Vinayak Torvi holds MITHAS audience spellbound….

MITHAS featured a Hindustani Classical Vocal recital by the renowned exponent, Pandit Vinayak Torvi on April 29, 2007 at Stata Center in MIT, Cambridge. Pandit Torvi is a representative of Gwalior-Agra Gharana and is known for his bhaava laden singing. He has also composed Classical Music pieces as well as light classical music pieces in Hindi, Kannada and Marathi languages. Pandit Torvi has been conferred many awards such as Government of Karnataka Rajyotsava award, Surmani National award and has an impressive discography to his credit.  
 

Pandit Torvi started the MITHAS concert at 4:30 pm with an afternoon raga called Multani. He sang three compositions in Multani: a well known slow 12 beats based composition “Gokul Gaanv”, and then two faster paced compositions set to 16 beats and 12 beats, respectively. Compositions in Raga Poorvi, Kedaar, Sohoni, Bhajans in Hindi and Kannada languages and a Marathi Abhang in Bhairavi followed. Pandit Torvi combined appealing layakaari of Agra Gharana with melodious, emotion-laden Kirana- Gwalior gharana style singing. Shri GuruMurty Vaidya ably accompanied Pandit Torvi on tabla while Shri Keerti Kumar Badseshi provided excellent harmonium and vocal support. The concert attracted about 150 music lovers from the Boston area.

Lokvani spoke to Pandit Vinayak Torvi about his journey as a musician.

Your concerts are marked by energy and stamina. What is the secret to developing these strengths?

I credit my family roots and background for my energy and stamina. I was born into a family of Kirtankaars in Dharwad, Karnataka. My father, Shri Malhar Rao was a gifted, self-taught Kirtankaar who composed more than a 100 Kirtans in honor of Shri Chidambar Dixit of Murgod in Karnataka who was considered an avatar, (a living GOD), 200 years back. Kirtan is a master-art that incorporates elements of music, dance, drama and recitation of epics seamlessly. It was very popular during years of Independence in India and commanded a great audience. My father could perform Kirtans for hours together. He could recite 5-hour kirtans without food or water at the age of 91.  I have a recording of him at the age of 86 years where he performs 3 hour long kirtans, totally engrossed, without loss of any aspect of melody or rhythm sense. I may have inherited my father’s genes for stamina and strength.
Please tell us about your early years in music.

As a child, I was very attracted to singing and playing the harmonium. A Kirtan singing session was held at our house every Monday evening. We had an appointed harmonium player to accompany the kirtans who was very possessive about the instrument and never allowed to me to touch it. If he was absent on a Monday evening, I got a chance to play on the harmonium and I enjoyed the opportunity a great deal especially because it was denied to me on other days. At the age of 9, my family took me to a music teacher in Dharwaad who taught me “Nayaki”, the singing pre-composed Hindustani music, in a systematic, curriculum-based manner.  Narayanrao Majumdar, a student of Gyanacharya Gururao Deshpande was my first teacher who taught me the basics of improvisational development of ragas called “Gayaki.” Later, I had the good fortune of learning under Gururao Deshpande and after his demise, from Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.  

Could you tell us about experience as Gyanacharya Gururao Deshpandeji’ student?

I was in a sense given away by my family to my teacher for a period of 12 years to take care of him and to learn whatever I could in music. During my first 3 years, Gururaoji never taught me any music formally. All I did was Guru-seva such as cleaning the house and attending to errands. When his daughter made an objection to her father about the fact that he was not formally teaching me music, he started to give lessons in small time segments of 20 to 30 minutes. He wanted me to digest what I learned in that limited time before I progressed to learning something new.

Gururaoji was a not only a great musician, an astrologer, and a visionary, but also a very educated man who knew the works of Shakespeare and Wordsworth by heart. He valued education and believed that it empowered a musician with good planning, judgment, performance and inter-personal skills. He changed my attitude towards education and insisted that I complete a bachelor’s degree in commerce subject and take up a job as a banker. He advised me that the job should not consume long hours or too much effort; it should give me enough money so I do not depend on anyone for financial support and enough time to devote whole-hearted attention to music.  

I learned for 12 years under Gururaoji and my routine consisted of music practice between 4:30A.M and 8:30A.M, morning errands at Gururaoji’s home, work at the bank during the daytime, music lessons in the evening and music practice till late hours in the night before I fell asleep.

Could you talk about your tutelage under Pandit Bhimsen Joshi?

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi admired Gururaoji’s musical genuis and had accompanied him several times on tanpura during concerts. I had become an  ‘A’ grade performing artist at All India Radio and had no courage to personally request him for lessons. When Gururaoji died at the age of 82, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi invited me to Pune to take lessons from him.  

It meant my applying for leave from my job as a banker in Bangalore and traveling to Pune to take lessons from Bhimsen Joshiji. He always respected this fact. I remember that during one such visit, he refused to attend a wedding reception and advised his wife to go alone, just so he could teach me music.  

What are your views on the Guru-Shishya tradition of imparting knowledge in the arts in India?

Destiny determines the proper pairing of the ideal Guru and Shishya. Getting a proper Guru can shape a shishya’s musical career. If a Guru feels that a student is worth his/her time, the shishya can certainly achieve a level of commendable proficiency if he/she devotes enough years in learning music and has the encouragement of family and fans. I am not sure if long lasting marriages are made in heaven; I am however sure that a proper Guru-Shishya match can create a very successful and long-lasting relationship.  

I happened to find my two Gurus, Gyanacharya Gururao Deshpande and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi at the right time in my life. My Gurus were also at an age where they had achieved great musical maturity. Good timing is as much an important factor as a rich musical environment and proper association with the Guru, where the Guru possesses the power to influence and inspire the student with love and discipline.

I was lucky to associate with two great Gurus and to feel their power and vibrations first-hand. I feel them to this day.

How are you preserving the legacy that you have inherited from your family and teachers?

My father and my Gurus are in my blood and I remember them all the time. I am continuing my father’s tradition of Puran recitation of Shri Chidambar Dixit in Dharwaad every year in the form of a festival in December-January. I also organize two more annual music festival in Bangalore called Malhar festival in August and Gururao Deshpande Sangeet Sabha all-night performance, which features music workshops, and performances by young musicians as well as established artists. The festivals are very popular and attract an attendance is 1500-1700 people in Bangalore. Bangalore is a South Indian city, which has become a center of North Indian Music now, due to these festivals. I am also keen that my children and students play a greater role in organizing these festivals so they can be the torchbearers of preserving our rich legacy of music.

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