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This is an archive article published on December 13, 1999

Mogubai Kurdikar gets Rotary Lifetime Achievement award

MUMBAI, DECEMBER 12: Mogubai Kurdikar, doyenne of Jaipur gharana was today conferred the Lifetime Achievement award by the Rotary Club of ...

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MUMBAI, DECEMBER 12: Mogubai Kurdikar, doyenne of Jaipur gharana was today conferred the Lifetime Achievement award by the Rotary Club of Mumbai downtown. The function which lasted only 15 minutes was kept simple considering her age.

The 96-year-old maestro was modesty personified while thanking the organisers. "It is very touching that people seek out senior artistes like me and felicitate them," she said. Daughter and a legend in her own right, Kishori Amonkar said, "I doubt whether I will be able to reach the pinnacle that my mother has."

It was while practicing for the part of Vasantsena in the musical Mrichchakatika that she was spotted by Ustad Alladiya Khan who decided to train her. She remained his disciple for over 25 years.

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A purist to the core, Kurdikar steadfastly stuck to the unwritten law (which regulated Indian music for over two centuries) that dhrupadias should stick to singing the dhrupad, khayaliyas the khayal while thumri singers must stick to thumri only. Kurdikar has always sungonly in khayal. "I am wedded to the form," she smiles.

"There were many temptations and difficulties but I decided to trudge on in my pursuit of going on honing my gayaki to sing the khayal better," she explains.

While her music may lack the electricity of her mercurial daughter, she more than outdoes her with her blend of swaras with laya in a signature mellow but introspective style.

This is the second lifetime achievement award being given by the Rotary Club of Mumbai Downtown to a senior artiste. In September it had conferred this award on veteran film actress Shobhana Samarth.

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