‘Pt. Kumar Gandharva internalised every phrase’

In a talk about the legendary Kumar Gandharva, Pt. Satyasheel Deshpande made his music and philosophy come alive

It is a challenge to introduce Pt. Satyasheel Deshpande. Even if it sounds tame, here is an attempt: son of renowned musicologist Pt. Vamanrao Deshpande, Pt. Satyasheel is a musician, musicologist, composer, writer, music collector, and curator. Founder of the Samvaad Foundation — that has over 8,000 hours of archival recordings of Hindustani classical music and 3,000 pieces of unpublished music material — Pt. Satyasheel is the disciple of the redoubtable Pt. Kumar Gandharva. He has intimately studied the music of and interacted with leading Hindustani musicians, who had a close relationship with his father and regularly visited their home. Uniquely creative, with an unusual vision and eclectic taste, Pt. Satyasheel Deshpande is one of those rare musicians who can speak about music as competently as he can sing it. Suranjan Trust, Thane, which works for the promotion of Hindustani music, recently organised the first episode of ‘Insight’, a study of some of the recordings of Pt. Kumar Gandharva by Pt. Satyasheel. “I am not here to give a final opinion,” he began, “but I want to discuss the merits (guna charcha) of this extraordinary musician’s music.” He recalled the “multiple influences” of music in his own life: Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Suresh Mane, Mogubai Kurdikar, and several other musicians frequented his home, giving him the opportunity to listen to their music closely. But why did he choose to study under Pt. Kumar Gandharv? “They were all great musicians, phenomenally talented. It was possible to understand their music, whereas Pt. Kumar Gandharva’s music was unpredictable, not something that one understood easily. I decided to learn what I did not easily understand,” he explained.