Kishori Amonkar is no more..
Kishori Ji lived in Mumbai.A small flat in Prabhadevi ( near Dadar west ) Mumbai was her world. She died peacefully yesterday after enthralling millions for many many years with her music . A gifted vocalist of Hindustani classical music, Kishori Ji did her Riyaaz till her last day.
She avoided publicity and media glare. Avoided interviews and meeting interviewers. Many visitors had to return disappointed from her flat.I being one.
She avoided going abroad to perform though invitation were always pouring in.She would always pose a question to her concert organisers:
" Sunaney vaale kaun hain? Kya unhey maloom hai shastriya sangeet kya hai? Or What is my audience? Do they know what classical singing is?"
A little noise, a little casual group or serving of tea or snacks during her performance could prove disastrous. She would stop and leave.People in Kashmir must be remembering her recital at Gulmarg Golf Club organised by Times of India long back. She noticed a casual audience that included Dr Farooq Abdullah as well.Add to that , when some people started serving fresh fruits and snacks to VIPs in the audience, Kishori Ji stopped and turned furious at the organisers and Dr Farooq Abdullah .Infact Dr Abdullah had desired fruits and snacks to be served to the guests. Later Dr Abdullah went to her hotel room to apologise for all that had happened but she stayed firm.
To her interviewers she would generally say:
"This interview business is at the cost of my daily Riyaaz. I have no spare time to gossip around . I want to be left alone. Before a performance ,I am too focused to speak on any issue. After a performance ,I am too tired to talk. Come and join me in my performance. Listen to my music and write. What is the interview ?Shall I praise myself? And other than music ,I have a small personal life. Leave that to me."
Kishori Ji was outstanding vocalist. Purity of Raga was her forte.She was also training many new faces. She was born to music ,lived for music and died in its service.
She lived a simple life .Wanted to be left alone to serve the cause of music .She kept singing for more than seven decades and was conferred a Padma Vibhushan apart from being revered as "Gaan Saraswati". She is the only classical singer who was held in highest esteem by every musician (vocalist and intstrumentalist) of the country.I can name some stalwarts like Daggar Brothers, Girja Devi, Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Lata Mangeshkar, Amjad Ali Khan ,Zakir Hussain ,Ali Akbar Khan, Parveen Sultana and many more.Even Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj remained an ardent admirer of her singing.
Music lovers will miss her distinct style of delivering a composition through a Khayaal,a Thumri or a Bhajan.A real loss to the world of music. She is survived by two sons and grand children.Peace be to her soul.She was 85.
Her soulful rendering of Kabir Bhajan “ Ghat Ghat Mein Panchhi Boltaa “ has been my favourite .
“Ghat ghat mein panchhi bolta,
Aap hi dandi Aap taraju,
Aap hi baitha toltaa,
Aap hi Maali aap Bagicha,
Aap hi kaliyan todtaa….. “
(Avtar Mota)
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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