The soul of Indian culture resided in the classical music of Kishori Amonkar

Kishori Amonkar was an Indian classical singer who maintained her place in the hearts of music lovers in India for decades on the strength of her classical music. Kishori Amonkar was born on April 10, 1932 in Mumbai.

Kishori Amonkar is considered to be one of the leading singers of Hindustani tradition. Kishori Amonkar was the leading singer of the Jaipur-Atrauli family. Kishori Amonkar represented a community of a distinctive musical genre that is highly valued in the country. Kishori Amonkar's father died when she was 6 years old.

Kishori Amonkar's mother was a well-known singer whose name was Moghubai Kurdikar. Kishori Amonkar's mother Moghubai Kurdikar was one of the leading singers of Jaipur family. Moghubai Kurdikar had received training from Ustad Alladia Khan, a senior singing emperor of the Jaipur family.

Kishori Amonkar had learned music from her mother Moghubai Kurdikar. Adolescent Amonkar was brought up in a musical environment from her childhood. Kishori Amonkar not only mastered the nuances and techniques of singing of the Jaipur family, but also created a new style with her skills, intelligence and imagination.

Apart from her mother, the young teenager also learned music in Hindustani classical music from singer Anjanibai Malpekar belonging to Bhindi Bazar family and later received training from music teachers of many families including Anwar Hussain Khan of Agra family. , Sharad Chandra Arolkar and Balakrishna Buwa Parvatkar of Gwalior family. In this way, his music style and singing also reflects other major families.
Kishori Amonkar's presentations were full of energy and beauty. Each of his performances enchanted fans as well as those who did not understand music. He had a deep understanding of music. His music was performed mainly on traditional ragas like Jaunpuri, Patt Bihag, Ahir. Apart from these ragas, Kishori Amonkar also sang thumri, bhajan and khayal. Kishori Amonkar also took interest in film music and also sang songs for the 1964 film Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne.
But soon the teenager Amonkar returned to classical music with bad experiences in the film industry. Kishori Amonkar's voice was gone in the 50's. It took 2 years for his voice to come back. Kishoriji has stated in an interview that she had to stay away from singing for about 9 years because of this. She used to sing in a whisper but her mother forbade her to do so and said sing in her mind so that you can have more music with you.

Kishori Amonkar had decided that she would not sing in films. His mother Moghubai Kurdikar was also strongly against singing in films, although after that she also sang in the film 'Drishti'. Kishoriji has also said in an interview that Mai had threatened that if she sang in the film, never touch my two Tanpures but she liked the concept of Drishti film and she also gave her voice for it.

Kishori Amonkar had a close relationship with her mother Moghubai Kurdikar. Kishori Amonkar once said that ‘I wanted to experiment with words and tunes and see how they sound with my voices. Later I broke this streak, because I wanted to work more in the world of voices. I call my singing a language of voices. '

He said, ‘I don’t think I will sing in movies again. The language of tones says a lot to me. It can take you to wonderful peace and give you a lot of knowledge of life. Adding words and melodies to it reduces the power of the tones. 'She says,' Music means the expression of the tones. So if it is expressed in the right Indian way, it gives you boundless peace. '

In fact, Kishori Amonkar was full of music inside. This was achieved only and only through hard practice towards his music. Kishori Amonkar used to say that music is the fifth Veda. You cannot learn this from a machine. The master-disciple tradition is the only way for this. Music is penance. Music is a means to salvation. This penance was seen in his singing.

From 1957, Kishori Amonkar started giving stage performances. His first stage show took place in Amritsar city of Punjab, which was very successful. Simultaneously, Kishori Amonkar started singing for All India Radio from 1952.
Apart from this, Kishori Amonkar gave many impressive performances in her life and persuaded the iron of her music. Kishori Amonkar has been awarded the title of 'Gan Saraswati' by Jagatguru 'Mahaswami' of 'Sringeri Math'. Among the disciples of Kishori Amonkar are well-known singers like Manik Bhide, Ashwini Deshpande Bhide, Aarti Anklekar, Gurinder Kaur, who are furthering their traditional music.
Kishori Amonkar, who specializes in Khyal singing, thumri and bhajan songs, has released several albums including 'Prabhat', 'Samarpan' and 'Born to Sing' which reflect his pure and sattvic music. Kishori Amonkar was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1985 for her immense contribution in the field of music.

Apart from this, for his outstanding contribution to Indian classical music, he was awarded the country's third highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan in 1987 and the country's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan in 2002. Really said

The teenager Amonkar was a Bharat Ratna.
This famous Hindustani classical singer passed away on April 3, 2017 at the age of 84 in Mumbai, a few days before her 85th birthday. His departure has created a huge void in Hindustani classical music which is impossible to fill. In fact, Kishori Amonkar was one of the legendary singers of Hindustani classical music.

He ruled the hearts of music lovers for decades with his melodious voice and soulful singing. In fact Kishori Amonkar was a great singer. Today, of course, this great singer does not exist among us, but her music and soulful singing will always be immortal among the music lovers of the world, including Hindustan, and will continue to inspire generations. Kishori Amonkar's immaculate and sattvic life will be exemplary for all classical music lovers.