{"id":737,"date":"2011-12-05T15:19:23","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T23:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/?page_id=737"},"modified":"2020-08-16T16:12:01","modified_gmt":"2020-08-16T15:12:01","slug":"shrikrishna-ratanjankar","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/?page_id=737","title":{"rendered":"Shrikrishna Ratanjankar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shrikrishna

Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar
(1899-1974)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\u266b Raga Narayani<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

About Shrikrishna Ratanjankar<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

From: Rajan P. Parrikar (parrikar@spot.Colorado.EDU)
\nSubject: Great Masters 20: “Gyan Kosh” Ratanjankar
\nNewsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
\nDate: 1995\/05\/17<\/p>\n

Namashkar.<\/p>\n

Musician of no mean ability, outstanding composer, inspiring teacher,
\nexceptional scholar and theorist, competant administrator, and above
\nall, a lifelong student – that was S.N. Ratanjankar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Rajan Parrikar<\/p>\n

From: Great Masters of Hindustani Music<\/strong>, by Smt. Susheela Misra<\/p>\n

Dr. Srikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar<\/strong>
\nby
\nSusheela Misra<\/p>\n

Never before has the world of Hindustani classical music received such
\na double-blow as on February 14, 1974, when it lost two stalwarts on the
\nsame day. In the death of Padma Bhushan Srikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar,
\nwe lost a most dedicated musician and erudite musicologist, and a few hours
\nlater, the grand voice of Padma Bhushan Amir Khan was stilled for ever in
\na tragic car accident. Both have bequeathed precious musical legacies for
\nposterity, each in his own way.<\/p>\n

Pandit Ratanjankar with his life of almost ascetic simplicity, his
\ndedication to and personal sacrifice for the propagation of classical
\nmusic, and indifference to publicity and money, was quite an extraordinary
\npersonality in this era when the majority of professionals hanker after
\nfame, wealth, and a following. The mantle of the great Chaturpandit
\nBhatkhande could not have fallen on worthier shoulders. Like his guru,
\nRatanjankar was “a dedicated soul wedded to music.” While tragedy after
\ntragedy struck his personal life, Pt. Ratanjankar sought solace for his
\nsoul by plunging deeper and deeper into the art which alone gave him a
\npurpose in life and courage to pursue the ideals set before him by his
\nrevered guru.<\/p>\n

Decades ago, when Pt. Ratanjankar was known with affection and respect as
\n“Anna Saheb” among his colleagues, friends and followers, and his voice
\nwas in excellent form, he could have chosen the more paying and exciting
\nlife of a practical musician. But, such was his reverence and loyalty to
\nthe memory of his Guru, that he chose to follow the latter’s footsteps,
\nto continue the work of training generations of musicians and music
\nteachers, and to work in every possible way for the propagation of
\nclassical music. So dedicated was he to his ideals, that he stuck on
\nsteadfastly to the Principalship of the Bhatkhande Music College, Lucknow,
\nthrough three long decades when emoluments were meagre, and sometimes,
\nnot forthcoming at all! Leaving his family in Bombay, Srikrishna Ratanjankar
\nspent the best years of his life cooped up in a small room next to his
\nequally small office-cum-class room in the college. It would not be an
\nexaggeration to say that but for the enormous personal sacrifices that he
\nmade, this music college would not have survived the years of poverty and
\nemerged as such a reputed institution today. While personal tragedies
\nassailed his life repeatedly, this small, frail, man continued to live
\nlike a true Karma Yogi, imparting music to students and scholars who flocked
\nto him from all parts of India, and Ceylon, writing scholarly articles on
\nmusic for various journals, seminars and radio-talks, and enriching our
\nmusic with a prolific number of masterly compositions such as Khayals,
\nLakshanageets, Taranas and Bhajans (in Hindi and Sanskrit). An erudite
\nscholar in music, he remained an eager student and research-scholar till
\nthe end.<\/p>\n

Born on the first dawn of this century in a middle-class Maharashtrian
\nfamily of Bombay, Srikrishna’s father (an officer in the C.I.D.) had a
\ndeep and discriminating interest in music. Therefore, he was able to have
\nthe good fortune of receiving excellent training in the art under the most
\nefficient masters available. At the age of 7, young Srikrishna was put
\nunder the training of Pt. Krishnam Bhat of Karwar (a pupil of Kale Khan of
\nPatiala Gharana) whose method of teaching was so thorough that in 2 years
\nof (nothing but) scale exercises, the boy’s “swar-jnan” was perfected. His
\nnext teacher was Pt. Anant Manohar Joshi (a pupil of Balakrishna Buwa). It
\nwas about this time that Srikrishna’s family came into contact with
\nPt. Bhatkhande Ji. The latter was so deeply impressed by the boy’s talent
\nand zeal, that the Chaturpandit predicted that with proper training, he
\nwould not only become a great musician, but also a pioneer in the
\nrejuvenation and popularization of Hindustani classical music.<\/p>\n

From 1912, Ratanjankar’s family had to endure many misfortunes. Young
\nSrikrishna lost his mother, and his father had to retire from service on
\na premature pension owing to recurring heart-attacks. Unable to live in
\na costly place like Bombay, the family shifted to Ahmadnagar where
\nSrikrishna, though only 13, began to give “mehfils” (music sittings) and
\nbecame very popular.<\/p>\n

In 1916 Srikrishna took part in the first All India Music conference in
\nBaroda. In 1917. he was given a scholarship by Baroda State for studying
\nmusic. The family moved to Baroda where the teen-aged musician taught the
\nMaharani for some time. With Pandit Bhatkhande’s approval he became a
\ndisciple of Aftab-e-Mousiqui Ustad Faiyaz Khan and remained with him for
\nfive years. The mutual affection and respect between these two was great,
\nand the Ustad always mentioned Srikrishna’s name as one of the most eminent
\nof his “musical heirs”.<\/p>\n

In 1923 Ratanjankar’s family went back to Bombay. In spite of the
\nvicissitudes of the family, and his all-engrossing musical training, he
\nfound time to pursue his academic studies as well, and in the year 1925,
\nRatanjankar graduated from the Wilson College. The contact with Pandit
\nBhatkahandeji was always maintained, and then Ratanjankar began to take
\nclasses and give performances in the Sharada Sangeet Mandal sponsored by
\nBhatkhande. Later on, when Pt. Bhatkhande started the Music College in
\nLucknow, Ratanjankar was brought here, first as professor, and soon after,
\nbecame Principal. The latter used to accompany the Chaturpandit during his
\nvisits to the various eminent musicians of the day to collect ancient
\ncompositions from various Gharanas. Thus he was able to learn an enormous
\nnumber of old and traditional compositions (Dhrupads, Dhamar, Khayals,
\nLakashanageet and Thumri). Like Bhatkhandeji, his disciple also strove in
\nvarious ways through lectures, classes, demonstrations, writings etc., to
\nrevive interest in classical music among the public.<\/p>\n

A senior music teacher of today recalls the first time he met and heard
\nSri Ratanjankar. It was in the All India Music Conference organised in
\nLucknow in 1924. In that conference where music maestros from all important
\ncentres like Rampur Jaipur, Gwalior, Alwar, Dholpur, Indore, Baroda and
\nMaihar had assembled, Shrikrishna somehow stood out like a young Abhimanyu
\namong the revered Dronas, Bhishmas, etc. Besides being a graduate and a
\npolished musician, he was already a profound scholar in music. His voice
\nwas in excellent form and his erudition in “Sangeet Shastra” was astounding.
\nHe could render rare and difficult ragas like Deepak, Patmanjari,
\nNatnarayan, Bhankar, etc., with as much ease as the Prachalit (current
\nand popular) ones like Yaman, Bilawal, Todi, Bhairavi etc.<\/p>\n

He knew by heart even the rare compositions published in the fifth and
\nsixth parts of Bhatkhande’s Kramik Series. We could not help wondering how
\nand when he had managed to learn such a large number of ragas and
\ncompositions, to take his B. A. Degree, and to make such a deep study of
\nclassics like Sungeeta-Ratnakar, Natya-Shashtra, Lakshya-Sangeet, Raga
\nTala vibodh and so on !<\/p>\n

Those who have had the good fortune to listen to “Anna Saheb’s”
\n(Ratanjankar’s) music when he was in his best form can never forget the
\nvastness of his raga – and – songs – repertoire, the richness of his
\ncreative imagination, the purity and precision of his note-combinations,
\nand the overall beauty of his well-integrated, systematic style. Being of
\na shy and quiet temperament, and a genuine votary of music, Annasaheb never
\nmade any concessions to placate plebian tastes. He retired into his own
\nquiet shell, and loosened the springs of his great and unspoilt art, only
\nin front of the knowing and discerning few. His style, though basically of
\nthe Jaipur Gharana, bore the unmistakable impression of Ustad Faiyaz Khan’s
\nAgra or Rangeela style, while delightfully combining some of the best
\ncharacterstics of the Gwalior-gharana. The resulting synthesis was a
\nremarkable individual style of his own. It was a rare combination of
\nsweetness and dignity, aesthetic purity and creativeness and of swara
\nsuddhi with Uchchaar suddhi (purity of notes and intonation). I have had
\nthe good fortune to listen to innumerable soirees of Annasaheb when his
\nmusic was at the peak of its glory. Some of his memorable performances were
\nat the various festival functions organised in the college such as Basant,
\nHori, Janmashtami and so on. But it was at the annual Sangeet Dhara
\nprogrammes, dedicated to Pt. Bhatkhande’s memory, that he really sang like
\none inspired, and poured out his soul in song, in honour of his gurus
\n“Punya tithi.” Past and present students, musicians from far and near,
\nused to flock to participate in this unbroken-musical stream which
\ncommenced at dawn on l9th of September each year, and lasted for 12 hours.
\nThe ragas Paraj, Bhairavi, Lalit Poncham, Desh, Darbari ,Sohini, and
\nMalhar that I heard him sing in the Nineteen forties still echo in my ears.<\/p>\n

Throughout the day and late into the night, Annasaheb lived in a musical
\nworld of his own, engrossed in ancient music classics, and composing new
\nrare-combinations like Marga-Bihag, Kedar Bahar, Sawani Kedara, Rajani
\nKalyan, Salag Varali, Sankara Karan etc. He also experimented on new types
\nof compositions like Varnams from Carnatic music with Hindi Sahitya and
\nTaranas with Sanskrit verses instead of Persian ones. Well versed in
\nEnglish, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Marathi, all this came to him with ease. It
\nwas a joke (though a fact) among his students, that his “companions” during
\nrailway-journeys were never light magazines or novels, but heavy classics
\nlike the Samaveda, Bharata Natya Sastra, and Sangeeta Ratnakara.<\/p>\n

With the passing of years, the strenuous years of music teaching, the
\nimpact of tragic personal losses, and deteriorating health-all these factors
\nruined his voice. Ratanjankar performed less and less frequently. He
\nconcentrated on other aspects of music-creativity. As an examiner in various
\nuniversities, and as a member of the Syllabus-Committee, he wrote and
\npublished his Sangeet Shiksha in 3 parts, the Abhinava Sangeet Shiksha, the
\nTana Samgraha, etc. His Abhinava – Rag Manjari alone contains nearly 200
\nof his original and beautiful compositions. He never tried to publicise the
\nfact that his compositions are being broadcast from the various stations of
\nAll India Radio almost every day. Generations of musicians will revere his
\nmemory as one of the most eminent and prolific Vagyeyakars of modern times.<\/p>\n

Only a musician-cum scholar could create such beautiful classical songs in
\nwhich Swaras and Sahitya, blend so harmoniously. Annasaheb’s musical credo
\nwas that the effect of music ought to be, and is pure aesthetic joy” and
\nthat the musician should be able to draw out from every raga whatever rasa
\nor emotion he wishes to”. Perhaps it was to illustrate this point that he
\nwrote his successful musical operas-Govardhanodhar, Jhansi Ki Rani and
\nShivamangalam. The first of these was put out as a national programme from
\nall stations of AIR. In all of them, he made use of a plethora of ragas
\nto produce various rasas.<\/p>\n

When the Indira Kala Sangeet University was inaugurated in Khairagarh
\n(Madhya Pradesh), Principal Ratanjankar was persuaded to accept the
\nVice-Chancellorship. Leaving his humble college in Lucknow was a most
\npainful wrench for him. Again, like a true karma-yogi, he felt it was his
\nduty to take up this new challenging job, see this infant University
\nthrough its birth-pangs, and put it on firm foundations. In fact, a less
\ndedicated person could not have borne this heavy responsibility. Night and
\nday, he strove selflessly for the University. Only his closest-associates
\nknow how he secretly used to donate a large slice of his own salary back
\nto the University whenever funds became inadequate. He did not lay down
\nthe heavy reins of this office until he had steered this institution out
\nof troubled waters and set it sailing along calm seas.<\/p>\n

At a time when the majority of north Indian musicians looked askance at
\nKarnatak music, Shri Ratanjankar was one of the very few who studied deeply
\nthe theory and ragas of the Karnatak system, appreciated its great
\ntraditions, and adapted much from it to enrich the Hindustani system.
\nAverse to party politics, and narrow provincialism, he remained dignified
\nand above petty jealousies. Sangeet Kalanidhi Justice Venkatrama Iyer
\ndescribed Ratanjankar as “the symbol of the unity of lndian music”. As a
\nmember of the expert committee of the Music Akademy, Madras, he contributed
\nrichly to “promote close mutual understanding between the two systems”.
\nAs chairman of the Music Auditions Board, Pt. Ratanjankar was closely
\nassociated with AIR for a number of years. He participated in many music
\nseminars with his scholarly papers. Among his more well-known disciples
\nmay be mentioned the late Chandrasekhar Pant, the late Chidanand Nagarkar,
\nChinmoy Lahiri, Dinkar Kaikini, P.N. Chinchore, Dr. Sumati Mutatkar,
\nS.C.R. Bhat, K.G. Ginde and others. While all of them have been regular
\nbroadcasters, two of them served on the staff of the AIR for many years.
\nBut now most of them are teaching music.<\/p>\n

Shri Ratanjankar adorned many positions of honour in the world of music
\nand was honoured with the title of “Padma Bhushan” by President Rajendra
\nPrasad in recognition of his outstanding services to music.<\/p>\n

Musicians and musicologists from all over the country pay their homage
\nto the memory of this rare “missionary” in music who lived a life of utter
\nsimplicity and dedication, and who enriched Hindustani music in many ways.
\nIn one of his many lovely Bhajans he used to sing: “It is a precious gift
\nto be born as a human being on this earth. Do some good work while you are
\nhere. Keep your mind and body and your entire life pure and clean. Help
\nthose in need. Make your life useful and purposeful”. In fact, this
\ndescribes Pt. Ratanjankar’s own approach to life.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u266b Raga Narayani   About Shrikrishna Ratanjankar From: Rajan P. Parrikar (parrikar@spot.Colorado.EDU) Subject: Great Masters 20: “Gyan Kosh” Ratanjankar Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical Date: 1995\/05\/17 Namashkar. Musician of no mean ability, outstanding composer, inspiring teacher, exceptional scholar and theorist, competant administrator, and above all, a lifelong student – that was S.N. Ratanjankar. Rajan Parrikar From: Great Masters...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":6,"menu_order":1070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"pp_embeds":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=737"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2174,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/737\/revisions\/2174"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}