Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki - A Life Dedicated To Music

In this beautiful book Dr Darekar shows the influences which have formed a musician like Pt Jitendra Abhisheki. We read about Panditji's youth, his family back-ground, the problems he had to negotiate on his way and, by describing the diverse characters of his gurus, Dr Darekar illustrates how an ardent music-lover with unwavering perseverance and a receptive mind can be moulded by his gurus and life itself. Quotes from eminent contemporaries and disciples of Pt Jitendra Abhisheki give a true-to-life insight into the per- sonality of this great man. - This volume is not only the life-story of a great singer and composer, an eminent scholar and a thinker, unfettered by narrow gharana dogmas, but it allows the reader to peep into the workshop of an accomplished artist where he finds many valuable secrets of proper practice and performance and minutiae of different gharanas.

Dr Mohankumar Darekar, having been trained by maestros like Pt Jitendra Abhisheki, Dr Vikas N Kashalkar, Pt Rajan and Pt Sajan Mishra, is a widely acclaimed artiste with a tuneful voice and an exceptional charisma. Based on the Abhisheki Gharana Dr Darekar has devloped his own distinctive style by incorporating the best of the different gharanas.

Padmashri Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki is my guru. From my early childhood I was very interested in music. During my school and college days I used to sing some light music songs, give per- formances and take part in competitions. My first cassettes of Pt Jitendra Abhisheki's were natyasangit, bhaktigit and abhangas'. They fascinated me so much that I listened to them till I could sing all those compositions by heart. Before long, I felt a keen desire to learn from the man whom I had chosen as an icon, and had highest respect. I did not know, how I could approach him to accomplish my goal. But necessity is the mother of invention. I got an idea to ap- proach Madhukaka Godse, a relative of Smt Abhisheki's, who is a well-known lawyer in my village. He was kind enough to provide me with a letter of introduction, requesting Panditji to meet me. Thus, I met Bua personally for the first time in 1983 and, to my great joy, he accepted me as his disciple. This was a very important turning point in my life and I considered myself extremely fortu- nate. My whole life changed from that very moment - that one un- forgettable, precious moment that is still deeply etched in my heart. From that time onwards, I stayed with him in his house in Mumbai. Very soon I was made to feel at home there. Vahini², Smt Abhisheki, loved all of us like her own children. Shounak, Guruji's son, and Mekhala, his daughter, also extended their love and re spect to me. Guruji was a father to all - disciples and real children -alike. At that time many students like me studied hard to become - musicians or singers.

The reason for writing this preface to Dr Mohan Darekar's book 'Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki - A Life Dedicated to Music' is that Pt Jitendra Abhisheki' was a very close friend of mine whom I highly respect for his profound learning and his tremendous contri- butions to music. Anyone working in the field of music could have written this preface but my close relationship to Pandit Abhisheki induced me to do so. His outstanding creative capacity as an artist made Pt Jitendra Abhisheki shine like a star in the world of Indian Music. He stud- ied the specific approaches and characteristic styles of many gharānas2. For the creation of his own style he selected those as- pects which suited his singing best. To this day artists from various traditions are singing his music because of its power of melody, a power that had drawn his own large audiences and very talented disciples who later became acclaimed professional artists. One of them is Dr Mohan Darekar who learned from him for 15 years by the traditional gurukul-system³ and who wrote this book from the inner feelings of his heart as an expression of devoted respect. In this beautiful book on his guru he shows the very special relation- ship between guru and shishya - master and disciple. Pt Jitendra Abhisheki was not only an eminent scholar in the science of music, he was a great and a celebrated master in presenting music. Therefore, this book is not just a story of a person, but you can imagine Pt Abhisheki singing in front of you. Theoretical and practical knowledge of music go hand in hand in this book.

**Contents and Sample Pages**