Vinayakrao Patwardhan

Indian classical music vocalist Pandit Vinayak Narayan Patwardhan (22 July 1898 – 23 August 1975) specialised in the Gwalior gharana (style of singing).  He was born in Miraj, Maharashtra, on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. In 1902, Vinayakrao's mother passed away, and a few months later, he also lost his father, Narayanrao. Vinayakrao's first music instructor was his uncle, Keshav Rao Koratkar. He attended the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1907, where Vishnu Digambar Paluskar served as his teacher.

A hallmark of the Gwalior Gharana style is its uncomplicated approach to ragas, which was evident in Vinayakrao Patwardhan's singing. Ragas like "Bahar," "Adana," "Multani," "Malhar," "Jaijaivanti," "Hameer," and "Bhairav-bahar" were among his favourites. He took part in the majority of significant music festivals. During that era, he was among the rare practising musicians who authored music textbooks. Vinayakrao explained the salient features of different ragas as well as their syntax in his seven-part "Raaga Vigyan" series. Vinayakrao Patwardhan won numerous awards and won over large crowds thanks to his talent.

Throughout his life, he performed in several recitals and concerts, even while serving as an actor or principal at the mandali. He had played two songs for Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati in March 1926, and in 1954 he held concerts in the USSR, Poland, and Czechoslovakia as part of the cultural mission. He became one of the most significant and recognisable names in the industry thanks to his strong vocals, craft expertise, and ability to be both disciplined and free within the confines of classical music.

Patwardhan was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1972 as well as the Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1965. Over the course of a more than fifty-year career in which he assumed a variety of roles—from student to actor, Guru, and music missionary—he died in Pune on August 23, 1975, bringing an astonishing career filled with remarkable talents and accomplishments to a close.