THE GENIUS OF KUMAR GANDHARVA
Kumar Gandharva was quite a genius having evolved a singular style of singing all by himself, fusing the folk and the classical forms with a dexterity that is unmatched in recent history. His loss of the use of one lung and consequent use of the only one remaining greatly handicapped him in singing in the classical style to which he was earlier accustomed and which he later had to renounce and adopt a new style of singing altogether, a fate forced unto him and one which surely must have played a seminal role in evolving his revolutionary style of rendition of the classical forms of vocal music. Whatever it may have been, the result of it all was that in the crucible of his life's health hazards was evolved a style of vocal rendition that remains unique in the annals of Hindustani classical music and marks Kumar Gandharva as a musical genius of a rare order. Anyone less endowed than him would scarce have recovered from the physical debility that he had suffered from which had incapacitated him for years and thwarted his singing, and which had prompted his physicians to strictly prohibit him from ever attempting to sing again, risking possible fatality if he did so.
But the one that had been born to sing could not be thwarted by a thousand maladies and Kumar Gandharva did triumph over tuberculosis and began to enthral his audience across India once again. He now blended the folk genre with the classical form to set up his unique style of music, a revolutionary form that lit up the auditorium the moment he broke into his rapturous rendition in his inimitable manner. The rest is history.
Kumar Gandharva, the child prodigy whose genius nether disease nor premature flowering could snuff out, conquered his great misfortunes through the tireless love and service of his life's partners and emerged as a stellar being of the Hindustani musical firmament. His legacy remains with his disciples and family members, a distinct style of music which posterity must take care to not let it sink into oblivion through disuse.
Written by Sugata Bose
Kumar Gandharva was quite a genius having evolved a singular style of singing all by himself, fusing the folk and the classical forms with a dexterity that is unmatched in recent history. His loss of the use of one lung and consequent use of the only one remaining greatly handicapped him in singing in the classical style to which he was earlier accustomed and which he later had to renounce and adopt a new style of singing altogether, a fate forced unto him and one which surely must have played a seminal role in evolving his revolutionary style of rendition of the classical forms of vocal music. Whatever it may have been, the result of it all was that in the crucible of his life's health hazards was evolved a style of vocal rendition that remains unique in the annals of Hindustani classical music and marks Kumar Gandharva as a musical genius of a rare order. Anyone less endowed than him would scarce have recovered from the physical debility that he had suffered from which had incapacitated him for years and thwarted his singing, and which had prompted his physicians to strictly prohibit him from ever attempting to sing again, risking possible fatality if he did so.
But the one that had been born to sing could not be thwarted by a thousand maladies and Kumar Gandharva did triumph over tuberculosis and began to enthral his audience across India once again. He now blended the folk genre with the classical form to set up his unique style of music, a revolutionary form that lit up the auditorium the moment he broke into his rapturous rendition in his inimitable manner. The rest is history.
Kumar Gandharva, the child prodigy whose genius nether disease nor premature flowering could snuff out, conquered his great misfortunes through the tireless love and service of his life's partners and emerged as a stellar being of the Hindustani musical firmament. His legacy remains with his disciples and family members, a distinct style of music which posterity must take care to not let it sink into oblivion through disuse.
Written by Sugata Bose
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