Bal Gandharva
| Narayan Shripad Rajhans | |
|---|---|
Bal Gandharva in his roles of female characters in Marathi plays, 1924
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Narayan Shripad Rajhans |
| Also known as | Bal Gandharva |
| Born |
26 June 1888 |
| Died | 15 July 1967 (aged 79) Pune |
| Genres | Musicals (Sangeet Natak) |
| Occupation(s) | Singer and stage actor |
| Years active | 1905–1955 |
26 June 1888
Nagthane [Taluka Palus], [District Sangli ], then Satara
Narayan Shripad Rajhans, better known as Bal Gandharva (26 June 1888 – 15 July 1967), was one of the greatest Marathi singers and stage actors. He was famous for his roles in female characters in Marathi plays, since women were not allowed to act on stage during his time.
Bal Gandharva got his name after a performance in Pune as an aspiring singer. Lokmanya Tilak, the great freedom fighter and the grand old man of the Indian independence movement was in the audience, and after the performance, reportedly patted Rajhans on the back and said that Narayan was a "Bal Gandharva" which means "Young Gandharva".
Narayan Shripad Rajhans was born to Shripad Rajhans and his wife Annapurna in Deshastha Brahmin family at the Nagthane village in Palus taluka of Satara district then ( now Sangli district) in Maharashtra, India. Bal Gandharva's first wife, Lakshmibai Narayanrao Rajhans, died in 1940. Bal Gandharva married his leading stage actress, Gohar Karnataki in 1951. Gohar died in 1964, three years before Bal Gandharva died.
Narayan Rajhans was born in an ordinary family. He started his singing career at a very young age singing bhajans. Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur noticed him and was important in getting young Narayanrao's theatre career off the ground. Shahu Maharaj helped him to get treatment on hearing problems at the Miraj Hospital. Shahu Maharaj also introduced him to Kirloskar Mandali, the premier Marathi Musical theatre company of that era.
He started his career with Kirloskar Natak Mandali in 1905. The company was run by Mujumdar and Nanasaheb Joglekar. After Joglekar's death in 1911, there was discontent about Mujumdar's dictatorial and manipulative style. Bal Gandharva, Ganesh Govind ('Ganpatrao') Bodas and Govindrao Tembe left the company in 1913 to form Gandharva Sangeet Mandali. Bal Gandharva became the sole owner of the debt ridden company in 1921. The debt was paid off in seven years' time. However, Narayanrao, dissolved the company when it again accumulated debt over the next 6–7 years. At that time. Bal Gandharva signed a contract with Prabhat Film Company to make six films. However, the contract came to an end after just one film Dharmatma (1935). The film was a major departure for Bal Gandharva in the sense that he played the male role of Sant Eknath.
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