Celebrating 80 years of a city institution

This weekend attend a two-day music festival that marks the anniversary celebrations of Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya

November 02, 2017 08:34 pm | Updated 08:34 pm IST

 Young talent: Kashmiri Indian instrumentalist, composer and conductor, Abhay Rustum Sopori, will perform at the festival

Young talent: Kashmiri Indian instrumentalist, composer and conductor, Abhay Rustum Sopori, will perform at the festival

In 1937, brothers Pandit Shankarrao Vyas and Pandit Narayanrao Vyas achieved their dream of setting up a music education institute in Mumbai. Disciples of the legendary Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, their aim was to offer courses in both vocal and instrumental music.

This weekend, the Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya celebrates 80 years with a two-day festival. The opening evening features the release of two books based on the works of Paluskar and Shankarrao Vyas, besides a compilation of Narayanrao Vyas recordings. This will be followed by a santoor recital by Pandit Bhajan Sopori and his son Abhay Sopori. The second day will have recitals by vocalists Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas and Neelakshi Juwekar, Suneera Kasliwal Vyas on sitar and Rajan Kulkarni on sarod.

The son of Narayanrao Vyas, Vidyadhar Vyas has not only been a prolific Gwalior gharana vocalist, but has played a major role in music education. Besides spearheading the activities of the Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya, he has been head of the department of music at the University and vice-chancellor of the Bhatkhande Music Institute, Lucknow, and executive director of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

He explains the origins of the Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya. “The idea of institutionalising classical music education was first drawn by Pandit Paluskar, who set up the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore. My uncle and father thus got involved with that field even while studying music.” After a stint in Ahmedabad, they came to Mumbai. Shankarrao Vyas passed away in 1956 and Narayanrao Vyas in 1984.

“The model is based on Paluskar's thoughts. Besides vocals, we taught Indian instruments like sitar, violin, harmonium and tabla. Ten years ago, we added the guitar and keyboards,” says Vyas.

The vocalist points out that many students come to learn basic skills, some from a very young age. “For them, we have evening classes. But there are others who want to take music full-time and we teach them under the guru-shishya parampara,” he adds.

While general students visit the facility at Ranade Road, Dadar, the full-time disciples go to Vyas's residence in Hindu Colony, Dadar East. “We have a faculty of 12. If they feel any student is fit for higher musical studies, they suggest it to them,” says Vyas.

How does he balance his role as a performing artiste with his education pursuits? “All musicians primarily want to perform. They keep learning all the time, but it is important they spread their knowledge too. We learn to perform, we teach to perform,” he concludes.

Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya’s anniversary shows will take place on November 4 and 5 at Prachurya B. N. Vaidya Sabhagar, Hindu Colony, Dadar; free entry for all; 24383188

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.