He’s been a connoisseur’s delight, often performing at concerts and baithaks in the Mulund-Thane belt, besides occasional appearances in Pune. Using the Agra gharana technique as the base, he has also incorporated elements of the Gwalior and Jaipur schools to create a unique vocal style.
Yet, Pandit Arun Kashalkar remains largely unknown among the mass audience for Hindustani classical music. He has had many admirers among those who have heard him, but that remains a limited number. Appropriately, he has been chosen as the first artiste to represent the ‘Secret Masters Sessions’ series.
To be held at the Karnataka Sangha, Mahim, on Saturday, the series is the initiative of First Edition Arts to provide a new platform to some lesser-known masters. Says Kashalkar: “I think it’s a great way of providing a new medium to many artistes, and I am sure many of them will benefit.”
Devina Dutt of First Edition Arts says she first heard Kashalkar at a baithak in Mulund two months ago. She explains: “I was immediately stunned. I never knew of someone who was so textured and so varied, and yet who had a following only in a limited circle.”
Interestingly, Kashalkar left his State Bank of India job in the mid-1990s to concentrate on riyaaz, research and teaching. His style comes through his association with gurus Pandit Gajananbuva Joshi, Pandit Babbanrao Haldankar, Ram Marathe and Rajabuva Kogke. His younger brother, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, is an established vocalist and a guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.
He recalls: “Joshi-buva used elements of the Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur gharanas. He advised me that in order to shape up my Agra skills, I should go to Haldankar ji . Each gharana has a different style and aesthetics, and unless one is properly trained and studies them deeply, it isn’t easy to come up with a good blend.”
Besides singing, Kashalkar is a prolific composer, using the pen-name Rasadas. Some 150 compositions have been published in the book Swar Archana . He has also conducted research on Agra gharana maestro Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan’s compositions and on the benefits of imparting gharana-based education. He has 20 students, who he trains either individually or in groups.
For their part, First Edition Arts plans to make the Secret Masters Sessions a quarterly series. Says Dutt: “I have identified many other such artistes but am yet to decide who will come next. I keep interacting with various musicians, and have come to realise there is a completely new world that needs to be known by many others.”
Started by Dutt and Pepe Gomes in 2012, First Edition Arts began with a pre-Diwali concert by Shubha Mudgal. Gradually, that became an annual feature, which included vocalists Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Venkatesh Kumar, Kumar Mardur and Shashwati Mandal.
In their first major show in April 2014, famous jazz guitarist John McLaughlin and his band The Fourth Dimension played at the St Andrews Auditorium, Bandra.
Earlier this year, they launched the Gayatri series, featuring concerts by female artistes, besides screening a film on ghazal queen Begum Akhtar.
Dutt says: “Our effort is to do something off the beaten path.” The ‘Secret Masters Sessions’ series is definitely a step in the right direction.
The author is a freelance music writer
Tickets for the ‘Secret Masters Sessions’ series, to be held on April 9 at 6.30 pm at Karnataka Sangha, Mahim, are available on bookmyshow.com and at the venue from 10 am to 6.30 pm
