29/09/2024
•• Remembering Legendary Harmonium Maestro and Guru Padma Shri Pandit Tulshidas Borkar on his 6th Death Anniversary (18 November 1934 - 29 September 2018) ••
A short highlight on his illustrious career;
Acclaimed as a performer par excellence, brilliant composer and revered Guru, Pandit Tulshidas Borkar (born : 18 November 1934) is one of the most outstanding musicians of India. A leading name in the field of Harmonium playing. Tulshidasji had his initial lessons in Music from his mother Jaishreebai Borkar. Later he started learning the Harmonium from Vishnupant Vashta and at the same time had the opportunity of being guided by Chhota Gandharva, the eminent vocalist, on the art of Harmonium accompaniment. However a major part of his training in Harmonium was between 1957 and 1967 under the guidance of the Harmonium maestro Pandit Madhukar Pendnekar, better known as P. Madhukar.
In his endeavor to acquire knowledge he had the opportunity of receiving valuable guidance from some veteran vocalist like Pandit S. C. R. Bhatt, Pandit K. G. Ginde, Pandit Rajaram Shukla, Pandit Murli Manohar Shukla, Pandit Ram Marathe, and instrumentalists like Pandit Devendra Murdeshwar (Flute) and Pandit A. P. Pathak (Violin) from whom he got to learn the intricacies of the Khayal tradition of North Indian (Hindustani) Classical Music.
Tulshidas Borkar gained initial fame as an Organ player in Marathi theatrical music. He accompanied several leading actor-singers of Marathi theatre between the years 1950 and 1980. He also had the privilege of accompanying many stalwarts in the field of Hindustani Classical Music like Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, Pandit Firoj Dastur, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Basavraj Rajguru, Pandit Y. B. Joshi, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, Pandit Ram Marathe, Pandita Gangubai Hangal, Pandita Kishori Amonkar, Pandita Shobha Gurtu and Dr. Prabha Aatre to name a few.
Apart from being a reputed Harmonium accompanist, Tulshidas Borkar has also been acclaimed as a great soloist and has been commercially recored by many record labels all over the world. Tulshidasji has participated in most of the prestigious music festivals in the country and toured extensively for concerts in U.K., Europe, Indonesia, U.S.A, and Arabian Gulf countries.
As a music composer, he has composed music for theatrical productions like Sangeet Pandharpur, Bakul Phula and various other musical productions. The many disciples whom he has groomed as renowned performers and composers of today, proves his invaluable contribution as a Guru. Among his disciples are Sudhir Nayak, Seema Mestri-Shirodkar, Kedar Naphade, Shriram Hasabnis and Niranajan Lele - all gaining acclaim as excellent Harmonium players of the younger generation. Borkarji's noble mission of imparting his knowledge has led him to authoring a book on the art of playing the Harmonium titled Samvadini Sadhana which has been published in Hindi and Marathi. He has also been instrumental in designing a syllabus for Harmonium students which has been accepted and recognized by the Pune University (Lalit Kala Kendra) and University of Kolhapur (Shivaji Vidyapeeth).
He has also designed a new model modifying the physical structure of the Harmonium by raising the level of the Keyboard which was crafted and manufactured by Dashrath Bengude. He has extensively researched in learns of improving the tonal quality, tuning and other technical aspects of the Harmonium thereby giving different visual and sound dimensions to the instrument.
For his dedicated contribution in the field of Indian Music, he has been honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by the hands of President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee for the year 2015. He has also been honoured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academi Award, New Delhi (2005) at the hands of President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Other honours bestowed on him include:
*.First Bhaiya Ganpatrao Samman (Award) from Harmonium wizard Bhaiya Ganpatrao Memorical society, Delhi on Aug 11 2008.
*.State Reward for Excellence from the Directorate of Art and Culture, Govt. of Goa (18 August 2007).
*.Smt. Indirabai Khadilkar Puraskar (2006) by Bharat Gayan Samaj (Pune)
*.Pandit Bandubhaya Chaugule Smruti Puraskar, Indore (2004)
*.Pandit Vitthalrao Korgaonkar Smruti Puraskar by Surel Samvadini Samvardhan - Belgaum in 2002.
*.ITC Sangeet Research Academy Award (2001)
*.Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Smruti GungauravPuraskar (2000) form Yojana Pratishthan and Nirgudkar Foundation.
*.Samrat Sanman from Samrat Club international Goa.
*.Balgandharva Gaurav Puraskar from Akhil Bhartiya Natya Parishad sponsored by Shrimant Madhavrao Maharaj Shinde.
*.Govindrao Tembe Sangatkar Puraskar (19 January 1998) from Akhil Bhartiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.
*.Sangeetkar Padmshree Vasant Desai Puraskar from Marathi Natya Parishad.
*.Natvarya Keshavrao Date Puraskar (1995)
He passed away on 29 September 2018 at Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai. He was diagnosed with Tuberculosis.
On his Death Anniversary, Hindustani Classical Music And Everything pays rich tributes to him and are very grateful for his contributions to the Indian Classical Music. 🙏🌼
