Joshi 'RATNA'

Civilian awards given by the political dispensations, by their very nature, do not always go to the most deserving. But the government of India’s decision to confer the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on one of the greatest exponents of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, needs to be applauded for identifying and honouring an outstanding legend of our times. An undisputed doyen of the Kirana Gharana, Bhimsen Joshi, through his unique voice and style of singing and mastery over the ragas, has enthralled the audiences the world over for over six decades. Those who have had the privilege of attending his concerts — the connoisseurs and the laymen alike — have come back mesmerised at the magical quality of his music.Born in a family of Keerthanakaras of Gadag in Karnataka on February 14, 1922, Joshi was perhaps determined from an young age that he wanted to be a singer and nothing else. Running away from home at the age of 11, he wandered to Bijapur, Pune, Gwalior, Kharagpur, Lucknow and Rampur, often sleeping and eating wherever he could, in search of a guru. It was finally on the advice of Vinayakbua Patwardhan that he returned to Karnataka to learn and hone his skills under Sawai Gandharva, the disciple of Abdul Karim Khan Saab, widely regarded as the torch-bearer of the Kirana Gharana. Bhimsen Joshi, along with Gangubhai Hanagal, has contributed a great deal to the broadening of the scope of the Gharana.Multi-faceted talent that he has been, Bhimsen Joshi is equally at ease with khayal, thumri, natyageet, Dasara pada and even playback singing for films and singing to lyrics of D R Bendre and Kuvempu. His renderings of Yaadava nee baa and Ranga neenyako among others have transcended all language barriers. His evocative renderings of Piya milan ke aas, Jo bhaje hari ko sada and Mile sur mera tumhara are the kind of songs which truly unites a diverse and multi-lingual country like ours. Apart from his passion for singing, driving his own car to remote corners for concerts, Bhimsen Joshi has assiduously built a legion of disciplines. He is the recipient of a number of awards but the country has now honoured itself by conferring him with the Bharat Ratna in the evening of his life.