The Lone Royal Swan…
The Life of Bal Gandharva
Manjusha Amdekar
Translated from the original Marathi (“तो राजहंस एक…”)
7. Debt Mounted and Was Repaid
Worldly Responsibility
Bal Gandharva shouldered his worldly responsibilities as ably as he managed his artistry. His father had retired within 2 years of Bal Gandharva’s joining the Kirloskar Natak Mandali. Despite not earning a pension, neither could his father nor Bal Gandharva’s mother Annapurnabai curtail their spendthrift temperament. Shankarrao, Bal Gandharva’s older brother had passed the L.M. & S. doctor’s examination and held a job and had a wife and son. However, Shankarrao was made to quit the job as holding an ordinary job was not considered proper given Bal Gandharva’s star status. Meanwhile, Bal Gandharva’s sister Venutai had returned to her parental home as she did not get along with her husband. Bal Gandharva’s father passed away in 1918. Bal Gandharva’s younger brother Vyankatesh took up a job as a typist. But until then, his responsibility also rested on Bal Gandharva’s shoulder. Later, Vyankatesh played roles on stage for a while. After that, he began learning classical music under Bakhlebuva.
Some of Bal Gandharva and Lakshmibai’s children had passed away one after the other. Hira, Krishna, and Nagnath had died in infancy. His daughters Kamala and Sarojini were there in 1920. Though Bal Gandharva supported all these family members, he did not differentiate between his own and others. His conduct was upright. He never hurt anyone. His sister-in-law was childless and not very good-looking. His manner of looking at women was decent, His only modest indulgences were tea, tobacco, paan, and port wine. After the death of his father he gave up paan and after the demise of Lokmanya, he gave up tea and paan for good.
Arithmetic Goes Wrong
In matters of business, he had placed complete trust in Balasaheb. His firm belief was that he should bring his art to full bloom and Balasaheb would see to money matters. But since Balasaheb was himself a man with no head for accounts, and in the end, all the arithmetic went wrong!
Bal Gandharva was, quite literally, in thrall to Balasaheb’s slightest word. So much so that, when the divisions were made at month’s end, Bodas was given Rs 1000; and even though Bal Gandharva received Rs 1700, there came a time when he did not have even a single Re in his pocket for his own expenses. For Balasaheb had taken all of that money and set off on a pilgrimage. The moment Dada Katdare got to know of this, he said, ‘If things go on like this, one day you will have to mortgage your own share to the moneylender.’
Bal Gandharva merely listened to this with a worried face. Later, when Balasaheb returned from the pilgrimage, this reached his ears, of course, through Bal Gandharva himself! It had only one consequence. Namely, that Dada Katdare was thrown out of the company. Balasaheb took every care that no one should interfere in his management. He had kept Bal Gandharva’s family members too well away from the company’s affairs.
Bal Gandharva’s private singing engagements were not settled without Balasaheb’s permission. He could not easily meet anyone either. Because of this, certain rumours about Bal Gandharva were circulated. Bal Gandharva would not ask Balasaheb any question concerning business. And Balasaheb, for his part, would not say anything to anyone about what dealings he had made. But the one and only person who could understand what was going on was Kakasaheb Khadilkar. He, however, had adopted a policy of detachment. He had resolved to speak only if someone asked him something or sought his advice.
It was right after the play Draupadi that, on account of the criminal case filed against Balasaheb at Solapur, he had to keep going there again and again. As a result, control over the company was as good as lost. The consequence was that people began forcing their way in by paying the doorkeeper privately. The people who supplied goods to the company began drawing up bills for whatever they pleased. The company’s administration had descended into chaos.
But Balasaheb was shrewd and understood perfectly well that the entire edifice of his other businesses rested on the company and upon Bal Gandharva’s standing in society. Therefore, he made sure to keep his eye on not letting the company’s order fall apart and on keeping the second troupe properly prepared.
It was Bal Gandharva’s wish that Bodas should come back to the company. Then the Kunte father and son, along with Lad Solicitors, made efforts and brought them back into the company. It was agreed that they would be paid Rs 300 a month. The moment they returned, the plays once again came alive on stage.
Ballooning Debt
Meanwhile, word had leaked out everywhere that, because of the lavish expenditure on the play Draupadi and the lawsuit pending against Balasaheb, Bal Gandharva had run up an enormous debt. The plays were drawing huge audiences, so the income too was large. Everyone therefore took it for granted that this debt would, sooner or later, be cleared. But the curious thing was that not even Balasaheb himself knew the exact figure of the debt. The money was being earned on the strength of Bal Gandharva’s art, and Balasaheb was spending it just as he pleased. At last, when the company set out from Mumbai to return to Pune, the moneylenders’ Pathan strongmen blocked their way and this caused dread among the company members. The news spread like wildfire. That moneylenders would waylay Bal Gandharva was something that simply could not fit into anyone’s imagination.
At that time, Balasaheb himself was in Solapur. Therefore, everyone, Bal Gandharva included, was frightened and stunned. No one had any idea what dealings Balasaheb had entered into, or with whom. Bal Gandharva would simply, trustingly, put his signature on whatever papers Balasaheb placed before him. Now, in such a crisis, the real question was who was to reassure whom. As for what was to be done — that part no one knew at all. In this situation, Solicitor Lad stepped forward. After examining the Gandharva Mandali’s account books and the documents pertaining to the loans and so forth, he found that Bal Gandharva owed 72 moneylenders a total of Rs 1,80,000. Many of these loans had been raised at exorbitant rates of interest. Balasaheb’s gambling-like addiction to borrowing — like a man raising the illusory Maya-sabha in Indraprastha — had reduced the company to dust.
Burden of Repaying the Debt
The whole burden of repaying this debt had now fallen upon Bal Gandharva alone. And to repay it, he possessed no resource other than his art. Had the moneylenders dragged him through the courts and brought him to the point of going to prison, it would have dealt a permanently harsh blow to his life as an artist.
In the end, it was Solicitor Lad himself who found a way out of this. It was a colossal debt: It included a loan of Rs 60,000 owed to Kashinath Damodar Khote of Mumbai. Lad mortgaged the entire property of the Gandharva Mandali against that debt. Then, on May 29, 1921, he took all this property into his own charge. By negotiating amicably with many of the moneylenders, he persuaded them to hold off for a while; and those moneylenders who simply would not listen he paid off outright. Several of them he kept in check by warning them, “Narayanrao’s petition for insolvency is ready.”
Bal Gandharva’s popularity was so immense that the whole of his devoted public — his “mother and father” of patrons — was distressed by this news. The leaders and wealthy men of Mumbai came together and resolved to help Bal Gandharva. They decided to collect money and raise Rs 1,80,000 within a single week. But when Bal Gandharva learned of this, he was overcome with emotion and said, “For God’s sake, do not collect funds for me. This debt has come about through my own fault, and I alone must repay it. My one prayer is only that, until it is cleared, your blessings and the grace of the Lord may remain with me always.”
And what had this debt been used for? Well: Rs 51,000 for Balasaheb’s Solapur lawsuit; Rs 15,000 compensate for the losses incurred in Balasaheb’s household expenses; Rs 27,000 paid to Ganpatrao when buying out his share; and Rs 72,000 of lavish expenditure on the play Draupadi. In short, Bal Gandharva had not spent a single rupee of this on his own personal needs. But since the loans had, in essence, been raised on his credit and in his name, the responsibility of repaying them had fallen on his shoulders — and he had accepted it with great magnanimity.
After redeeming the goods that the Pathans had seized, the Gandharva Mandali, instead of returning to Pune, extended its stay in Mumbai itself. By now, a large part of the debt had been paid off. While this was taking place, the plays were running splendidly and income was substantial. Despite so much heartache and betrayal, Bal Gandharva would never utter a single improper word about Balasaheb. Bodas had returned to the company. He resolved to stand by Bal Gandharva. Although Keshavrao Bhosle had offered him a partnership in his company, Bodas declined and remained with the Gandharva company. And Bal Gandharva began to consult him freely.
Dada Katdare
Everyone valued the help that Lad had given the Gandharva Mandali in its hour of emergency and therefore at every performance, certain seats were reserved for his family. His daughter Vithabai used to attend the plays. She later took up film work under the name of Durgabai Khote and became famous. The manager whom Lad had appointed for the Gandharva Mandali knew nothing whatsoever about the theatre business, and so difficulties kept arising constantly. To overcome this, Lad once again summoned Dada Katdare. It was Dada, who 3 years earlier, on observing Balasaheb’s doings, had tried to put Bal Gandharva on guard—and for this had been dismissed from the company. Lad appointed him as a manager because now, Bal Gandharva himself recommended this same man saying, “You will not find another person as methodical with accounts and as honest as Dada.”
Dada suffered from paralysis and diabetes and also had family troubles. He was a widower. Yet, out of the wish that he might be of use in helping Bal Gandharva clear his debt, he agreed to return to the company. Alongside him, however, Bal Gandharva’s own brother Bapurao stepped forward to handle the day-to-day management. Bapurao had been learning classical music under Bakhle; but realizing that his brother needed him more at this time, he too shouldered his share of the responsibility. His role was to welcome the audiences with a smiling face and to look after the staff, while Dada Katdare’s role was to keep control over the company’s income and expenditure.
People reveal their True Colors
The moment Lad took the reins, one of Bal Gandharva’s own admirers served Bal Gandharva with notice of a civil-prison action in order to recover what was owed to him. This terrified Bal Gandharva. At this point, Lad said, “The moment the bailiff comes, I shall pay out all your money. Do not worry. But I want to show you what some of these friends who dance attendance before you are really like.” Indeed, many such specimens came to light. One wanted to seize Bal Gandharva’s money; another, the company; yet another felt it would be fine if Bal Gandharva became his servant…! At the outset, Lad had instructed Katdare, “Do not let Narayanrao feel that we have become dependent on others. He must carry himself believing that he is the master, just as before. He is an artist; only if he is kept happy will his art continue, and the moneylenders’ debt be cleared.”
From the time he took charge, Lad truly and wholeheartedly encouraged Bal Gandharva. No sooner had Bal Gandharva complained that the instruments had grown old than Lad had new ones bought for him.
Joining Manapaman
In their boyhood, both Keshavrao Bhosle and Bal Gandharva had played the role of Sharada, and people had carried both of them shoulder-high. But Keshavrao was not handsome and his acting too was not as powerful as Bal Gandharva’s. He had therefore gradually begun to take on male roles. Though the connoisseur audience regarded the two as rivals, they were also eager to see the pair playing together as hero and heroine. Achyutrao Kolhatkar had made efforts to bring about a joint Manapaman for them, but had not succeeded.
Later, after Lokmanya Tilak passed away on August 1 , 1920, the “Tilak Swaraj Fund” was launched in the name of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. Bhadkamkar expressed the wish that, to raise money for this fund, a joint performance should be held. Some of Bal Gandharva’s admirers were against the idea. But Bal Gandharva himself looked upon it not as a contest but as a service to Tilak. So he went suddenly to Pune to meet the Lalitkala Mandali. Keshavrao and the others were astonished to see him. Keshavrao heard him out and gave his consent to a joint performance of Manapaman.
This performance was to be held in Mumbai on July 8, 1921. Now, this was the one topic on everyone’s lips. For the performance, to be held at the Balliwala Grand Theatre on Grant Road, the costliest ticket was to be Rs 100 and the cheapest was to cost Rs 5. The moment the sale began, the tickets were sold out in just half an hour. An amount of Rs 16,000 was raised. The crowd of disappointed people who could not get tickets was just as enormous. For this performance, select artists were chosen from both companies. The casting was as follows: Bal Gandharva as Bhamini, Bodas as Lakshmidhar, Keshavrao as Dhairyadhar, Walavalkar as Vilasdhar, Chapekar as Akkasaheb, Pendharkar on the organ, and Rajanna on the tabla.
Every performance came alive magnificently. A genuine reconciliation had taken place between Keshavrao and Bal Gandharva. In the fourth act there was a scene in which Bhamini lifts up Dhairyadhar’s slippers. Keshavrao said softly, “Narayanrao, to me you are like a father — please do not lift my slippers.”
Joining Saubhadra and the Death of Keshavrao
Manapaman had been staged as a contribution to the Tilak Fund. The plan was next drawn to perform a joint Saubhadra as well. This performance was meant for profit, and it was agreed that the two companies would share the proceeds. This performance too drew a tremendous crowd. The casting was: Bal Gandharva as Subhadra, Keshavrao as Arjun, Master Krishnarao as Narad, Bodas as Krishna, and Ranade as Rukmini. Both the audiences and the artists now hoped that some more such plays would be performed. Keshavrao even said to Bal Gandharva, with great frankness, “Narayanrao, why worry about the debt? By giving joint performances like these, we shall clear your debt within a single year.”
Hearing these words, Bal Gandharva’s hopes rose. But, as ill luck would have it, Keshavrao fell ill with typhoid. And on October 4, 1921 he a passed away. At that time he would hardly have been no more than 31 years old! His untimely death proved a tremendous blow–to the stage, to the connoisseurs, and to Bal Gandharva as well. As as if this wasn’t enough, Ganpatrao also fell ill — so seriously– that he had to retire. With his retirement, Bal Gandharva lost whatever help he had been receiving. On April 8, 1922, Bakhlebuva passed away. One after another, the pillars of his support were leaving him. To crown it all, Bal Gandharva himself fell ill. How were things supposed to continue after this? — this anxiety gripped them. Now, the only support was that of Khadilkar and Lad.
During the Mumbai stay, Khadilkar came to the company every day to make inquiries. Having heard that losses had been incurred on account of the play Draupadi, Khadilkar had resolved that, until Bal Gandharva’s debt was cleared, he would take no payment for the play Draupadi. In 1923, when Bal Gandharva fell ill, Lad granted him a month’s leave on full pay and sent him to Nashik to rest. During this period, Katdare ran the company in good order through careful economy and kept the accounts methodically.
.”
Age Catches Up—But the Debt Is Cleared
Through this period, Bal Gandharva stood firm, upheld by his devotion to his art, by his integrity in honestly repaying the debt, and by the love of his patrons. When he saw the theatre blossoming with spectators and saw the audience transported with delight, Bal Gandharva would forget all his worries and sorrows. He now felt that with advancing age, female roles would no longer suit him and that he must therefore gradually turn to male roles. With this in mind, Bal Gandharva played the role of Shoorsen in the play Veertanay. However, the audience did not much care for it. What they wanted was Bal Gandharva in a woman’s guise.
But Bal Gandharva was now 38 years old. There had been hardly any change in his voice. But his head had gone bald, and he had to wear a wig. His body had begun to incline towards stoutness.
Disappointing experiences, deaths of dear ones, one after another, the burden of debt and toil—all these had drained him of tenderness in his graze or movements. With respect to roles steeped in the romantic sentiment (shringara), he was now growing old. In those days, the belief was that once a man crossed 40 years, he had begun to lean towards old age. Bal Gandharva himself had repeatedly begun to utter words to the effect of, “I have grown old now.” Yet, the roles he had played year after year had seeped so deeply into his existence, that the audience forgot his age when he appeared before them.
Though his years had advanced, his eye for beauty had not dimmed in the slightest. The daughters and daughters-in-law of great and wealthy households had begun to say that they too wished to own a shalu (brocade sari) like the ones he had specially had woven for himself. During the 2-month stay at Solapur, the plays had been hugely successful. After other expenses were deducted, a profit of Rs 22,000 had been made. Bal Gandharva immediately spent Rs 20,000 on new shawls! Dada Katdare was, for the life of him, at a complete loss of words on this! It was not as if Bal Gandharva had forgotten the debt hanging over his head; its repayment was indeed under way. But there had been no change whatsoever in his spendthrift nature. Performances in every town drew packed, overflowing crowds. People were ready to buy tickets and even watch the play standing.
Through such an overwhelming response over a continuous stretch of 6 ½ years, the company earned record income and came into enormous profit. By the end of December 1927, the entire debt was cleared. The Gandharva Mandali was once again in Bal Gandharva’s possesion. The mortgaged property was redeemed. During this period, Bal Gandharva had paid the moneylenders a total of Rs 3,90,000 principal with interest. And this had been made possible solely on the strength of the overwhelming response of his beloved patrons — the connoisseur-audience. This too was a feat of valour (purushartha) — and the remarkable thing is that it was achieved with bangles upon his wrists! The service rendered to art in the guise of a woman had borne fruit.