Speeches on Master Krishnarao
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Pu. La. Deshpande – (Credit: Sadhana)
' नवताम् उपैति '
I have always thought of Master Krishnarao’s singing as a constantly renewing manifestation of his genius. His oeuvre can never get old – because it keeps transforming into something new every time. In every song one experiences this rare quality that he displays.
It is only natural for Master Krishnarao to accord the same godly quality to Bhaskarbuva unquestioningly. But if Master Krishnarao had blindly given expression to Bhaskarbuva’s words, his singing would have been as though with blinkers on his eyes.
But holding Bhaskarbuva in unconditional reverence isn’t tantamount to following him blindly. A devotee of music will undoubtedly rever Bhaskarbuva, but a true follower of music – or for that matter, any art – knows that it doesn’t begin and end with any one maestro.
The ocean of music is so vast that the explorer will discover new gems in every dive in its depths. This, I think, has been the genius of Master Krishnarao: he dove deep and wide in the ocean of music and brought us a plethora of gems. If he had dived in the same depths, he might have discovered a couple of gems, but after that all he would have got are empty shells. Instead, his love of music allowed him to sing for all and sundry – the little people and the big, the men and the women, the cognoscenti and the novice.
He didn’t insist on a particular genre as the 'right' music. He practiced his art while serving all, in recognition of the diversity of their ear for music. Little wonder that we call him 'Sangeetkalanidhi'.
Credit: Sadhana