Belagavi, the cradle of Hindustani classical music and musicians like the legendary Kumar Gandharv, along with Hubballi-Dharwad district is feeling the pain of losing its talented contemporary artistes, many of whom have moved away for better career prospects and recognition of their talents.
Lack of adequate patronage and recognition in their home State is said to be a reason for this. Not many artistes from Belagavi have been considered for State-level awards and memberships to the government-established cultural institutions. The view was shared by many senior artistes who spoke to The Hindu recently.
Over a decade ago, eminent vocalist Jayashree Patnekar shifted to Pune, one of the country’s cultural hubs. The move ensured regular concerts and a good number of students for her. After a few years, she shifted to Kolhapur with her son. Senior vocalist Pandit Anant Terdal also left Belagavi to settle down in Pune with his son.
The exodus of sorts commenced about two decades ago, when instrumentalist Ravindra Katoti, a disciple of the late Pt. R.K. Bijapure, a harmonium exponent, shifted to Bengaluru where he is now an accomplished artiste. Flautist Rajendra Kulkarni shifted to Pune, and tabla exponent Vinayak Naik, vocalist Mahaesh Kulkarni and harmonium child prodigy Deepak Marathe to Mumbai. Vocalist Ravindra Sorgavi of Gokak shifted to Bengaluru and is now a regular performer for AIR and Doordarshan-Kannada.
Interestingly, Sanjay Deshpande, a senior sitar player, chose to remain in his hometown and reached out to the world of music by conducting online sitar classes for students abroad. Another noted instrumentalist and the senior-most disciple of Pt. Bijapure, Sandhansu Kulkarni, after spending a few years in Goa, returned to Belagavi to train young students at his music school.
Senior vocalist Sridhar Kulkarni, who has been performing in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Kerala, is not in a hurry. Although financially settled, he is looking for an ideal place and opportunity to boost his musical career.
