V.G. Jog

Vishnu Govind Jog, better known as V. G. Jog, was born on 22 February 1922 in Mumbai and was an Indian violinist. He was the foremost exponent of the violin in the Hindustani music tradition in the 20th century and is credited for introducing this instrument into Hindustani music. Jog received early training from S. C. Athavale and the late Ganpat Rao Purohit. At a very young age, he rubbed shoulders with all-time greats at the Bhatkhande College of Music, Lucknow, in the 1930s — the first significant attempt at institutionalizing traditional music instruction.

Jog began his training at the age of twelve and was subsequently trained by some of the finest musicians in India, like Ustad Allauddin Khan and Pandit S. N. Ratanjankar. Sri Lanka Pandit W. D. Amaradeva studied under Jog. Jog earned a master degree in music from Bhatkhande Music Institute in Lucknow in 1944 and went on to teach there. He also taught at the Ali Akbar College of Music. Jog was a disciple of Baba Allauddin Khan. He performed and recorded with many of the most excellent Hindustani musicians of the 20th century and toured the world. He frequently served for All India Radio Calcutta division. His book Behala Shiksha published in 1944, is recognized as a significant piece of authoritative literature.

He joined All India Radio in 1953 and served as a music producer. He had made successful tours to foreign countries and issued many LP and EP gramophone records of solo performances and jugalbandi with sangeet maestros. He toured extensively in India and abroad, significantly in East Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and West Germany. In 1985, he performed to great acclaim under the auspices of the Festival of India in the United States. He received many honors from various cultural institutions, including the Padma Bhushan in 1983 by the president of India and the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1980.

By the time he retired, he had risen to deputy chief producer at All India Radio. Trained in the Gwalior, Agra, and Bakhale gharanas, Jog evolved his characteristic style, which was a blend of gayaki and gatkari, noted for purity of melody and tradition, a formidable layakari ability, dignity, crispness, and accessible musical communication. He often enlightened audiences according to their taste with lighter themes and folk tunes, flowing with lilting and sparkling grace.

His virtuosity, mastery of ragas, unreal awareness of room and moment in the building, and moral of pattern are his hallmarks. Beginning in 1999, he had Parkinson’s disease and respiratory problems in his later years. After a prolonged illness, Pandit Jog died on 31 January 2004 in South Calcutta. Every year, on 31 January, a concert is held in Kolkata by Swarsadhana, an organization founded in his memory by his disciple Pandit Pallab Bandyopadhyay.