Vocalist Pandit Sharatchandra Arolkar

A doyen of the Gwalior Gharana, Pandit Sharatchandra Arolkar was born in 1912 in Karachi. Even as a youngster, Panditji, showed a passion for music, which asserted itself in many ways. He tried his hand skillfully at the harmonium and the tabla, and seldom missed an opportunity to attend music concerts. The recordings of Rahimat Khan, the great mystic-musician, once made a profound impact on him and much against the will of his elders, young Sharad sought musical guidance from Pandit Laxmanrao Bodas, a local vocalist and disciple of Pandit Vishnu Digambar.
The young Arolkar soon moved to Gwalior, where he had the benefit of guidance from three acknowledged masters, Pandit Krishnrao Shankar Pandit, his uncle Pandit Eknath Pandit and Pandit Krishnrao Mulay, the famous beenkar, in his quest for excellence. Not many people know that Pandit Arolkar also played the veena with practiced ease.
Having assimilated the teachings of all his gurus over a lifetime of dedication, perseverance and disciplined scholarship. Pandit Arolkar moulded them into a style which, while retaining its pristine classicism, allowed ample scope for creative expression. In one of his rare interviews, he had said `What is the Gwalior Gharana but a mahanadi (great river) fed by many streams. When a style matures, it becomes a Gharana. His foremost students have been Vidushi Neela Bhagwat and Pandit Sharad Sathe.
Reclusive by temperament all his life, yet when he performed, his music came as a brilliant revelation. Among the various awards and honours this titan of the Gwalior Gharana received were the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1979 in recognition of his scholarly eminence in Hindustani music, the Maharashtra Rajya Gaurav Puraskar in 1989 and the Tansen Samman in 1992.
Pandit Arolkar died in 1994.

On his Birth Anniversary, Hindustani Classical Music And Everything pays rich tributes to the legend for his services to the Hindustani Classical Music. 🙏💐

• Biography and Photo Credits : Tanveer Singh Sapra