After years
of absence we have once again experienced the versatility and creativity that
was made famous by Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande. And in a truly poetic sense, the
musician responsible for this experience is his own grandson Rahul Deshpande.
Rahul has continued the unfinished business of his grandfather by presenting
innovative and, almost regularly, radical forms of traditional music making it
a spiritual experience for his listeners. Rahul, like his grandfather, is
gifted with a pleasant voice and an intimate sense of ‘soor’.
The
Journey so far…
Born in 1979 in Pune, Maharashtra,
Rahul began his quest for knowledge at the age of 6. His initial learning years
were spent under the tutelage of Pandit Gangadharbua Pimpalkhare and, later,
under Dr. Madhusudhan Patwardhan. His true inspiration came when he experienced
the music of Pt Kumar Gandharva. Rahul naturally craved to understand and learn
the perspective expressed by the thespian in his music and sought guidance
initially from Smt. Ushatai Chipalkatti and later from Pt Mukul Shivputra, son
of the legend, Pandit Kumar Gandharva. To become a complete musician, Rahul
honed his sense of ‘taal’ by learning tabla from Pt. Suresh Samant.
Rahul’s versatility can be seen from
his performances of Classical and Semi-Classical pieces. His repertoire
includes renditions from Classical Ragas to Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Natyageet,
Bhajan, Gazal and Bhaavgeet.
From a very early age, Rahul has
achieved prominence as a creative musical performer. Eminent personalities like
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Dr. Shriram Lagoo, Mr. P. L. Deshpande, have in their
remarks marveled at the tremendous level of maturity in Rahul’s music and the
similarity between Rahul’s approach and that of his grandfather’s. For Rahul,
singing is as much a passion as it was with his grandfather.
His performances
Rahul has performed on both national
and international levels. He features regularly in a number of TV programs like
‘Soor Taal’ and ‘Nakshatranche Dene’ on channels such as E TV, Alpha TV,
Doordarshan. Rahul has also released a number of audiocassettes on his various
classical and semi classical performances. Out of the many awards received by
Rahul, the prestigious ‘Rasikagrani Dattopant Deshpande Award’ needs a special
reference as it was presented to him at the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival and
Sudhir Phadke award for his outstanding achievements at such a tender age.
Rahul believes that the journey of a
true musician is never complete. And during this journey his philosophy is to
make his programs a complete musical experience for his audience.
Note : Rahul is carrying with him a
limited edition of his latest recordings wherein you will get a chance to
listen to Rahul sing pure classical, natyageet, bhajans and gazals. These Cd’s
are available at a discounted price of A $15.