Kolkata remembers mesmerising' Joshi

KOLKATA: It may sound unreal in today's IPL age but evening after evening in 1956, at least 25,000 people would gather at Chowringhee Road and Middleton Street to listen to Bhimsen Joshi sing.
There were other maestros also but he was the star attraction. The entire stretch had to be blocked off by police to allow this gala event to happen. We are talking about the Sadarang Music Conference which used to take place at the Darbhanga Palace.Its sprawling grounds could hold 5,000 listeners, but loudspeakers would be fitted outside for those who couldn't find a place inside.
The Darbhanga Palace is no longer there and in its place now stands the Jeevan Deep building. "People would come with newspapers and simply squat on the streets. Joshi was a young singer then compared to stalwarts like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan or Abdul Karim saab. But he would smash everyone else with his power-packed singing that would hold the audience in place long after the performance was over," remembers Pandit Vijay Kichlu.
Kichlu knew Joshi for the past 60 years and has been an ardent fan of his gayaki. "He was the last link between the great yesteryear maestros and those of the present times. With him, an era in Hindustani raag sangeet comes to an end," Kichlu said.
Joshi was extremely close to Kolkata because of the patronage it offered to classical music. He not only regularly visited the city to be among like-minded classical musicians but would return again and again to perform. The All Bengal Music Conference, Sadarang Music Conference, Tansen Music Conference and, later, the Dover Lane Music Conference were some soirees where he was a regular.
"His year was never complete unless he visited Kolkata at least 20 times. Panditji belonged to the Kirana gharana, but he took the gayaki or singing style of the gharana to another level through his vision and creativity," explained Kichlu.
Tabla maestro Shankar Ghosh, who played with him at many concerts in the city and elsewhere, said that Joshi had performed in at least 90 shows here since his first appearance in 1956. "I was his favourite along with Ustad Keramatulla and Pandit Shyamal Bose. His style transcended that of the others of Kirana gharana. No one will be able to imitate that slow rendering in a voice that was both rich and sweet and had tremendous volume," Ghosh added. He narrated a funny incident when Joshi had got so excited and animated while singing that he fell off the stage.
Though many remember him as a strict disciplinarian who hardly had time for fun and jokes, to Ustad Rashid Khan he was a lovable fatherly figure who cared for his blossoming as a singer. "I am lucky that such a senior singer agreed to record a jugalbandi with me for Doordarshan about eight years ago," Khan said.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in his condolence message said that he personally knew Joshi, whose genius would be missed. "His death is a great loss to teachers, performers and listeners of Indian classical music," the message said.