Kumar Gandharv
| Kumar Gandharva | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Shivaputra Siddaramayya Komkalimath |
| Born |
8 April 1924 Sulebhavi, Belgaum District, Karnataka, India |
| Died | 12 January 1992 (aged 67) Dewas, India |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupation(s) | singer |
| Years active | 1934-1992 |
Kumar Gandharva or Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath (pronunciation:[kumɑːr ɡən̪d̪ʱərʋə] (8 April 1924 – 12 January 1992) was a Hindustani classical singer, well known for his unique vocal style and his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana. The name Kumar Gandharva is a title given to him when he was a child prodigy; a Gandharva is a musical spirit in Hindu mythology.
Gandharva was born in Sulebhavi near Belgaum, Karnataka, India. By the age of five he already showed signs of musical genius, appearing on stage at the age of 10. When he was 11, his father sent him to study music under the well-known B. R. Deodhar. His mastery of technique and musical knowledge was so rapid that Gandharva himself was teaching at the school before he had turned 20. By his early 20s, Gandharva was seen as a star of music and was praised by critics.
He married Bhanumati Kans, another vocal teacher at Deodhar's school, in April 1947. Soon after, he was stricken with tuberculosis, and was told by doctors that he would never sing again. He was advised to move to the drier climate of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh for his health. For the next six years, Gandharva endured a period of illness and silence. Doctors told him that trying to sing could be fatal, and that there was little hope of recovery. Stories of Gandharva in this period depict a man lying in bed and listening to the sounds of nature around him: birds, the wind, passing street-singers. They also detail how he would hum to himself, almost inaudibly. Hess speculates that this was the beginning of Gandharva's radical new conception of the nirguni bhajan, which celebrates a formless (nirguna) divinity.
In 1952, streptomycin emerged as a treatment for tuberculosis, and Gandharva began to take it. Gradually, helped by excellent medical support and care from wife Bhanumati, he recovered and began singing again. However, his voice and singing style would always bear the scars of his illness: one of his lungs had been rendered useless, so he had to adapt to singing with a single lung.
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