Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi

Bhimsen Joshi was born on 4 February 1922 in a Kannada Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family in Ron Taluka, Gadag district, Karnataka. He was fascinated with music and musical instruments from a young age and ran away from home several times in search of a guru. He finally found his mentor in Sawai Gandharva, a disciple of Abdul Karim Khan, the founder of the Kirana gharana. He trained under him for eight years and learned the intricacies of the khayal form of singing. He also developed his own unique style of rendering ragas, blending the elements of other gharanas. He made his debut in 1941 at the age of 19 and soon became one of the most popular and respected vocalists in the country. He was known for his powerful and passionate voice, his mastery of laya and taal, and his innovative improvisations. He sang a wide range of ragas, thumris, bhajans, abhangs, and devotional songs in various languages. He also collaborated with other eminent musicians like Pandit Jasraj, Bismillah Khan, M. S. Subbulakshmi, and Lata Mangeshkar. He performed in many prestigious venues and festivals across India and abroad, and received numerous awards and honours, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, and the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. He also founded the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival in Pune in memory of his guru, which became one of the most prominent platforms for Hindustani classical music. He was married to Sunanda Katti, a classical singer herself, and had seven children, some of whom followed his footsteps in music. He died of old age at his residence in Pune on 24 January 2011, at the age of 88. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time and a national treasure of India.