Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi
ಪಂ ತ ೕಮ ೇನ ಗುರು ಾಜ ೋ
पं डत भीमसेन गु राज जोशी
(February 4, 1922 ‐ January 24, 2011) Was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani Classical Tradition. A
member of the Kirana Gharana (school), he is renowned for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his
popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). He is the most recent recipient of the
Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, awarded in 2008.
Early life: He was born into a Kannadiga family in the town of Ron which was then in Gadag District in
northern Karnataka state of India. His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen was the
eldest in a family of 16 siblings. Some of the siblings still live in their ancestral home in Gadag. Bhimsen
lost his mother when he was young, and his step mother raised him. His parents lived initially with his
grandfather as tenants of a Kulkarni household, but then moved to Gadag District. As a child, Pandit
Bhimsen Joshi's craving for music was evident to his family as he managed to lay his hands on a 'tanpura'
used by his 'Kirtankar' grandfather, which had been kept away from his gaze at home. Music had such a
magnetic pull over him that a 'bhajan singing' procession or just 'azaan' from a nearby mosque was said
to draw him out of house.
Musical Training: Until the first half of the 20th century, Khayal was principally taught in the Guru
Shishya (master‐disciple) tradition. Bhimsen's guru Sawai Gandharva was the chief disciple of Abdul
Karim Khan, who along with his cousin Abdul Waheed Khan was the founder of the Kirana Gharana
school of Hindustani music.
Search for a Guru: Pt. Joshi heard a recording of Utd. Abdul Karim Khan's Thumri "Piya Bin Nahi Aavat
Chain" in Raag Jhinjhoti when he was a child, which inspired him to become a musician. In 1933, the 11‐
year‐old Pt. Joshi left Dharwad for Bijapur to find a master and learn music. With the help of money lent
by his co‐passengers in the train Bhimsen reached Dharwar first and later went to Pune. Later he moved
to Gwalior and got into Madhava Music School, a school run by Maharajas of Gwalior, with the help of
famous Sarod player Utd. Hafiz Ali Khan. He traveled for three years around North India, including in
Delhi, Kolkata, Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur, trying to find a good guru. Eventually, his father
succeeded in tracking him down in Jalandar and brought young Bhimsen back home.
Pt. Sawai Gandharva: In 1936, Pt. Rambhau Kundgolkar (alias Sawai Gandharva), a native of Dharwad,
agreed to be his guru. Bhimsen Joshi stayed at his house in the traditional guru‐shishya (teacher‐
student) tradition, gleaning knowledge of music from his master as and when he could, while
performing odd‐jobs in his house. Another renowned vocalist from the Kirana Gharana, Gangubai
Hangal, was a co‐student of Bhimsen during this time. Joshi continued his training with Sawai
Gandharva till 1940.
Career: Pt. Joshi moved to Mumbai in 1943 and worked as a Radio Artist. He first performed live at the
age 19. His debut album, containing a few devotional songs in Kannada and Hindi, was released by HMV
when he was 22.
Hindustani Classical Music: Bhimsen Joshi is a rare artiste whose music has been hailed by both the
critics and the masses. His performances are marked by spontaneity, accurate notes, dizzyingly‐paced
taans which make use of his exceptional voice training, and a mastery over rhythm. The Hindu, in an
article written after he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, said: Bhimsen Joshi was ever the wanderer,
engendering brilliant phrases and tans more intuitively than through deliberation. He makes occasional
use of sargam and tihaais, and often sings traditional compositions of the Kirana gharana. His music
often injects surprising and sudden turns of phrase, for example through the unexpected use of
boltaans. Over the years, his repertoire has tended to favor a relatively small number of complex and
serious ragas; however, he remains one of the most prolific exponents overall of Hindustani classical
music. Some of Pt. Joshi's more popular ragas include Shuddha Kalyan, Miyan Ki Todi, Puriya Dhanashri,
Multani, Bhimpalas, Darbari, and Ramkali. He is considered a purist and has not dabbled in experimental
forms of music, except for a well‐known series of Jugalbandi recordings with the Carnatic signer M.
Balamuralikrishna. Apart from stalwarts of the Kirana Gharana, Bhimsen Joshi's singing is thought to
been influenced by many musicians, including Smt. Kesarbai Kerkar, Begum Akhtar and Ustad Amir
Khan. He has assimilated into his own singing various elements that he liked in different musical styles
and Gharanas.
Devotional Music: In devotional music, Pt. Joshi is most acclaimed for his Kannada, Hindi and Marathi
Bhajan singing. His commercially successful CDs Daaswani and Enna Paliso included Kannada Bhajans,
and Santawani included Marathi Abhangs.
Patriotic Music: Pt. Bhimsen Joshi is widely recognized in India due to his performance in the Mile Sur
Mera Tumhara music video (1985), which begins with him. The video was created for the purpose of
national integration in India, and highlights the diversity of Indian culture. Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was also
invited to sing for the Bharat Bala production of the Indian National Anthem music video (2000).
Playback Singing: Pt. Joshi has sung for several films, including Basant Bahar (1956) with Manna Dey,
Birbal My Brother (1973) with Pt. Jasraj and Nodi Swami Naavu Irodhu Heege. He also sung for films
Tansen(1958) and Ankahee(1985).
Sawai Gandharva Music Festival: Pt. Joshi organized the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival as an homage
to his guru, Pt. Sawai Gandharva, along with the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal in 1953, marking Pt.
Gandharva's first death anniversary. The festival has been held ever since, typically on the second
weekend of December in Pune, Maharashtra and has become not only a cultural event for the city, but
an annual pilgrimage for Hindustani Classical Music lovers all over the world. Pt. Joshi conducted the
festival annually since 1953, until his retirement in 2002.
Students: Pt. Joshi has taught many students, several of whom have gone onto commercial success.
• Pt. Madhav Gudi
• Shrikant Deshpande
• Pt. Vinayak Torvi
• Upendra Bhat
• Shrinivas Joshi (Pt. Joshi's son)
• Pt. Rajendra Kandalgaonkar
• Anand Bhate
• Vinayak P.Prabhu
Legacy: Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was known for his powerful voice, amazing breath control, fine musical
sensibility and unwavering grasp of the fundamentals, representing a subtle fusion of intelligence and
passion that imparted life and excitement to his music. A classicist by training, and temperament, Pandit
Bhimsen Joshi is renowned to have evolved an approach that sought to achieve a balance between what
may be termed as "traditional values and mass‐culture tastes" as he went on to have supposedly the
largest commercially recorded repertoire in Hindustani vocal music.
Personal Life: Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was well known to have a passion for cars. He was known to be an
expert swimmer, a keen enthusiast of yoga and a football player in his younger days. He had
acknowledged his weakness for alcohol but left it in 1979 after it started affecting his career.
Pt. Joshi passed away on 24th January 2011, at the age of 88 years in Pune.
Awards and Recognitions
• 1972 ‐ Padma Shree
• 1976 ‐ Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• 1985 ‐ Padma Bhushan
• 1985 ‐ National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
• 1986 ‐ "First platinum disc"
• 1999 ‐ Padma Vibhushan
• 2000 ‐ "Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar"
• 2001 ‐ "Nadoja Award" from Kannada University
• 2002 ‐ Maharashtra Bhushan
• 2003 ‐ "Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram" by Government of Kerala
• 2005 ‐ Karnataka Ratna
• 2008 ‐ Bharat Ratna
• 2008 ‐ "Swami Haridas Award"
• 2009 ‐ "Lifetime achievement award" by Delhi government
• 2010 ‐ "S V Narayanaswamy Rao National Award" by Rama Seva Mandali, Bangalore
*******