Bharati Vaishampayan

Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan
Born	1 January 1954
Genres	Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Jhoola, Tappa, Khayal, Bhajans, Tarana, Bandish
Occupations	Hindustani Classical Music-Vocal
Years active	1972 - Till Date

Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan is a Hindustani Classical Vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana and the current Dean and Head of Department of Music at Shivaji University.

Background

Born on 1 January 1954, in a family having a keen interest in music, Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan received her training in Hindustani classical music under Shri Chintubua Mhaiskar, Pandit Sudhakarbua Digrajkar and Pandit Nivruttibua Sarnaik. She also imbibed the Light-Classical forms of Thumri and Dadra under the guidance of Shri Baburao Joshi.

Dr. Bharati completed her M.A. (Music) from SNDT Women's University, Mumbai in 1982. She has been honoured with the Sangeet Pravin (Doctorate in Music) by Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in 1985.

As a vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, she has performed in numerous concerts and festivals in various cities. She has broadcast widely for AIR (All India Radio) since the year 1972 and has been honoured as an 'A' grade artist in Classical and Light-Classical categories. She also has to her credit a number of special programmes and lecture-demonstrations on the rare and lesser performed Raagas of Hindustani music.

She is involved in the propagation of the Hindustani music tradition to the next generation as Dean and Head of Department of Music at Shivaji University. She has visited many universities as expert for specialised lecture-demonstrations and refresher courses.

She has been awarded the title of "Gaan Hira" by SNDT Women's University, Mumbai.

The learning phase

Dr. Bharati started her journey into the world of Hindustani Classical Music at the age of 12. Under the able guidance of Shri Chintubua Mhaiskar of Sangli she evolved into a promising performer.

She was awarded the National Scholarship for Higher Education in Music by the Government of India in the year 1976. Due to this she got the opportunity to further her learning under the guidance of Pandit Sudhakarbua Digrajkar of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. This was a very important phase in her evolution as a classical performer. Panditji gave her a vision and direction on how to perform a Raaga and how to make the performance attractive without compromising on the purity of the Raaga.

This rigorous training resulted in an opportunity to perform on the AIR Tuesday Night Concert. This turned out to be a turning point in the life of Dr. Bharati. Her performance on AIR was heard by the maestro of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, Pandit Nivruttibua Sarnaik. So impressed was he by the performance that he immediately wrote to Bharati and gave his blessings by accepting her as his student. Thereafter, whenever Panditji was in Kolhapur he would teach her the gems of Jaipur gayaki in his own style.

During this period Dr. Bharati came in contact with Shri Baburao Joshi of Kolhapur who trained her in the Light-Classical forms of music like Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Jhoola and Tappa.

The blessings of her Gurus and her devotion to music led to her becoming a capable and confident performer.

Concerts

Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan has performed in over 500 live concerts all over India. Some of the prestigious concerts are:

• Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande Smruti Samaroh, Nagpur
• Pandit Panchaksharibua Punyatithi Mahotsav, Bangalore
• Gopikrishna Sangeet Mahotsav, Thane
• Pandit Ram Marathe Smruti Samaroh, Thane
• Sangeet Samrat Alladiya Khan Smruti Samaroh, Chembur
• Mahakavi Kalidas Festival, Nagpur
• Late Smt. Girijatai Kelekar Smruti Samaroh, Goa
• Chakradhar Samaroh, Raigadh, Madhya Pradesh
• Dadar Matunga Cultural Center, Mumbai
• Malhar Mahotsav organised by Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya, Mumbai
• Women's Conference, Delhi
• Kalyan Gaayan Samaj, Kalyan
• Shahu Mahotsav, Kolhapur
• Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav, Kundgol
• Mangalore Music Circle, Mangalore
• Pandit Rajabhaiya Poonchwale Sangeet Parishad, Gwalior
• Bruhadesi Sangeet Mahotsav, Pune
• Tyaagraj Gaansabha, Hyderabad
• Gharana Sammelan, Kolhapur
• Academy of Performing Arts, Belgaum
• Daakshinatya Sangeet Tadnya Pandit Venkatmakhi Punyatithi, Shimoga
• Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur Amrutmahotsav, Dharwad
• Pannalal Ghosh Smruti Samaroh, Pune
• West Bengal Sangeet Mahotsav, Kolkata
• Pandit P. Madhukar Jayanti Utsav, Mumbai

Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan has also participated in various special programmes and lecture-demonstrations. Chief among them are:

• Todi Ke Prakaar, Malhar Ke Prakaar & Kaanada Ke Prakaar performed at Kolhapur, Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad and Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Vashi.
• Participated as expert in Refresher Course on 'Samaprakrutik Raagas' organised by Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra in 2001.
• Participated in Music Festival of Rare Raagas titled 'Raag Darshan' organised by Sangeet Natak Academy, Kolkata in 2002.

Broadcasts

Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan first performed on All India Radio (AIR) in the year 1972. She has been honoured with the status of 'A' Grade artist for Classical as well as Light-Classical categories.

Some of the prestigious AIR broadcasts are:

• Tuesday Night Concert, AIR Delhi in 1983
• Holi Festival, AIR Pune in 1983
• Chain programmes, AIR Pune, Ratnagiri, Mumbai, Panaji & Dharwad in 1984
• Chain booking concerts, AIR Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugadh & Imphal in 1984
• Sunday Night Concert, AIR in 1993
• Chain programmes on Raag Malhar titled 'Natarangi Malhar', AIR Panaji, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Pune, Aurangabad, Jalgaon & Nagpur in 1998
• Eleven episodes of the Sangeet Sarita programme on Vividh Bharati on the special theme "Do Madhyam Ke Raag"

Apart from various concert broadcasts on radio, Dr. Bharati has also worked as an Expert on the Selection Committee at AIR, Sangli in 1990. She has also participated in various discussions on AIR, notably 'Future of Classical Music' and 'Swarlipi of Pandit Bhatkhande'.

She has also given Classical performances on the Music Asia channel in the programme titled 'Alaap'. Currently this programme is being telecast on the Z Marathi channel.

Two CDs of various live performances of Dr. Bharati have been released by Musician's Guild. These CDs feature Raagas like Shuddha Kalyan, Yaman, Shankara, Khambavati, Kaushi Kanada, Adana Bahaar and Malvi.

Other achievements

Dr. Bharati has been actively involved in the Marathi tradition of Sangeet Naatak. Her major contribution in this field, is the direction for Marathi Sangeet Naataks, Sangeet Sharda, Sangeet Maanapmaan and Sangeet Swayamvar. Sangeet Swayamvar won the 1st prize for Best Naatak along with a total of 33 awards at Bruhanmaharashtra Shaikshanik Sanstha, Delhi.

Dr. Bharati is an examiner and member of the Board of Studies of various universities namely Dharwad university, Goa university, Marathwada university, Nagpur university, Pune university, M.S. university Baroda, Kurukshetra university and Amravati university.

Awards

Dr. Bharati Vaishampayan is the recipient of many awards and recognitions. Chief among these are:

• Government of India National Scholarship for higher training for the year 1976-77.
• "Gaan Hira" awarded by S.N.D.T., Mumbai, for her extraordinary performance in the M.A. (Music) Exam in 1982.
• Best Teacher Award by Shivaji University in the year 1998.
• Mangal Puraskaar in 2001.
• Sangeetkar Ram Kadam Puraskaar awarded by Ram Kadam Pratishthan, Pune, in 2002.
• Kolhapur Bhushan Puraskaar in 2002.
• Bharat Jyoti Puraskaar awarded by India International Friendship Society, New Delhi, in 2003.

As a Guru

A true performer not only entertains with her music, but also becomes a Guru for the next generation for the spread of her art. Dr. Bharati has successfully worked for the spread of Indian music on various fronts.

Dr. Bharati is an able guide for Ph.D. students. So far 7 students have completed their Doctorate in Music under her guidance.

Dr. Bharati has been involved in the nurture of the Music department of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, since its inception in 1984. She became the Head of the Music department in 1987. What started as a small classroom with a few students has now grown into an institution with various departments and courses on classical as well as folk music. Hundreds of students of this prestigious institution are now successfully pursuing their career in music.

The tradition of music is being continued by Dr. Bharati's next generation under her guidance. Her son Kedar is a post-graduate in Tabla, daughters Meera and Madhura are post-graduates in Vocal music and Sangeet Alankaar, and daughter-in-law Sheetal is a post-graduate in Vocal music.

References

• http://www.unishivaji.ac.in/deptmusic.htm
• http://www.screenindia.com/old/archive/archive_fullstory.php?content_id=4369
• http://malharaavishkar.com/index4.htm
• http://www.unipune.ernet.in/events/search_event.php?fldd=2003-09-26
• http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004021012040300.htm&date=2004/02/10/&prd=th&

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Name	Vaishampayan, Bharati
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Date of birth	1 January 1954
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