B. R. Deodhar Biography 
B. R. Deodhar was an Indian classical singer of Khayal-genre, musicologist and music educator. In 1964, he received Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship from Sangeet Natak Akademi and in 1976, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian music. He established the Deodhar School of Music in Mumbai, breaking from the gharana tradition. He has written numerous books on music and musicians and has also worked as editor of Sangeet Kala Vihar, a music magazine. Kumar Gandharva, Saraswati Rane and Laxmi Ganesh Tewari were his disciples. He is also known for criticizing the singing style of Kumar Gandharva, who didn’t associated himself with a particular Kharana of singing. Deodhar has been associated Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of Patiala gharana for many years and was his disciple too. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, one of the greatest voices of Hindustani music made a deep influence on Deodhar’s gayki style of singing too.
He was born on September 11, 1901 in Miraj, Maharashtra. He received formal training from Nilkanth Buwa Alurmath. He has also received training under Abdul Karim Khan of Kirana gharana and Vinayak Rao Patwardhan. Later he joined Gandharva Mahavidyalaya to study under Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, the founder of institution. He did his formal education also, during this time – the only student of the institution who was allowed to do so. He completed Bachelor of Arts and learnt western music also.
Later he learnt music from numerous famous vocalists of different kharanas of whom a few need special note. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of Patiala gharana, Mohanrao Pakelar from Jaipur gharana, sarangi-player Majeed Khan, Inayat Khan, Ganpatrao Dewaskar, Pandit Sadashivbuwa Jadhav of Gokhale gharana, Shinde Khan of Gwalior gharana and sitar-player Murad Khan of Indore were among those. Thus he incorporated several gharanas into his singing style and later became a musicologist as well.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 07, 2014
