Remembering Kishori Amonkar: ‘She was also skilled at playing harmonium, drawing rangoli’

“Mai (Kurdikar) would train me from 9 to 11 am every day. After which, Kishoriji would sit for her riyaaz. Given that it wasn’t considered proper to hang around when an artiste was practicing, I would quietly walk off, though I wanted to sit with her. After observing my singing for a few days, while I was training under her mother, one day, Kishoriji told me that I could sit with her. Later in the evening, I also sit with Mai when she would do her riyaaz,” remembers Padma, adding that for five years since 1969, she worked with legendary vocalists.

During those five years, Padma accompanied Amonkar in nearly 40 concerts.

It was during this long association, Padma discovered that though Amonkar performed only classical music, she also sang ghazals and thumri effortlessly. She would also make bandishes and sang bhajans. In addition, she could draw flawless rangoli. “But she never flaunted it publicly,” adds Padma.

Raghunandan Panshikar, who trained under Amonkar for 20 years from 1979 to 1999, says that it was from her he learnt how one should fall in love with each raga and sing them with equal love.

As a guru, he says, Amonkar was a strict disciplinarian with whom no excuses worked.

“We could not come late. We had to work on what was taught during the training. It is said that when you go near a sandalwood tree, you don’t have to apply it on your body to get its fragrance. It automatically rubs on to you. Learning under her was something similar. She was an institution in herself,” adds Panshikar.

Though city-based harmonium player Chaitanya Kunte accompanied her in 2009, he had visited her at least four times before that to understand her views on music. Her concept of khayal and raga, Kunte says, were different than other musicians. Though her style and innovation sometimes did not go well with traditional gharanedar musicians, it clicked with musicians of his generation.

Remembering his performance with her, he says, “Kishoriji would always be anxious before her performance. Jaise Jaise raga khulte they, unka mood theek hota jata tha. (As the ragas would open up, her mood would change). Gradually, she would relax. That performance began with raga Yaman and the second raga was Basanti Kedar. After performing a second raga, she seemed relaxed, with a smile on her face. It was one of my most memorable concerts.”

Tabla artiste and Padma Shree awardee Pandit Suresh Talwalkar recalls Amonkar as an artiste who embraced innovation within the boundaries of the tradition. He accompanied her on tabla in the early 1970s in nearly ten concerts. The association, he adds, resulted in a bond which remained intact till the end. Even though, in the past few decades they didn’t perform together, he would pay her a visit at her home whenever he was in Mumbai. And they would have hours-long discussion on music.

“That she was moody is something everyone knew. Prior to her performance, on many occasions she may have shown this side of her nature to the organisers, but she never said anything to the accompanying artistes. Given that she was a perfectionist, she knew exactly what beat she wanted and didn’t compromise on that,” he says, adding that her prowess as a musician was so huge that everyone happily tolerated her mood swings.

Besides, he says, not many know that Amonkar was also a skilled harmonium player and was excellent at knitting.a