{"id":802,"date":"2011-12-05T16:46:56","date_gmt":"2011-12-06T00:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/?page_id=802"},"modified":"2020-08-16T16:18:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-16T15:18:32","slug":"omkarnath-thakur","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/?page_id=802","title":{"rendered":"Omkarnath Thakur"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Omkarnath

Omkarnath Thakur
(1897-1967)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

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

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

About Omkarnath Thakur<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pandit Omkarnath Thakur<\/strong>
\nby
\nSusheela Mishra<\/p>\n

After listening to Pandit Omkarnath Thakur’s music once, Mahatma Gandhi is
\nsaid to have remarked : “Pandit Omkarnathji can achieve through a single
\nsong of his, what I cannot achieve through several speeches.”
\nSuch was the impact of Omkarnath Thakur’s personality and his music on
\nlisteners. Besides being a successful musician, he was also endowed with an
\nimpressive personality who combined in himself many wonderful qualities of
\nhead and heart. The story of his early boyhood years is really a moving one,
\nfilled as it was, with struggles, privations, and poverty. But instead of
\nbeing crushed under all this suffering, the boy’s strong character, his
\ninborn talents, and his fine qualities emerged with a rare brilliance out of
\nthe purifying fires of suffering. Omkarnathji’s life-story proves how one
\nwho is destined to achieve greatness in life, will emerge triumphant, however
\nadverse the circumstances might be. Such real-life stories strengthen one’s
\nbelief in the Hindu theory of Samskara the accumulated knowledge, goodness,
\nculture etc. that one has earned through previous births.<\/p>\n

Omkarnath was born on 24th June 1897 in village Jahaaj, in District Bhadaran
\n(Cambay now). He was the fourth child of his parents. He had two brothers
\nand one sister, named respectively Balakrishna (aged 12), Ravi Shankar (aged
\n4), and Parvati (aged 8).<\/p>\n

His paternal grandfather Pandit Mahashankar Thakur, and father Pandit Gauri
\nShankar Thakur had been brave warriors in the services of Nana Saheb Peshwa
\nand Maharani Jamnabai respectively. But, contact with a Yogi named
\n“Alonibaba” changed the entire life and outlook of Pandit Gauri Shankar. He
\nbegan to lose interest in all worldly affairs, and was initiated into
\nPranav-Sadhana or meditation of Pranava or “AUM” to which he began to devote
\nmore and more of his time. As his fourth child was born during this period
\nof his life, he named the boy “Omkarnath”.<\/p>\n

Although Gauri Shankar led the life of a householder, his mind was pre-
\noccupied most of the time with meditation on Pranava. Living in her
\nhusband’s large joint-family, Omkarnath’s mother Jhaverba had to put up with
\nneglect, ill-treatment and harshness from her hard-hearted brother-in-law
\n(Gauri Shankar’s elder brother) who finally misappropriated all her clothes
\nand ornaments, and turned out Jhaverba and her 4 small children from the
\nhouse. But she was an amazing woman, full of an innate dignity, self-
\nreliance, and endowed with immense reserves of physical and mental strength.
\nMarried to a recluse of a husband, and left with no other source of help,
\nJhaverba brought up her children independently by taking up domestic work in
\nvarious houses. She never lost courage, nor sought help from anyone. The
\nstrong character, robust constitution, and innate sense of self respect of
\nhis mother were to leave a lasting impression on the young Omkarnath’s mind
\nand character. Few musicians paid such meticulous attention to one’s own
\nhealth as he did. Apart from leading a thoroughly disciplined life, and
\nalways remaining very frugal in his eating habits, he devoted considerable
\ntime daily to physical exercises, “Surya-Namaskaaram”, swimming, and even
\nthe exercises he had learnt from the famed wrestler Gaama ! Even in his late
\nfifties, he is said to have continued most of these exercises. From his
\nfather, Omkarnath inherited great courage and a religious bent of mind, an
\nurge for Pranav-Saadhana which, in his case, went a step further, into
\nNaada-Upaasana, or worship of the Infinite through Music. When his father
\ntook to “Sanyas” and went to live alone in a little hut on the banks of the
\nRiver Narbada, young Omkarnath was torn between his love and concern for his
\npoor, over-worked mother, and his adoration for his religious-minded father.
\nThe boy learnt cooking and began to work as a cook in a lawyer’s house in
\norder to supplement his mother’s meagre earnings as a domestic servant. In
\nbetween he would run many miles so that he could reach his father’s hut,
\nclean, sweep and cook for him and fill pitchers of water for his use ! He
\nimbibed the courage and dignity of his mother, and the scholarly austere
\nnature of his father. For some time, he worked as a mill-hand. The owner of
\nthe mill was so captivated by the curly-haired, good-looking, intelligent
\nand hardworking boy that he wished to adopt him ! But Omkarnath’s father
\nadamantly refused:-” My boy will not become the adopted son of some rich man.
\nBut he is going to win rich laurels and fame with the blessings of Goddess
\nSaraswati”.<\/p>\n

Omkarnath used to say that his father was gifted with many miraculous Yogic
\npowers. He had foretold the exact day and hour of his death (in 1910. Prior
\nto shaking off his mortal coils, Pandit Gauri Shankar called his favourite
\nson Omkarnath to his side blessed him with a betel-roll with which he wrote
\na precious “mantra” on the boy’s tongue !<\/p>\n

Before long, Omkarnath’s deep love and yearning for music and his rare
\nmusical talents became obvious. His saviour came in the form of Seth
\nShahpur-ji Mancherji Dungaji, a very generous philanthropist from Bhadoch.
\nThe kind Sethji got Omkarnath admitted into Pandit Vishnu Digambar’s Music
\nSchool in Bombay. Under Pandit Digambar’s loving guidance and training,
\nOmkarnath was groomed into an excellent musician. During those rewarding 6
\nyears or so in the ennobling presence of his guru in the latter’s gurukula,
\nOmkarnath served his teacher like a devoted son, and imbibed all the music
\nthat he had longed to learn. The guru was so pleased with his progress that
\nin 1916 when the former started his famous Gandharva Maha-Vidyalaya in
\nLahore, he appointed the 20 years-old Omkarnath as the principal ! While
\nserving the school in this capacity, young Omkarnath led a very disciplined
\nand pure life, setting aside only 6 hours for sleep, and devoting the
\nremaining 18 hours for his own riyaz and for teaching his students. In 1918
\nhe was sent to Baroda as an Examiner where he left a deep impression on
\nMaharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad and on the Diwan Sri Monubhai. In the same year,
\nhe was invited to sing in the famous Harvallabh-mela of Jullunder on the
\nsame day as Pandit Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle. It is said that both of them-the
\nyoung and handsome Omkarnath, and the ageing veteran Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle gave
\nsuch fine recitals that the audiences showered coins and ornaments on the
\nstage as a mark of appreciation ! That was the beginning of his spectacularly
\nsuccessful and long career as a performing musician, a career which was to
\nlast until his last fatal illness several decades later. Even after he
\nreached the peak of his career, he never relaxed in his Naadopaasana. Along
\nwith this, he carried on his Yoga-Saadhana, physical exercises, and worship
\nof his favourite deity, Sri Rama. For 25 continuous years (1926 to 1951), he
\nkept up his daily recital of Cantos from the Ramcharitamaanas, of which he
\nhad made a deep study. Like his Guru Pandit Vishnu Digambar, Omkarnath also
\nspecially enjoyed the Ramdhun and Ram-nam-Keertan.<\/p>\n

In 1922, Omkarnathji married Indira Devi the noble daughter of a rich Seth,
\nPrahladji Dalsukhram Bhatt of Surat. In 1924 he got his first chance to go
\nto Nepal on a royal invitation. In spite of the hardships of the journey to
\nNepal in those days, it turned out to be a worthwhile trip because Omkarnath
\nwon the unstinted admiration of H. H. Maharaja Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur
\nwho rewarded him with Rs 5000 in cash and offered him the post of a court
\nmusician on a monthly salary of Rs 3000. But Omkarnath refused this tempting
\noffer because he was longing to get back to his mother at whose feet he, on
\nhis return, placed all the money and costly presents that he had received as
\nrewards. This was something he had always longed to do. Practice of music and
\nstudy of ancient Shastras became his obsessions. He was also a great patriot,
\nand was elected as President of the Bhadoch Congress Committee, and as a
\nmember of the Gujarat Provincial Congress Committee.<\/p>\n

In 1930 Omkarnathji was again invited to visit Nepal and was showered with
\nmore honours and rewards. This time he placed everything at the feet of his
\nrevered Guru Pandit Vishnu Digambar who embraced his worthy pupil with great
\nlove and pride. From then onwards, his fame spread far and wide, and he was
\ninvited to sing in Music Conferences in Mysore, Hyderabad, Bengal etc. In
\nHyderabad he gave such an inspired rendering of raga Malkauns that Pandit
\nDigambar hugged and blessed him with tears of pride and joy in his eyes.
\nEarlier in his life, while working as an employee in a Jain establishment,
\nOmkarnath had learnt to read and write from the Jain monks. Later on, by his
\nown efforts he had mastered several languages like Hindi, Marathi, English,
\nSanskrit, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu and Nepali. Really, his thirst for
\nknowledge was unquenchable.<\/p>\n

After the death of his beloved Guru Pt. Vishnu Digambar in 1931, Omkarnath
\nwent to Italy on an invitation to participate in the International Music
\nConference in Florence (1933). The story of how “he sang before Mussolini
\nand cured him of his insomnia” was soon on everybody’s lips. Thereafter, be
\ntravelled widely, giving music recitals, lecture demonstrations in Germany,
\nHolland, Belgium, France, London, Wales, Switzerland etc. He sang before
\nKing Amanullah of Afghanistan. In London, some friends advised him to beg
\nfor an opportunity to sing before King George V, so that he could obtain the
\ntitle of “Rai Bahadur”. But Omkarnath was too self respecting to stoop to
\nsuch means for obtaining free titles. He was proceeding to Russia when he
\nsuddenly received the shocking news of the sudden death (in childbirth) of
\nhis gentle, devoted wife, Indira Devi. He rushed back home and was so
\nstunned by the loss that he had a breakdown and a temporary loss of memory.
\nOmkarnath always spoke tenderly of his loving life-partner but for whose
\nselfless devotion and co-operation, he could never have attained the status
\nhe did in music. I still remember how at a huge music conference in Calcutta
\nmany years ago, the audience requested him to sing Neelambari. But he begged
\nto be excused as Neelambari had been a favourite of his late wife and he
\nfelt he would have a breakdown if he tried to render it that evening! He
\nalways cherished memories of her devotion gratefully. After her death, his
\nrelatives, friends, and even his loving mother tried hard to persuade him
\nto remarry, but Omkarnath stuck to his Eka-Patni vrata saying: “My favourite
\ndeity is Lord Rama. Like Him, I believe that each man should marry only once
\nin his life-time, and cherish her throughout life.”<\/p>\n

Artistes are generally associated with moral laxities and even vices. In
\nsuch a world, Pandit Omkarnath’s life stands out as a rare example of lofty
\nmorality, self-discipline and austere living.<\/p>\n

After Pandit Omkarnath recovered from the shock of his wife’s tragic death
\nand resumed his singing career, his music was tinged with a touch of pathos.
\nHe left Bhadoch with its painful memories, and migrated to Bombay where he
\nstarted his “Sangeet Niketan”. Meanwhile, he travelled all over the country
\ngiving recitals, and won wide popularity. Mahaamand. Madan Mohan Malaviya
\nwas very keen to start the Faculty of Music in the Benares Hindu University
\nunder Panditji s guidance, but Malaviyaji died before this was finalised.
\nHowever, Pandit Govind Malaviya fulfilled his father’s dream in August 1950
\nwhen the Music Faculty was inaugurated in B.H.U. and Pandit Omkarnath was
\nappointed its first Dean. He occupied the Chair with great dignity, worked
\nwith a missionary’s zeal, and nursed the infant Faculty into blooming youth.
\nNot only did he possess a magnetic personality, high musical calibre both as
\na singer and as a musicologist, but also he had the compassion of an artiste,
\nadministrative acumen and gifts of oratory, infinite patience as a teacher,
\nand deep love for his disciples. Cut off from his kith and kin, he began to
\nlook upon his shishyas as his true sons and daughters. He has left a large
\nlegacy of good disciples, many of them being practical musicians, while some
\nothers became well-known musicologists. Among them, a few names are:-
\nDr. Premlata Sharma, Yashwant Rai Purohit, Balwant Rai Bhatt, Kanakrai
\nTrivedi, Shiv Kumar Shukla, Phiroj K. Dastur, Bijonbala Ghosh Dastidar,
\nDr. N. Rajam, Rajbhau Sontakke, Smt. Subhadra Kulshreshta, Atul Desai,
\nP.N Barwe, Kum. Nalini Gajendragadkar, and so on. Few maestros have groomed
\nsuch a large number of Shishyas in recent times. Dr. N. Rajam, favourite
\ndisciple of his used to be his violin-accompanist in nearly all his concerts
\nduring the last years of his life. Her style is full of nostalgic touches
\nfrom her guru’s music; often when she tried to recapture their guru’s
\ntypical touches, Kaakuprayog etc. tears flow from her eyes. That he could
\ninspire so much guru-bhakti in his pupils, proves his goodness as a teacher.
\nPandit Omkarnath was a friend and guru-bandhu of the famous violin-virtuoso
\n(late) Perrier Sundaram whose son M.S. Gopalakrishnan is one of the most
\noutstanding violin artistes of today both in Karnatic and Hindustani music.
\nM.S.G’s style has been considerably influenced by Pandit Omkarnath’s vocal
\nstyle. Towards his “large family of pupils”, Panditji’s attitude was that
\nof a strict but loving father. A fluent speaker, an impressive singer, and
\na bit of a dramatist, he could easily win over his audiences. A firm
\nbeliever in the prime importance of a clean and healthy physique in order
\nto keep up the exacting art of music, he not only continued his swimming,
\nwrestling, and praanaayaam, but also tried to impress on his students the
\nimportance of these through his own example. A moderate eater, a strict
\nvegetarian, fastidious in the matter of cleanliness, absolutely free from
\nvices of any kind, and a stickler to punctuality, he really set a good
\nexample among musicians and teachers. The impact of Pandit Omkarnath’s
\nmusic and personality has been well described by a music critic (Gurudev
\nSharan) in the following words:
\n“One was struck as much by the leonine grandeur of his personality as by
\nhis stentorian voice– Dressed in a flowing white silk robe, he made a great
\nimpression on the audiences by his very presence. His compelling resilient
\nvoice with an amazingly wide tonal range, seemed to blend perfectly with the
\ndignity of his bearing”.<\/p>\n

One fact that gave Omkarnathji immense satisfaction and joy was that he
\nrealized his long cherished dream of making his beloved mother’s last years
\nmost comfortable and relaxed. She lived up to the ripe old age of 97
\nenjoying good health and sharing her devoted son’s days of glory, fame, and
\nprosperity.<\/p>\n

With his beautifully cultivated and powerful voice, his emotional (and
\ndramatic) singing and fluent lecture-demonstrations, he contributed a great
\ndeal to the realization of his Guru’s ambition of popularising traditional
\nmusic. About him, Dr. Rajam writes : “The most striking feature of my guru’s
\nmusic was the evoking of emotions in the minds of listeners through the
\nmedia of swara, sahitya, appropriate facial expressions, Kaakus (voice
\nmodulations) etc. His tender and deep emotion found an ideal vehicle in his
\nsoft and sonorous voice. The pains and privations that he suffered in life
\nresulted in a unique emotion-packed music. In fact, his tremendous success w
\nith listeners lay in his deep understanding of the basic emotions and the
\nclear conception of the swaras, the exact tonal shade and the modulations
\nrequired to translate them into the language of music—-Music to him was
\nworship. His approach to Naadopasana was that of a devotee towards religious
\nrituals”.<\/p>\n

In an article entitled “Abhinaya Aur Sangeet”, Dr. Premlata Sharma (a
\nfavourite disciple of his) points out how a bit of histrionics is essential
\nto make one’s music effective. Most musicians do not pay adequate attention
\nto this, and consequently, fail to create any impression on listeners.
\nPdt Omkarnath made conscious and full use of “Abhinaya” in all its aspects,
\nthrough dramatic voice-modulations (Kaaku prayog), angaraga (tasteful elegant
\nclothes), mukhamudras (facial expressions) and hastachalan (hand gestures).
\nIt was the deliberate use of all these aspects of Abhinaya that helped him
\nto create such a strong audio-visual impact on his audiences. Those of us
\nwho have watched and heard him singing some of his special songs like
\n“Jogi Mat Ja Mat Ja”, “Mai nahi makhan khaayo”, “Ek ban Jogi”,
\n“Vandemataram”, etc, can always recall and visualize his facial expressions,
\nhand-gestures, and voice modulations for emotional expression. This was how
\nhe used to bring out the joys of Bahar, the resigned sadness of Nilambari,
\nthe plaintive appeal of “Jogi mat ja” in Bhairavi, or the patriotic fervour
\nof “Vande Mataram”! Prithviraj Kapoor, the famed Thespian, a great admirer
\nof Omkarnath’s music used to say: “Omkarnath Thakur’s dramatic presentation
\nof songs should not only be heard, but seen too!”.<\/p>\n

On his Alapchari was the deep influence of the style of Auliya Rahmat Khan
\n(son of Hassu Khan). He had fully imbibed the musical style of his guru
\nPt. Vishnu Digamber. Although. the guru never encouraged Thumri singing,
\nOmkarnath could render Thumris also very effectively.<\/p>\n

A great scholar in music, Omnkrnath has left behind for posterity many
\nvaluable treatises on music such as the “Sangeetanjali” series, the
\n“Pranav Bharati” which covers 3 aspects of music (Swara, Raga, and Rasa).
\nHe was also a composer of merit, a vagyeyakar who had good mastery over
\nSahitya and Sangeet alike. The definition of a vagyeyakar says:
\n“Vaacham geyyam cha kurute, sa Vagyeyakara”. Into his compositions he
\nusually wove in at the end his pen-name “Pranav” or “Pranav Rang”. He always
\nplanned his concert details with a careful eye on audience-reactions. His
\n“Sangeetanjali” deals with the practical aspects of music (6 parts), and
\n“Pranav Bharati” with the theoretical aspects.<\/p>\n

Among the several awards and titles conferred on him were the “Padma Sri” in
\n1955, Sangeet Prabhakar by Pdt Madan Mohan Malaviya, “Sangeet Martand” from
\nCalcutta Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in 1940, and “Sangeet Mahamahodaya from the
\nruler of Nepal in 1930.<\/p>\n

Omkarnathji devoted himself heart and soul in building up the Sri Kala
\nSangeet Bharati in B.H.U. from the year of its inception in 1950 until his
\nretirement in 1957. In 1954 he had a heart attack from which he recovered
\nwell enough to resume his concert programmes. The last time I heard him was
\nin our Lucknow Radio Concert on lOth March 1965 (accompanied on the violin
\nby Rajam). In July 1965 he had a serious paralytic stroke in Bombay; when he
\nrecovered from this to some extent, he went to his native Broach where he
\nhad purchased a house of his liking, but he was not destined to live a
\nrelaxed life in that home. For, the severe stroke that he bad in June 1966
\naffected his whole body, and even his memory. The last years of his life
\nwere very pathetic and lonely as his mother, brothers, sister, wife, had all
\npredeceased him. Dr. Rajam wrote: “It was a pity that he had to lead a
\nlonely life all through. He had neither a house of his own, nor a relative
\nto fall back upon in his old age, nor even a reliable servant to look after
\nhim. It was a pathetic sight to see him at the ripe age of 65 sweep the
\nfloors and cook his food all by himself. He used to remark that it was not
\nin his luck to have a settled home. At the fag end of his career, when he
\ndid buy a house at Broach, the cruel hand of Fate prevented him from
\nsettling down there.”<\/p>\n

The last stroke of paralysis kept him in painful obscurity for three long
\nyears until death, the Healer, came to his rescue. Since he had left Kashi
\nand spent his last bed-ridden years in Broach, very few of his loved
\ndisciples could serve or nurse him. Balvantrai Bhatt was one of the few
\ndisciples who accompanied him in his funeral procession.<\/p>\n

Pt. Omkarnath Thakur lived a clean, purposeful and fruitful life and greatly
\nenriched Hindustani music. Large numbers of his shishyas continue his
\nmusical traditions and nurse nostalgic memories of their great Guru who
\nleft this world on 29th December 1967. Besides his gramophone records, the
\nArchives of AIR have preserved many recordings of Pdt Omkarnath Thakur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u266b Raga Lacchasakh \u266b Raga Maligoura \u266b Raga Neelambari   About Omkarnath Thakur Pandit Omkarnath Thakur by Susheela Mishra After listening to Pandit Omkarnath Thakur’s music once, Mahatma Gandhi is said to have remarked : “Pandit Omkarnathji can achieve through a single song of his, what I cannot achieve through several speeches.” Such was the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":6,"menu_order":1160,"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\/802"}],"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=802"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2185,"href":"https:\/\/www.parrikar.org\/vpl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/802\/revisions\/2185"}],"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=802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}