How an apartment became important for classical music fans

Once you enter the Jaipur Gunijankhana — an apartment at a quiet cul-de-sac off BMCC Road — which has now been converted into an exhibition for exponents of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana of Hindustani classical music, a picture immediately right of the door frame almost symbolises what a gharana really exemplifies.

It is a photograph of a young Kishori Amonkar, with her mother and guru Mogubai Kurdikar, along with her siblings. And all throughout the fairly spacious and newlypainted apartment, there are anecdotes about Amonkar herself, by her disciples.


Pictures of a gurupoojan ceremony by Amonkar’s disciple, Raghunandan Panshikar, dominate the living room, now turned into a screening space with a projector. And inside, a small library is under development — it has books on Indian classical music by all the greatest exponents in music, from Prabha Atre to Amonkar herself. One of the books, called Swararathramani, is an account of musical theory and practice.

“Truth be told, that book is very difficult to understand for people who are not well versed in classical music. So recently, we held a workshop where Kishoritai’s student Nandini Bedekar read a part of that book and explained the contents to the people who were part of the event,” said Veena Joshi, in whose apartment this exhibition is based.

This exhibition is called Gaansaraswati Jayagatha, named after Amonkar, specifically the title that her fans and music critics knew her by.

The space has been curated by Veena’s daughter Radhika, who is a disciple of Panshikar, and shuttles between classes with her guru in the city, and her family in Bengaluru. When this space was opened in its present form in January, the organisers — who are now registering themselves as a non-profit group — also made a documentary on the Jaipur gharana, of which Amonkar is regarded as one of the most prominent exponents. The 42-minute film has some of the rarest recordings and performances of Amonkar and her mother Kurdikar — the latter singing a khyaal in the raag Kedar at a 1950s performance. Interspersed are some of Amonkar’s most mesmerising thumris recorded during public performances.

And although Amonkar’s earliest records are rarely available, a picture of her first record cover has been found, and is a prominent exhibit here, featuring the iconic HMV cover. “The record was cut by my father-in-law. He used to be with HMV. And because she wanted the recording to be perfect, its timing was moved from evening to early morning,” Veena said. But it’s all not about music, once you go through the exhibits. On some old writing pads, Amonkar has written lines upon lines, in both English and Marathi, about musical thought.

Her schoolmates also recall her adeptness at tabletennis and her affable nature. The documentary narrates the tale of a progressive and a protective Mogubai, encouraging a young Amonkar to listen to film music, and at the same time, discouraging her to participate in school events, worried about her daughter’s head being turned from new-found praise.

And to educate the public about her gharana’s legacy, Veena and her associates have elaborate plans, workshops being one of them. This apartment will also be turned into an immersive listening space for her fans.“We will have computer terminals in the living room here with headphones, where people can come and listen to some of the artists of the gharana. And our workshops have become very popular as well. For example, when Panshikar conducted a workshop on the tanpura and its importance in music, nearly 40 people turned up. We will also invite other artists to perform and discuss the gharana with the attendees,” Veena added.

Also in the works is a series of interviews with the exponents themselves, and with their descendants.

And that has brought about some extraordinary stories.

“Mogubai’s guru Alladiya Khan settled in

Kolhapur

and lived there until his death (he was from Uttar Pradesh). His family helped us a lot with works of Amonkar and other material. Since Khan sahab’s death, the family has remained there, and we are now planning an interview with his grandson,” Veena said.