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Anand Bhate in Concert
by Manasi Joshi-Singh
“Gandharva” are celestial beings, who are known to please the Gods with their music. One such Gandharva,
immensely talented Shri Anand Bhate, popularly known as “Anand Gandharva”,
an accomplished Hindustani Classical Vocalist, was in concert recently.
Organized by Kala Darpan and Austin Marathi Mandal, this event held on March 10th,
was very well-attended. Anand, a disciple of none other than Bharat Ratna,
Padma Vibhushan Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, was accompanied by the duo of Shri Bharat Kamat on tabla
and Shri Suyog Kundalkar on harmonium.
Anand started the evening with a lively, heady rendition of Raag Puriya Dhanashri. A note-by-note unfolding of
the vilambit composition in the true Kirana Gharana style fused in with lengthy three octave-encompassing
lightning taans broke out into the favorite drut bandish “Payaliyaa Jhanakaar” with some excellent
tabla and harmonium interludes. The audience was completely enthralled as wah-wah’s could be heard throughout.
Anand, who earned the title of Anand Gandharva at age ten for his expertise of the Natyasangeet genre,
next sang “Kharaa toh Premaa”, natyageet from Sangeet Maanapamaan.
The melody and his style instantly transported everyone back to the early era.
The second half began with raag Marwa, madhyalaya “Guru bin gyaan” and “Bangaree moree”,
a drut composition epitomized by his Guru. This was followed by the abhang “Indrayanee kaathee”,
which drew a universal encore for a once-more! Finally, he sang “Chinmayaa sakala hrudayaa”,
originally from Sangeet Sounshaykallol. This song is one of his many award-winning renditions for the acclaimed film Bal Gandharva.
The highly charged audience, who had sent in many requests to him, was left wanting more, and awaits his next performance in Austin!
Anand Bhate is recognized as one of the top vocalists of the younger generation of the great Kirana tradition. Anand has been a disciple of the great classical vocalist, Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, doyen of the Kirana gharana. Anand has performed all over India and abroad in many prestigious music conferences like Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Sangeet Samaroha, Learnquest Music Conference, etc. Recipient of numerous awards he has many published albums to his credit. He won the National Award for Best Playback Singer for the movie Balagandharva. He shows a remarkable versatility in presenting a wide variety of music, from the Khayal gayaki to the semi-classical exponents like Thumri, Natyageet and Bhajans/Abhagas. Anand was a gifted child prodigy. Connoisseurs were spellbound by Anand’s luminous rendering of Balgandharva’s gayaki and affectionately conferred on him the ‘title’ Anand Gandharva at an early age of 10. Meanwhile, Anand had also begun his initial training in classical music with Pandit Yashwantrao Marathe. Anand became a disciple of the great Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in 1988. Under Bhimsenji’s guidance, Anand has emerged as a notable Khayal-singer of the younger generation is the torch bearer of the Kirana gayaki.
Suyog Kundalkar is an established harmonium player of the younger generation. He studied under the guidance of Smt.Ranjana Godse initially and since 1997 he has been a devoted student of the renowned harmonium soloist, accompanist and musicologist Dr. Arawind Thatte. He has accompanied maestros like Dr. Gangubai Hangal, Pt. Balasaheb Poochwale, Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar, Girija Devi, Dr. Prabha Atre, Malini Rajurkar, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Ud Rashid Khan, Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Pt.Mukul Shivputra, Pt. Madhup Mudgal , Arati Anklikar-Tikekar, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Jayateerth Mevundi, Manjiri Asanare, Anand Bhate and others. He has toured extensively all over India and abroad. He is recipient of many awards; among them are the prestigious “U.Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” given by Sangeet Natak Academy and “Rasikagrani Dattopant Deshpande Puraskar”. He is a graded artist of the All India Radio and Doordarshan. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from ''Lalit Kala Kendra'' (Centre for Performing Arts- Pune University) and is on their panel as a Guru.
Bharat Kamat is well known for his sensitive Tabla accompaniment that reflects his deep musical understanding. Born in a family steeped into the tradition of music, Bharat is the grandson of the late Master Shantaram Kamat who was an accomplished singer and a famous ‘Natya Sangeet’ artist. He was introduced to the tabla at the age of four by his father, Pt. Chandrakant Kamat before coming under the tutelage of the well-known tabla maestro, Late Pt. Samta Prasad. Over the years, Bharat has accompanied several eminent artists of Hindustani music including the late Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, late Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur, Vi. Kishori Amonkar and Pt. Jasraj. He has extensively accompanied Pt. Bhimsen Joshi to whom he attributes his musical refinement and maturity. Winner of the Akashvani Music Competition award (1991), Bharat has several recordings to his credit. Bharat has performed in leading music festivals in India and has toured abroad.
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