Kesarbai Kerkar

Kesarbai Kerkar (13 July 1892 – 16 September 1977) was an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. A protege of Ustad Alladiya Khan (1855–1946), the founder of the gharana, from age sixteen, she went on to become one of the most noted khayal singers of the second half of the 20th century.
She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1953, followed by Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in India, in 1969.
Biography.
Early life and training.
Born in the tiny village of Keri (also spelled "Querim"), in a family from Ponda "taluka" of North Goa, Goa (then a Portuguese colony), at the age of eight Kerkar moved to Kolhapur, where she studied for eight months with Abdul Karim Khan. Upon her return to Goa, she studied with the vocalist Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze (1871–1945), during his visits to Lamgaon.
Meanwhile, Mumbai (then Bombay) under British Raj, was fast developing as a business and trade centre of the country. Several musicians and singers from North India and Central India, facing declining patronage from princely states started migrating to the city. At the age of 16, she too moved to Mumbai with her mother and uncle. A wealthy local businessman Seth Vitthaldas Dwarkadas helped her study under with Barkat Ullah Khan, sitar player and court musician at Patiala State. He taught her intermittently for two years, during his visit to the city. However, when Khan, became court musician at Mysore State, she trained under Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale (1869-1922) and Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze for short periods.
Eventually ending up as disciple to Ustad Alladiya Khan (1855–1946), the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, beginning in 1921, and trained rigorously under him for following eleven years. Though she started singing professionally in 1930, she continued learning from Khan, despite his failing health, till his death in 1946.
Career.
Kerkar eventually achieved wide renown, performing regularly for aristocratic audiences. She was very particular about the representation of her work and consequently made only a few 78 rpm recordings, for the HMV and Broadcast labels. In time, Kerkar became an accomplished "Khayal" singer of her generation, and seldom sang light classical music, often associated with female vocalists. Her success as a public singer, along with that of Mogubai Kurdikar (mother of Kishori Amonkar), Hirabai Barodekar and Gangubai Hangal paved way for next generation of female vocalists, away from singing "mehfil"s or private gathering that women of previous generation had to settle for.
Kerkar was awarded the 1953 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama, as the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists This was followed by the decoration of Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 1969, and in the same year the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra conferred upon her the title of "Rajya Gayika." Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) is said to have been very fond of Kerkar's singing. Her honorific title "Surashri" (or "Surshri") literally means "excellent voice" ("sur" meaning "voice" and "shri" meaning "excellent), and was bestowed on her in 1948 by the Sangeet Pravin Sangitanuragi Sajjan Saman Samiti of Calcutta. She retired from public singing in 1963-64.
In her ancestral village of Keri, the Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar High School now occupies the site of Kerkar's former second home, and the house where she was born still stands, less than one kilometer away. A music festival called the Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Smriti Sangeet Samaroha is held in Goa each November, by Kala Academy, Goa. and a music scholarship in her name is awarded annually to a University of Mumbai student by National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) via Kesarbai Kerkar Scholarship Fund. Unlike, her Guru, Kerkar was not fond of teaching, and thus taught only one disciple, Dhondutai Kulkarni, who has previously learned from Ut. Bhurji Khan, the son of Alladiya Khan and Ut. Azizuddin Khan, grand son of Alladiya Khan.
Kerkar has the further distinction of having one of her recordings, "Jaat Kahan Ho", duration 3:30 (an interpretation of raga Bhairavi) included on the Voyager Golden Record, a gold-plated copper disc containing music selections from around the world, which was sent into space aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1977. The recording was recommended for inclusion on the Voyager disc by the ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown, who believed it to be the finest recorded example of Indian classical music.
Since 2000, several CDs of her archival recordings have been released, including one on the "Golden Milestones" series, which contains several of her most famous songs.
Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha (Goa).
Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha is held in Goa each year and a music scholarship in her name is awarded annually.
The festival which is rated amongst the top 10 music festival of India having glamour of its own. The annual Sangeet Samaroh in Goa in memory of the legendary Kesarbai Kerkar is a homage to all the women who became colossal figures in classical music.
The 40th edition of the Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha was held on 29th, 30th & 31st January 2021 with the participation of a galaxy of top rated vocalists and instrumentalists of India.
The festival will be livestreamed in association with Kala Nation, Bengaluru, on all three days and will be on YouTube and Facebook.
The 40th edition of Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha is being held from January 29 to 31, at Kala Academy, wherein renowned vocalists and instrumentalists from the country are performing.
It will be open to music lovers and the general public.The festival will be livestreamed in association with Kala Nation, Bengaluru, on all three days and will be available on YouTube and Facebook.
CM Pramod Sawant is scheduled to inaugurate the festival at 5 pm after which vocalist Prachi Jathar will present classical vocal recital at 5.15pm, followed by an instrumental concert of sitar and Indian cello by Shubhendra Rao.
The first day’s session will conclude with a classical vocal concert by Pt M Venkateshkumar, exponent of Kirana and Gwalior Gharana. On January 30, the session will begin at 10.30am with a classical vocal concert by Poornima Kulkarni, a Kirana Gharana Vocalist from Bengaluru and will conclude with an instrumental concert (Sarangi) by Momin Khan Niazi, a young Sarangi exponent. The evening session will begin at 4pm with a classical vocal concert by Kalyani Salunke, followed by classical vocal concert by Prabhakar Kashyap and Diwakar Kashyap. Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar from New Delhi will present his classical Dhrupad concert. The concluding instrumental Jugalbandi concert of carnatic music will be presented by Vidwan Shashank Subramanyam (Carnatic Flute) from Chennai, Vidwan Patri Satish Kumar (mrudangam) and Ojas Adhiya (tabla).
On January 31, Anol Chatterjee will present a classical vocal concert at 10.30am followed by a classical vocal concert of Shalmalee Joshi. The next session of the Samaroha will commence at 4 pm wherein Prachala Amonkar will present her classical vocal recital. Following which, Pt Ram Deshpande from Mumbai will present a classical vocal concert followed by an instrumental concert (sarod) by eenowned exponent Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar from Kolkata. The festival will conclude with a classical vocal concert by vocalists’ brother duo of Banaras Gharana, Pt Rajan Misra and Pt Sajan Misra 
39th...
38th..
37th was held on NOVEMBER 3, 2017.
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh presents a jugalbandhi concert with Flautist Rakesh Chaurasia at the Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha-2017. They are joined by Shri. Anantha R.Krishnan on Mridangam and Shri. Satyajit Talwalkar on Tabla. 
The 36th Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Samaroh at the sprawling campus of beautiful Kala Academy (designed by Charles Correa ) on the banks of Mandovi river was held between Nov 4th and 8th , 2016. It is a big affair for 3 days by the Dept of Culture and Music, that is a pride of Goa.
The festival began with a curtain raiser on Friday Nov 4th morning at around 10.30am with a symposium titled “Creativity in Hindustani Classical Music” with speakers like Dr Alka Dev- Marulkar , Dr Vidyadhar Oke and Dr Vikas Kashalkar moderated by Mukund Sangoram.
The first session of festival was Nov 4th evening, after the formal inauguration , was graced by Pt Jasraj who sang for 75 mins out of his alloted time of 90 mins ! Accompanied on harmonium by Mukund Petkar , on tabla by Kedar Pandit and on Pakhwaj by Sukhad Munde , he started with expansive Puriya vilambit , madhyalay bandishes followed by famous drut bandish “Shyam kunvar more ghar aaye” ( श्याम कुंवर मोरे घर आए ) and quickly ended with a sankrit bhajan / abhang ( भजनः भजेत सर्वम् नवनीत ). The house full auditorium was delighted to see the veteran sing for them..short but sweet rendition within his alloted time !
The second and final concert to end the first day of the festival was an instrumental jugalbandi by Shri Navin Sharma on Tabla and Shri Sridhar Parthasarthy on Mrudangam.
Nov 5th Day 2 Saturday Morning Session started with the veteran Pt Dinkar Panshikar vocal performance , accompanied by two of his disciples on vocal support and Tabla, Harmonium accompaniments by Amar Mapkar and Dilip Gadekar respectively. Starting with Gujari Todi bandish “Ranza jogi” ( रांझा जोगी ) and drut jod “Surat dekhi teri jogi” ( सूरत देखी तेरी जोगी ). He continued with the trademark raag of Jaipur-Atrauli , Bahaduri Todi madhya lay bandish “Mahadeva devan Mahadev” ( महादेव देवन महादेव ) and drut “Tero dhyan dharat nisdin” ( तेरो ध्यान धरत निसदिन ) His final presentation was a tribute to Kesarbai as her favorite raag was Sukhiya Bilawal. Madhya lay bandish “Hey durge , sati” ( हे दुर्गे ) and jod bandish that was his own composition “Motiyan ki Chaadar ladi” ( मोतियन की चादर लड़ी ) describing the atmosphere of Ayodhya when shree Ram returned after 14 years of vanvaas.
The final concert of the morning session was by Manjusha Patil ,started around 12.30pm which I missed unfortunately due to a lunch meeting !
Nov 5th Day 2 Saturday Evening Session started around 4pm with Pt Madhup Mudgal vocal who has been trained under Pt Vinaychandra Moudgalya , Pt Jasraj and Kumar Gandharva. The first raag he chose was Bhimpalas with madhyalay bandish “Naad Suran” ( नाद सुरन ) followed by a drut bandish “Ab more saai ” ( अब मोरे साईं ) and a short tarana. This was followed by a beautiful Multaani madhya lay bandish “Dil bekaraar hai gaavo” ( दिल बेकरार है गावो ) and a drut bandish “Miyan tusi dekhale duniyaa” ( मियाँ तुसी देखले दुनिया ) Puriya Dhanashree came along with a bandish in madhyalay “Ghungat kholo na ji ” ( घूँघट खोलो ना जी ). He then presented a bandish in raag Shri-Kalyan composed by his guruji (Kumar Gandharva) “Dekho re utar fulan laage rang rang chaaye” ( देखो रे उतर फूलन लागे , रंग रंग छाए ). He concluded his presentation with a bhajan by Gorakhnath “Raam rin me rahiye” ( राम ऋण में रहिये ). He had a superb accompaniment on Tabla by Mayank Bedekar and on Harmonium by Dr Arwind Thatte.
The Second concert of the evening session was by Dr Prabha Atre who humbly acknowledged that that at her age (84+) , audience come to her concert because of respect and love for music and not essentially for her performance. Her voice did not support her but that gave ample opportunity to her disciple and vocal support ,Chetana Banavat to perform. They were ably accompanied by the Harmonium maestro Pt Vishwanath Kanhere and Madhav Modak on Tabla. Shyam Kalyan madhya lay bandish “Mangal naam Ganesh” ( मंगल नाम गणेश ) was followed by a tarana. Madhukans madhya lay bandish “Paar karo mori nayya” ( पार करो मोरी नय्या ). This was followed by a thumri and her famous bhajan “Jagat Janani bhavtaarini” ( जगत जननी भवतारिणी ).
The final concert of the evening session of Day 2 was by Ut Nishat Khan who started with a tribute to Kesarbai Kerkar with her favorite Chandani-Kedar .. the soft alaap was for almost 30 mins that mesmerized the audience. His command over fingers and ability to produce almost all 7 notes from the same fret of Sitar was astonishing ! The ustad was in a good mood and sang a small bandish “O charan laag chaiin” ( ओ चरन लागी चैन ). Pt Ramkumar Mishra ( son of vocalist Pt Chunnulal Mishra) was the tabla accompanist who demonstrated the Banarasi Tabla style with apt accompaniment to the Sitar ! The ustad continued with a Chiz in Charukeshi “Bhole Bhaale saiyaan” ( भोले भले सैयाँ ) and also presented a chiz in Kaafi ( Nand + Hamir) “Achanak more piya aake jagaave” ( अचानक मोरे पिया आके जगावे )
Nov 6th Sunday morning session started with an instrumental ensemble of Sitar by Yograj Naik and Carnatic Violin by Shri Harihumar Sivan that began with Jaunpuri soft alaapi bringing a divine morning feel. Joined progressively by the Tabla of Kishor Pande and Mridangam of Shri B Jayram the ensemble created a playful joyous mood. In the drut dhun the ensemble together gave the feel of fullness of sun in the rising day. The concluding dhun was chosen in Todi that brought huge applause by the audience.
Second concert of the morning was by Smt Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar the humble , academic and knowledgeable veteran of Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She began with raag Desi with a madhyalay bandish “Aao maharaj” ( आओ महाराज ) and continued in drut lay with a bandish “Jare kaagaa ja ja ja ja” ( जारे कागा जा जा जा जा ). The second raag she chose was the trademark Yamani Bilawal with madhya lay bandish “Prem Galiyen” ( प्रेम गलियें ) and a drut bandish “Avalo bhayii avahelanaa” ( आवलो भई अवहेलना ) . She concluded the morning session with a Bhairavi “Mera bichada yaar mile” ( मेरा बिछड़ा यार मिले ) . The accompaniment by the Harmonium maestro Pt Vishwanath Kanhere and the Tabla maestro Vishwanath Shirodkar was complementary bringing a fullness to the performance to be cherished for long time.
Nov 6th Sunday Evening session started with Anjana Nath of Patiala Gharana , trained under Pt Ajay Chakravarty. Starting with Bhimpalas in madhya lay bandish “aao chalo pir ke darbaar me” ( आओ चलो पीर के दरबार में ) with a jod bandish “Begun kaahe karat ho man” ( बेगुन काहे करत हो मन ). Her presentation of raag Shri bandish “Hari ke charan kamal” ( हरी के चरन कमल ) brought a perfect evening mlieu in the auditorium that got applauded by the audience. She concluded with a thumri in mishra-Khamaj “Paniya bharan kaise jaaun” ( पनिया भरन कैसे जाऊं )
Rahul Sharma with his santoor was the priced performer of the day who began with the expansive alaap in Yaman. Accompanied by the maestro Mukundraj Dev on Tabla , the jugalbandi was a treat to ears of the connoisseurs and average Sunday evening audience alike. After a 45 min of Yaman madhyalay and drut compositions, he concluded with a Pahadi Dhun and a short raagmaalaa knitting many short dhuns of evening raags, to entertain the audience request.
The Finale and the concluding concert of the evening and of the festival was traditionally offered to the veteran 80+ year old , daughter of Goa and also daughter in law of Goa .. Kishori Amonkar. The house-full auditorium that enjoyed the music of Rahul Sharma waited in full numbers more for the glimpse of her than her singing. The audience started leaving as per their convenience once the clock passed 8.30, and rightly so. She started the concert by cribbing that she was not invited for the festival for last 9 years and now is old to sing for audience. While her voice almost not supporting her , she started with her regular Shuddha Kalyan bandish “Ai ri mhari piya” (ऐइ री म्हारी पिया ) , coughing ,clearing the throat , having hot drink couple of times. Her accompanying vocal supports , Ms Tejashree Amonkar and Ms Bedekar were playing tanpura and trying their best to support vocally in whatever way they could ! Her group of accompanist also included Milind Raikar on violins , Suyog Kundalkar on Harmonium and Pradeep Dixit on Tabla. After Shudhha-Kalyan came Sampurna Malkauns and the Bhairavi to conclude the evening and the Festival.
The audience was delighted at the end of 5 sessions of great classical music that covered almost all major gharanas of Hindustani music. The lineup of this coveted festival was superb. The highlight of the festival was the ambience , the picturesque location of Kala Academy Goa on the bank of Mandovi river and the fantastic auditorium named after Dinanath Mangeshkar , the brilliant son of Goa.
The one thing that caught my attention was the excellent organization and professional management of this festival by the Kala Academy staff, in-spite of being a Govt (Sarkaari) institute ! The Hindi anchor / announcer , Dr Roopa Chari was one of the best Hindi anchors that I have seen in various Hindustani Classical Music Festivals. She deserves a special mention and applause in the success of this coveted festival.
My favorite day of the festival was Sat Nov 5th. Some performances that would remain in memory and would be cherished for long are: Pt Madhup Mudgal , Ut Nishat Khan , Anjana Nath , Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar, Sitar-Violin Jugalbandi in Jaunpuri-Todi and Pt Dinkar Panshikar.
Source: prasadbhave's Blog.
Here is a link to the Facebook album of snaps taken during the 36th Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Classical Music Festival at Panjim , Goa during Nov 4th to 8th , 2016 :