Views From Eminent Marathi Personalities
“…An attractive voice, a striking face, and the playful charm of a beautifula woman, Bal Gandharva had all these attributes.”
“Bal Gandharva rendered songs with ease but when one attempts those songs, one realizes that singing those melodies isn’t easy. He was born with a sense of rhythm and the hard work done by Bhaskarbuva as his music Guru helped Bal Gandharva use the embellishments of rhythm and melody as effortlessly as a woman wears earrings! This extraordinary capacity of Bal Gandharva is praiseworthy beyond words.”
– Govindrao Tembe (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 56)
“In the area of music, Bal Gandharva had several qualities: A strong, resonant, melodious, and versatile voice, and an innate sense of rhythm and melody. The flexibility of his voice was like a woman’s dangling earrings whose movements cannot be predicted. Overall, the calm and control he held over his singing is rarely witnessed. The minor imperfections in the singing in fact enhance its charm like a beauty spot on a face. If even a discordant note appeared in a common raga he sang, he carried it off with such flair that he managed to bring a novel kind of beauty to the tune. For him, rendering a musical note was a piece of cake—rendered without being faint or disrupted in rhythm or melody. That such singing could cast a spell over everyone—from the wise and experienced to the young and innocent—and remain undiminished for 40 years, what else could this be but divine grace?”
– Govindrao Tembe (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 137)
“Of those actors whose performances I saw–once I had understood what acting actually entails–I did not find anyone comparable to Bal Gandharva. He had mastered the skill of delivering a perfect blend of prose and melody both. He had the ability to deliver performances from the heart and become one with the personality he portrayed. Therefore, no one can take his place.”
– Dnyanpeeth Award Winner Shivram Karanth (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 135)
“He had within him, a woman. Once he donned the costume of a woman, this woman within him would emerge. Other male actors playing women were merely female impersonators, while Bal Gandharva became the interpreter of the female psyche.”
– Senior poet and singer-actor Hridaynath Chattopadhyay (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p.25)
“The novelty in his singing was that it did not contribute to the world of vocal art with harsh sound—rather Narayanrao’s specialty was to offer to his audience, his songs in the form of flowers.”
– Pandit Kumar Gandharva (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p.25)
“Every natyasangeet singer messed up classical singing—with the exception of Bal Gandharva.”
– Gaanasaraswati (Goddess of singing) Kishori Amonkar
“ His voice had all the attributes that a singer should have and none of the flaws that a singer shouldn’t possess.”
– Anand Gandharva Anand Bhate (Gandharvagan)
“One will find rhythm in Bal Gandharva’s songs.”
– Famous Tabla player Khaprumama Parvatkar (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p.26)
“As long as people have an attraction for nadbrahma (music, the concept that God is sound), personalities like Bal Gandharva and Begum Akhtar will remain immortal.”
– Pandit Mallikarjun Mansoor Parvatkar (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p.26)
“Pandit Mansoor or Padmavatibai do not differentiated between the theatre songs of Bal Gandharva and the ghazals of Begum Akhtar. What they see is the divine unity of melody and rhythm that is not apparent even among self-acclaimed classical singers (khayal-gayak).”
– Maharashtra Bhushan Pu. La. Deshpande (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 26)
“I could only see a radiant halo in the place of Gandharva’s face. In the radiance of that halo, I was no longer able to see Shankarrao Sardesai who was standing beside him. I bowed in reverence to that halo.”
– “Singer-actor Jayram Shiledar” (Maharashtra Times Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p.26)
“He sang just as he spoke—with love.”
– Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (Maharashtra Times Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 79)
“He was an artist with control over both melody and rhythm. The songs he rendered were suitable for him. The raga bhimpalas should not have the shudh nishad note but he used to include this note. Our Guru would say to him, “only you can do this,” as this used to sound extremely sweet in his voice. He could render even a complicated melody with ease. Even those known to be experts of melody and rhythm would be amazed. How did he arrive exactly at the first beat (sam)? He never dropped any word. This was his specialty.”
– Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (Maharashtra Times Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 26)
“At such times, one feels that if some divine force had blessed me with Bal Gandharva’s intensity on every issue along with the melodiousness and divinity of his voice, I would have used that melodiousness and intensity to bow before Bal Gandharva himself, saying “Salutations dear revered master!”
– Maharashtra Bhushan Pu. La. Deshpande (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 32)
“By adopting Bal Gandharva’s dressing style and mannerisms, lakhs of women were able to hold a sway over their husbands and ensure marital bliss. Marathi minds are intoxicated with Bal Gandharva’s sweet voice and beauty and it’s not possible that this fascination will ever fade. An extraordinary artist like Bal Gandharva is born once in several decades and we have been fortunate to witness this firsthand.”
– Acharya P. K. Atre (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 34)
“Through Gandharva’s expressions, gaze, laughter, coyness, coquetry, gait, and dressing style, he was able to manifest a woman completely. Never had a woman’s beauty been so well reflected through a man’s body. Therefore, when Gandharva appeared in female roles on the stage, not just the men would go crazy, but women too would be fascinated and stare with unblinking eyes.”
– Acharya P. K. Atre (Lokrajya Bal Gandharva Centenary special; Page 15)
“Only he can sing those melodies and tunes. Even I cannot render those songs so beautifully. Through his singing, he uplifted the tunes I created.”
– Lavani Singer Sundrabai (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 34)
“Nature made his melody and voice singularly and absolutely beautiful. He was born in the Rajhans (swan) clan. Although Bal Gandharva himself didn’t cite the Sanskrit verse “Daivayuktam kule janm—madayantam tu paurusham,” i.e., “birth in a particular family is determined by destiny, but effort (manliness/character) is entirely within my own control,” one can say this on his behalf.
– Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 56)
“…but it is eye-witness testified history that the audience in the Natsamrat (King of theater) Bal Gandharva era were extremely satisfied. When relating this history today, the people who witnessed that era are overwhelmed with emotion. The Natsamrat would perform his theatre with complete dedication as he considered the audience as his ultimate providers (annadate). The audience would completely lose track of time, totally unaware that dawn had set in.”
“Currently, as a part of my profession, I work with modern women actors in hundreds of performances of Ekach Pyala and Manapman. But my heart tells me, “There won’t be another Bal Gandharva.”
– Sharad Talwalkar (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 61)
“There was no deliberateness or fake note in his performance. That would be mere acting but Gandharva actually lived the drama and did not only perform it. His dharma (true religion) was absorbed devotion and this devotion sustained him until his death. He finally merged into the rhythm itself.”
– Sharadchandra Gokhale (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 69)
“Narayanrao’s singing was a divine gift. Some are given a melodious voice, some are given only intellect, and some others are given an effortless singing talent. But in Narayanrao, all these three attributes had come together. He would take a refrain and sing a single phrase for even half and hour at a time. Listening to his singing made one feel as if one was sitting under a cool refreshing shower of musical notes during peak summer! His singing was flawless with excellent modulation. So, the harkats (musical ornamentations) in his singing emerged effortlessly. He sang with absolute immersion such that audience could sense that the singing was for the joy of his own soul.”
– Pandit Mallikarjun Mansoor (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 75)
“Finding the sam immediately after the anaghat, like playing a game of tree-tag is a Jaipur vocal style speciality and this was the core of Narayanrao’s singing.”
– Pandit Wamanrao Sadolikar (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 81)
“- – when singing, his enunciation of words was clear and sweet. Clear pronunciation which also sounds sweet is exceptional. Among such exceptional personalities, Bal Gandharva was the greatest – – – it’s in fact hard to tell whether he was more melodious or the musical instrument (organ) was more melodious!. Gandharva’s taan was like a string of pearls. Every pearl was strung into the taan with perfection and grace.”
– Music Director Sudhir Phadke (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 85)
“Indian music has an acoustical rule to evaluate its merit called Svana continuity (continuity and flow of sound). This ensures that the flow isn’t interrupted or broken. In Naradiya Shiksha (Naradiya school of music) there is a description of how the swaras (notes) must follow one another. Narada says that the sunlight must follow the shadow closely, almost embracing it. And this is Bal Gandharva maintained the continuous flow of musical rhythm.”
– Music Reviewer Dr. Ashok Ranade (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 96)
“Just as we ultimately experience the formless consciousness behind the physical world through an idol that has form, in the same way, I feel that Narayanro embodies the formless power of our conception of the power called music.”
– Shrimant Rasik Baburao Deshmukh (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 99)
“I am still trying to unravel the riddle called Bal Gandharva. I am on the threshold of 83 years, and yet haven’t been able to solve this riddle. I cannot say why Gandharva has such a sway over me. Even today, when someone mentions his name or I read something about him, my mind is flooded with his memories and I feel as though I can actually see him and hear him sing!”
– Film Star Durga Khote (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 99)
“Narayanrao Bal Gandharv was an extraordinary artiste. I haven’t seen any other artiste who sacrificed everything for his art.”
– Film Director V. Shantaram (Maharashtra Times “Bal Gandharva centenary Special; p. 105)