years and getting the Sangeet Alankar degree, he settled in Dombivali and started working on AIR. While working on AIR, he was fortunate enough to gain some training and guidance from Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan, who was the Station Director at that time.
Although my Grandfather learnt for most of the years from Pt. Vinayakrao Patwardhan, his singing style was highly influenced by his first Guru Pt. Behrebua. He was always one of his idols. He wasn’t quite a follower of the traditional style of Kirana Gharana but always inclined to sweet and melodious singing. His style of presentation was fluid. For most part of his performing years he used to sing in high scale like E or even F. He was highly appreciated for his sweet voice and rendering. Another interesting attribute of my grandfather was that he could tune any tanpura within a couple of minutes! He had all the ingredients needed to become a top performer. Although he gave public concerts, his priority was always the AIR. There, he was a regular performer and must have given not less than 500 Broadcasts.
Apart from classical vocal, Natya Sangeet and Devotional songs (Especially Abhangas) had a special place in his heart. He was well versed with the Natya Sangeet Gayaki and had a firm grip and command on it. Pt. Chhota Gandharva was his idol in this area. He was a deeply religious and spiritual person which was duly reflected in his beautiful and soulful rendering of Abhangas.
Apart from being a very good performer, he was also a skillful Guru. Numerous students have been fortunate enough to have received training under his able tutelage. Some of his students include Smt. Sanjeevani Kher, Pt. Mukund Thatte, Pt. Vasant Aajgaonkar, Shri. Vinayak Joshi, Shri. Prabhanjan Marathe, Smt. Mrudula Dadhe – Joshi, Shri. Sharadchandra Abhyankar (my father), Smt. Sonali Abhyankar – Joshi (my elder sister), myself and many others. As a kid, the foundation of my music training started with listening to my Grandfather’s singing and tuitions. The distinguishing characteristic of his teaching style was he always gave freedom to his students to develop their own singing style. In fact he encouraged the same. The dos and don’ts that he taught us were always regarding the technicalities of various raagas. But the way of presentation was always left entirely to the students. He used to tell us to listen to varied style of different singers and asked us to pick up the best out of that. In that sense he had a very modern approach to teaching.
Life was not always fair with him. But he never had any regrets. He was a very simple person who was always helpful to others. On many occasions, he did charity for social causes even though his own financial condition wasn't very sound. During one such incidence, he acted as a lead hero in Sangeet Sanshaykallol alongside ‘ Film Brahmachari Fame ‘ Actress Meenakshi Shirodkar and well known Actor Damu Anna Malvankar for Fund Raising for S. V. Joshi High school, Dombivli. He did not accepted any honorarium for the same. His life was probably the best example of ‘Simple living and high thinking’. He had a long and healthy life and was performing as well as teaching till end.
On November 29, 2003, he was felicitated by the Mayor of Kalyan – Dombivli Mahanagar Palika at his residence for his achievements as an artist and the very next day morning he suddenly passed away. He didn’t have any kind of health problems till the end of his life. It was a natural and peaceful death. ‘याजसाठीं केला होता अट्टाहास, शेवटचा दिस गोड व्हावा......’ is a line from a famous devotional song. The second half of the verse came true for him in his last days. However he never had any ‘अट्टाहास’ for the same.
Shri. Sameer Abhyankar (Grandson and Shishya of Pt. S. K. Abhyankar).
No comments:
Post a Comment