THIS IS A RARE AND USED ITEM. IT IS NOT MANUFACTURED ANYMORE. NO RETURNS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Death comes to all but when it takes away a creative genius in the prime of life, it leaves a void that is hard to fill. Pandit D. V. Paluskar was one such genius whose sudden death at 34, in 1955, brought a musical career of immense promise to a tragic end.

Dattatraya Vishnu Paluskar was the only surviving child of Pandit Vishnu Digambar, the great evangelist of Hindustani music, who pioneered a cultural revival in North India in the early twenties. He had his early lessons in music from his father, after whose death he received his training from Chintamanrao Paluskar, his cousin. Then came a brief tutelage under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas, followed by a fruitful period of long and systematic grooming by Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan for seven years, till 1942. He also studied intermittently under Pandit Mirashi Buva, the eminent exponent of the Gwalior gharana.

Paluskar had, however, made his mark as a rising musician much earlier, in 1935 when he was only 14. That was with his debut at the Hari Vallabh Music Conference at Jullundur and his subsequent performance at the All-India Music Conference in Calcutta. He soon became indispensable at all major musical events. He was a popular broadcaster from 1938 and he made his first gramophone disc in 1944.

It is hard to come by a musician who can present traditional music in a way that appeals to large numbers of listeners all of whom are not connoisseurs. Paluskar combined this with an approach which was firmly rooted in tradition. A master in the art of presentation, he sang in a compelling, resilient voice that was attuned to a high degree of modulation. He never displayed virtuosity for its own sake but concentrated on the spirit of his raga. His utterance was succinct, clear and precise, and his recitals were singularly free from acrobatics or contortions of any kind. He could hold his audiences spellbound with the very first feel of his swaras.

Paluskar never succumbed to the clamor of his mass audiences or changed his practices to suit their capricious tastes. But he could move them to rapture with a soulful bhajan with the same artistry as he captured his connoisseurs with a pensive Bageshri Kanada or a sprightly Kamod. His recitals were greatly admired in the South as well, and he shared with Bade Ghulam Ali Khan covetable distinction of being invited to participate in the Carnatic Sangeetha sabhas.

Paluskar was an exponent of the Khayal gayaki of Gwalior. Yet he revealed in his singing a rare synthesis of much of the best in all the classical traditions of North India. This explains why the rich variety of bol-taans and taans of the Agra and Atrauli gharanas found such felicitous expression in his khayal improvisations, while his feeling application of voice in the Kirana manner brought so much devotional sensitivity to his bhajans.

A man of plain living and clean habits, Paluskar looked upon music not as a mere recreation, but as an expression of deep religious faith and devotion. Had he lived longer, he would have reached even greater heights. His voice was skilled by the icy hands of death but we have his recordings for the radio and gramophone to cherish and preserve as mementos of his greatness, such as this Long Play disc – the very epitome of his great music.

THE MUSIC

 Side One

Raga Kamod

The raga, usually rendered during the first quarter of the night, is sprightly in character. It takes the fifth (pa) as its sonant (vadi) note and the first or second (sa or re) as the consonant note, The melody is composed of natural (Shuddha) notes, though it also makes use of the fourth (ma) in its sharp (teevra) and flat (komal) variations.

 Side Two

Raga Bageshri-Kanada

This melody presents a combination of Bageshri and Kanada. It has a complete scale (sampurna) but makes use of only the flat (komal) variation of the third (ga) and seventh (ni) notes. It is rendered during the second quarter of the night.

Artists: 

D. V. Paluskar (Vocal)

Tracks:

SIDE ONE

Raga Kamod

SIDE TWO

Raga Bageshri Kanada