About Pt. Rambhau Kundgolkar:

Pt. Rambhau Kundgolkar (1886 to 12thSeptember 1952), popularly known as Sawai Gandharva was born in Kundgol (Dharwad) in Karnataka. At a young age of 12, he heard Ustad Abdul Karim Khan in a concert (in 1898) and there and then, knew his life work as well as the guru who will guide him into it. He began following the Ustad wherever he sang. However, it was only in 1900 that the Ustad agreed to teach him! With unflinching loyalty, he learnt for 8 years from Ustad Abdul Karim Khan of the Kirana gharana. With untiring efforts, he moulded his ‘cracking’ voice to the requirements of the Kirana idiom. Sawai Gandharva became a renowned vocalist who could do equal justice to khayal, tarana, thumri, bhajan and stage songs. Indeed an achievement in itself! For 24 years he acted on the Marathi music stage, and earned a name for his singing in
demanding roles such as Subhadra, Tara, Sant Sakhu. His accomplishment on the Marathi music stage was remarkable because when he entered the theatre world, Bal Gandharva was reigning supreme! Sawai Gandharva however created his own mark by his distinctive approach. This is the background on which Mr. Khaparde of Nagpur, a leading political leader of the Tilak school, described him as Sawai Gandharva. To play female roles meant singing in high a pitch and this certainly took a heavy toll of his vocal resources. After the 1930’s, he could devote more time to concert music, as theatre was on the decline under the impact of movies. His voice had, become hoarse and heavy, needing considerable effort to warm up. However, once it did, Sawai Gandharva could produce musical marvels! This was mainly so because he had a rich musical
imagination and working in theatre had added a dimension to his musical thinking. On account of this fact, he could sing in a greater variety of tonal colours than his guru could. His music could also create a wider emotional spectrum than is generally associated with his Ustad and his gharana. His development of the raga was more methodical and his taans too had more variety. In thumris etc. he could do away with the enveloping ‘sad’ timbre with which his Ustad’s music was permeated. There was a sense of buoyancy in his tarana singing, which was not entirely due to mere fast pacing of music! One could also maintain that he could be cerebral in his music making though not to as great an extent as in some other gharanas represented by his contemporaries like Pt. Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale, or Pt. Vazebuwa. He deviated from his gharana,
but within an admissible range. It was an instance of bringing into play a different temperament. Even in rhythmic patterns he could be innovative and aggressive if the music demanded it. Many features of his music can perhaps be attributed to his readiness to assimilate influence from others for which his career in theatre gave him ample opportunities. His main disciples are Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Firoz Dastur, and Smt. Gangubai Hangal. In 1942, he suffered a paralytic stroke and completely lost his voice! He had to suffer in silence for ten years before this flame was extinguished forever!
TITLE RAAG RELEASED
Disco Dandiya Bharvi 1974
Ramya Vatta Viya Bhoop 1979
Bhor Bhai Ab to Jago Malhar 1980
TITLE RAAG RELEASED
Disco Dandiya Bharvi 1974
Ramya Vatta Viya Bhoop 1979
Bhor Bhai Ab to Jago Malhar 1980