M. Venkatesh Kumar is among the leading vocalists of Karnataka and stands tall in the galaxy of Hindustani vocal musicians in the country today. This musician of a stunning robust voice shies away from words. Awards, accolades, recognition have come his way, but this teacher of music at the University of Dharwad, sings the same refrain each time: “guru krupa” (guru's grace).
Venkatesh Kumar comes from the village of Lakshmipura in North Karnataka. Born into an extremely poor family, all that Venkatesh Kumar saw in his childhood was vast expanses of dry, parched land. Like other farmers of this region, his father too never experienced the benevolence of the rain god, though they unfailingly woke up to beseech his mercy every morning.
If life was bearable it was because of his father's love for the arts. A leather puppeteer and he could recite poet Lakshmisha's “Jaimini Bharatha” from memory, Venkatesh Kumar’s father was a remarkable folk singer — something that Venkatesh Kumar recalls in retrospect. He would slip into the world of music and forget the milling realities of everyday existence. It was his mother who toiled night and day and made sure that the family had some thing to eat.
If not for his maternal uncle, Venkatesh Kumar shudders to think of his fate: he may have ended up being a farmer for whom the gods had no mercy. This uncle who recognised the little boy's flair for music decided that he should be formally trained in it. He was taken to the Veereshwara Punyashrama in Gadag, run by the blind visionary Puttaraja Gawai, who was gracious enough to take in the talented young Venkatesh Kumar as his student.
At that point, all that Venkatesh Kumar knew was that he was being separated from his family and someone else was now going to control his life; it was much later that he realised that he was being reborn at the feet of his guru.
Venkatesh Kumar has scaled great heights – he is one of the greatest Hindustani musicians of the country., continuing the legacy of the five great legends from Karnataka. But in essence, he remains the simple and humble human being he always was – that is perhaps from where his music gets its intense soul.
