“I trained under him for 10 years, toured with him for 20 more. He was a rare artiste… even those who did not understand or enjoy Hindustani classical music would fall in love with it after listening to him,” says Pandit Vinayak Torvi.
Noted exponent of Gwalior Gharana, Pandit Vinayak Torvi’s association with Pandit Joshi lasted more than 25 years.
“I trained under him for 10 years, toured with him for 20 more. He was a rare artiste… even those who did not understand or enjoy Hindustani classical music would fall in love with it after listening to him,” says he.
To Pandit Joshi, quality of notes’ sur was supreme. “Sing with complete concentration, have faith in notes. Alaap is the essence of the raag, it’s the heart… invoking a raag is like invoking God,” says Pandit Torvi recollecting his guru’s advice.
A devotee of Satya Sai Baba, Pandit Joshi had sung for him and even sought his blessings. As long as he could, the musician visited the Raghavendra Swamy Mutt in Pune every Thursday. “In that setting, music came automatically to him,” says Torvi.
An artiste should aim for the audience’s hearts, their minds, Pandit Joshi believed. However, he did not approve of overenthusiastic youth taking to music just to give programmes and earn a fan following.
“He would say, learn music for music’s sake. Listen to great masters, devote your life to the art,” Torvi says while talking about Pandit Joshi’s approach to music.
The doyen of Gwalior Gharana Pandit Gururao Deshpande was also “like a guru to Panditji.” Last year, Gururao Deshpande Sangeet Sabha presented the Guru Gandharva title to Panditji, adds Pandit Torvi who is among Pandit Deshpande’s prominent disciples.
Aspiring musicians should spend at least 15 to 20 years mastering the art and should refrain from beginning their performing careers until they are at least 30 to 35 years old, Pandit Joshi believed. Allow the artiste in you to mature, he would say.
However, trainees should not make the mistake of blindly following their guru, but make raagas their own. “Use your brain and mind, Panditji advised,” Pandit Torvi recollects. Sing with an open voice, do not rely on mikes to make an impact, he used to say.
Bodily health was a priority, too. He enjoyed swimming, credited it for improving breath control. “In Dharwad, he visited the vyayama shala regularly, he maintained a good physique. He was content with simple food like Jowar Roti, loved his curd rice especially after a concert,” Torvi fondly remembers.
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