| Anand Bhate | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anand Bhate |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupations | singer |
| Years active | 1981– Active |
Anand Bhate (born 1971) is a Hindustani classical vocalist from the Kirana Gharana. [1]
Contents |
Anand Bhate was born in Pune, India in 1971, in a family active in classical music. Anand was a gifted child prodigy from a family that had a background in classical music as well as Marathi drama. His great-grandfather, famously called Bhatebuva, who was a well known vocalist for Thumri and Natya Sangeet in the 19th century.. Anand’s father is a devoted fan of Balgandharva, the legendary singer-actor of the Marathi stage during the first half of the last century. Anand’s natural talent for music blossomed at a very young age. It was Anand’s discerning father who started honing it when he was not yet 10. His two elder sisters, who were also learning music at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, also used to pitch in. At that time he used to play the bulbultarang, but before long, he could play the harmonium without any tuition. Anand’s father took him to Chandrashekhar Deshpande for systematic training in Marathi natyasangeet. As a result, Anand was soon able to sing various songs from various Marathi musical plays exactly in the manner and style of Balgandharva himself and also started to give public performances. By the age of 10, he had started systematic training in classical singing from Chandrashekhar Deshpande. He began his training under Yashwantbua Marathe, who introduced him to some of the intricacies of Khayal gayaki. He started his musical journey in early childhood and continued to present different aspects, such as Hindustani Classical Music, Marathi natyasangeet and devotional compositions. Afterwards, for more than 15 years now, he has been a disciple of the great classical vocalist, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, doyen of the Kirana gharana and a living legend.
His first public appearance came in 1981, when he performed Balgandharva's gayaki on All India Radio, Doordarshan and had a tour in the US. His fame reached the Marathi-speaking diaspora in the US. He was invited to perform at the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal convention in Chicago in 1984 where he captivated the audience. This was a landmark event. It was followed by many more performances in the US and Canada. It was a series of successful performances that fetched him the title ‘Anand Gandharva’.
He has performed at the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival at Pune in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2010.
He has recently sung all the tracks for the lead character of a Marathi bio-pic of Balgandharva.[2]
Anand has also had brilliant academics inherited from his mother, a professor in a renowned institution herself. He figured in the merit list at both the SSC and HSC examinations and went on to do his BE (Electronics) and M.Tech (Computer Science) from the University of Pune. At present, he is a Group Manager with Zensar Technologies at Pune. In the course of his professional position as a software engineer he travels abroad many times and also gives performances. Anand is a dedicated and hard-working professional—both as an engineer and as a musician. His professional work does not deter him from pursuing his passion, music.