In my opinion, he can be called one of the greatest musicians, visionary and scholarly performer of this century in the world of Indian classical music. His performances had a charisma of its own. Panditji was like a family member even before I was born. A great friend of my father, this relationship inspired me to sit at his feet and learn the innermost characteristics of music as an art of communication.

One can describe Panditji in three stages: Struggle (‘Sangarsha’), Arduous practice (‘Sadhana’) and Achievement (‘Siddhi’). Born into abject poverty, Panditji started earning to support his family and at the same time showed the rarest talent for music. He worked as a laborer during the day and used his musical talent in the evenings. Life was very tough. One of the wealthy art lovers sponsored him for his formal training in classical music from the great Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, who introduced classical music in social culture. After finishing the formal training, Panditji was sent to Lahore as the head of Gandharva Maha Vidhyalaya Sangeet School and there he stood up to the challenges to the then established professional musicians.

Panditji had a gorgeous and sonorous voice quality that captured the heart and mind of listeners. This was the time of India freedom struggle where Gandhiji shook the nation. Gandhiji demanded a musician who could sing national patriotic songs and Panditji was given this task. His ‘Vande Mataram’ used to attract the multitude of people and Gandhiji once said “What my national address of two hours could not do, was done only in few minutes by Panditji”. Madan Mohan Malaviyaji, a co-worker of Gandhiji, heard Panditji and was inspired to start the music academy at the Hindu University in Benaras. Panditji became the head of the faculty. He proved to the art world that even an institution like that could produce singers, musicians and musicologists. With very little formal education, Panditji with his will to perform became one of the greatest scholars in Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian. Even the contemporary musicians had to admit and accept his superiority as a great performer. What set him apart was his ability to deeply interpret the meaning of music and exploit it into his rendering. No music festival was complete without Panditji’s concluding performance, especially his devotional ‘bhairavi bhajan’ (Jogi mat jaa).

His scholastic book on theory of sound and music, ‘Pranav Bharti’, is a landmark for understanding the musicology. In this book, he has successfully established the placement of ‘Bharata’s Shadja’ (SAA). This problem was unsolved and those who have tried to solve were totally lost. Panditji explained the concept of sound and also discussed many intricacies of ‘ragas’ and their expressions.

A Guruji doesn’t teach but flows and vibrates. It is the disciple who has to keep his mind and heart open to receive his ever flowing, ever-vibrating ocean of knowledge. His informal conversations were also a part of teaching methodology. I consider myself very fortunate and blessed to have been under his divine shelter.

This is only a glimpse of Panditji’s valuable contribution to the Indian music and there are still many more valuable aspects that can be discussed. It is without any doubt that whenever one explores the aesthetics and technique of Indian music, one cannot ignore the unfolded truth and beauty envisioned by Pandit Omkarnath Thakur.

Pandit Atul Desai, a senior disciple of the late Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, lives in Ahmedabad. He is a composer and vocalist and will be performing in Toronto on October 19, 2002 for Raag Mala Music Society of Toronto.