Khale, 85, had been suffering for a while with heart and lung ailments.
As Ganesh pandals across the state played his devotional numbers in the early hours of Friday, unknown to most, the man behind the music, composer Shrinivas Khale, died at his residence in Thane’s Vasant Vihar.
Khale, 85, had been suffering for a while with heart and lung ailments. He was even admitted briefly at Jupiter Hospital eight months ago. The end came at 1:10am on Friday. The last rites were performed at Jawahar Baug Mukti Dham in Thane.
Apart from the sizeable body of his work in Marathi, Khale, in a career spanning six decades, also composed the music for songs in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati and Sanskrit. Khale’s first big hit, ‘Gori gori paan’, sung by Asha Bhosle (1952), is still a must-sing at Maharashtrian family dos. But he will be remembered most for bringing together two Bharat Ratnas, Lata Mangeshkar and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, for the Hindi devotional album Ram Shyam Gungaan.
Legends like ghazal singer Mehdi Hasan and Carnatic musician M Balamurali Krishna were among Khale’s fans. News of the death of ‘Khale Kaka’ or ‘Anna’, as he was known in the music industry, spread like wild fire and people flocked to his residence to pay their respects.
Latadidi said she was shocked by Khale’s death. “During the recording of Ram Shyam Gungaan I was nervous about singing with Bhimsen Joshi, but my fears were allayed when I saw how Khale had used the strengths of our styles in the best possible way,” she recalled.
“Like my brother Hridaynath, Khale, too, never stuck to one style,” Mangeshkar said. “He was innovative and his deceptively simple tunes were extremely difficult to render. Despite his profound knowledge he didn’t have the slightest pride and went out of his way to be kind to everyone around. Truly it is an irreparable loss for the world of music.”
Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan said he found it difficult to believe the man he worshipped was no more. “I was barely 11 when I played the veena at the Pt Bhimsen Joshi-Lataji recording for Khalekaka,” he said. “Barely a few days ago, he was seated in the audience as I sang in Marathi and I remember feeling goose-bumps. Even if we simply use his repertoire to learn and grow, a lifetime will not suffice.”
Khale is survived by his wife Vasumati, three daughters Shama Chaudhary, Sanjeevani Khale and Sonali Kulkarni, and two sons-in-law. The musician, whose talent matched his spartan and almost monastic lifestyle, was awarded the Padma Bhushan last year.
With inputs from Sukhada P Khandge
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