Life Story

A leading light in the Golden era of Indian Music - Sangeetkalanidhi Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar!

Birth and Childhood

Shri. Krishnaji Ganesh Phulambrikar also known as Sangeetkalanidhi Master Krishnarao, popularly called Master Krishnarao, (or Krishna Master or just 'Master') was born on 20th January 1898 at Devachi Alandi to Saubhagyavati Mathurabai and Shri Ganeshpant Phulambrikar. The family was of Deshastha Yajurvedi Brahmins, who chant the Vedas. Phulambri in Marathwada was the native village of the Master's paternal family. The original surname was 'Pathak', meaning one who recites the Vedas. Three generations before Master was born, one of his ancestors who was a Vedamurti, a person who knows the Vedas by heart, came to Pune from Phulambri village to recite in front of the Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa, the then ruling Peshwa of the Maratha empire in India. Nanasaheb Peshwa used to host a gathering of learned Brahmins at the base of Parvati Hill, where those who recited the Vedas perfectly were honoured. Immensely pleased with the man’s perfect diction, knowledge and presentation of Vedic ruchas or lyrics, Nanasaheb Peshwa honoured Master Krishna’s ancestor by presenting his own golden bracelet and declared that from that time onwards he would be known as 'Phulambrikar'. From that generation on, they settled in Pune. Master's father Shri Ganeshpant was also a Vedamurti, but unfortunately he met sudden and untimely death, and due to this sad blow, the entire household became impoverished. This tragic incident occured even before Master's thread ceremony.

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