Sawai Gandharva

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Rambhau Kundgolkar, better known as Sawai Gandharva (1886 - September 12, 1952), was a well known Hindustani vocalist. He was a disciple of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan and helped make the Kirana Gharana famous.

Rambhau Kundgolkar was born in Kundgol, near Dharwad, in Karnataka in 1886. Although not from a musical family, he was keenly interested in music. He started his training in classical music under the tutelage of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.

After completing his training, Rambhau joined a drama company and became a big hit as a singing star in Marathi theatre. It was because of his famous singing on stage that he got the name 'Sawai Gandharva', along the lines of the famous singer Bal Gandharva.

Although he became a well known classical vocalist, his most enduring legacy is that he trained great artists who would carry on the magic of the Kirana Gharana, like Bhimsen Joshi, Basavaraj Rajguru, and Gangubai Hangal.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi holds the annual Sawai Gandharva Music Festival in memory of Sawai Gandharva.

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