Omkarnath Thakur
|
Pt. Omkarnath Thakur |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
24 June 1897 Jahaj, Baroda State, British India |
| Died | 29 December 1967 (aged 70) India |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupation(s) | music educator, musicologist |
| Instruments | singing |
| Years active | 1918–1960s |
| Associated acts | Vishnu Digambar Paluskar |
Omkarnath Thakur (24 June 1897 – 29 December 1967), his name often preceded by the title Pandit, was an influential Indian educator, musicologist, and Hindustani classical singer. He is famously known as "Pranav Rang", his pen-name. A disciple of classical singer Vishnu Digambar Paluskar of Gwalior gharana, he became the principal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Lahore, and later went on become the first dean of the music faculty at Banaras Hindu University.
Thakur was born 1897 in a Jahaj village in the Princely State of Baroda (5 km from Khambhat in present-day Anand District, Gujarat ), into a poor military family. His grandfather Mahashankar Thakur was had fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 for Nanasaheb Peshwa. His father, Gaurishankar Thakur was also in the military, employed by Maharani Jamnabai of Baroda, where he commanded 200 cavalrymen. The family moved to Bharuch in 1900, though soon the family faced financial difficulties, as his father left the military to become a renunciate (sanyasi), leaving his wife to run the household, thus by the age of five Thakur started helping her out by doing various odd jobs, in mills, Ramlila troupe and even as a domestic help. When he was fourteen his father died.
Impressed by his singing Thakur and his younger brother Ramesh Chandra were sponsored by a wealthy Parsi philanthropist Shahpurji Mancherji Dungaji in circa 1909 to train in Hindustani classical music in the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music school in Bombay, under classical singer Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. Thakur soon became an accomplished singer in the style of the Gwalior gharana started accompanying his guru and other musicians. Though later on in his career, he developed his own distinct style. Eventually, he made his concert debut in 1918, though continued his training under his guru, Paluskar, until his death in 1931.
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