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Spotlight

Ganasaraswati

Kishori Amonkar

– a unique perspective

Kishoritai’s greatest contribution to Hindustani music is the emotive
content she made to blossom in all her Raag presentations. To her, music
always had to touch one’s heart, not just the brain, writes her senior
disciple Dr Arun Dravid

I wrote for Seniors Today a couple of years mother and Guru, hereafter called “Maai”)
ago a detailed account of Gaansaraswati was quite a liberal Guru. She encouraged
Padmavibhushan Kishori Amonkar Taai to learn from various other Gurus so
(hereafter called simply “Taai”) as my that she could acquire Raagas, Bandishes
outstanding Guru in Jaipur Gharana of and other good features of other Gharanas.
Hindustani classical vocal music. In this Late Mohanrao Palekar, Anjanibai Malpekar
article I will attempt to write more about her were Tai’s other Gurus. Also, Agra Gharana’s
own place in the history of Hindustani music, Anwar Hussein Khan Saheb taught her a
and about her personality and life based on couple of Raagas around 1963. Tai gave me an
my association with her for many decades. My example of Khan Saheb’s generous spirit. He
memories of her inevitably will have a touch told her once, “Beti, you learn what I teach you,
of “a by-gone era”. but when you present it in a concert, you must
Kishoritai’s spectacular musical career sing in your mother’s style.” Gurus like Maai
I have best understood her music during and Anwar Hussein Khan Saheb were rare at
the time period of 1955 to 2000. After this that time when most Gurus did not have such
time, I was unable to follow her musical a liberal attitude.
career closely since I moved to the US. Let me dwell on some amazing aspects of
Gaantapaswini Mogubai Kurdikar (Taai’s Taai’s music. The foundation of her music

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #38 | AUGUST 2022 23