paluskar

 Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was born in the princely state of Kurundwad, Maharashtra on August 14, 1872, on the day of Shravan Purnima. His father was Mr. Digambar Gopal and mother was Mrs. Ganga Devi. Father was a good performer. At the tender age of 12, his eyes lit up due to which his education could not go forward, his father sent him to Balakrishna Buichalkaranjikar in Miraj to learn music.Pandit ji received music education from Bua Ji for nine years.

 In 1901, he established 'Gandharva College' in Lahore, after this in 1906 he established the second branch of Gandharva College in Mumbai. Opened.He taught about 100 disciples, of which Pt Omkaranath Thakur, Pt Vinayak Rao Patwardhan, Pt Narayan Rao Vyas, Vaman Rao Thakur, Vodas ji are prominent. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar ji was originally a master of the musical style of the Gwalior Gharana. The credit of popularizing the Gwalior Gharana in India goes to Paluskar. He created the new vocal format system, which is famous as 'Vishnu Digambar Swarlipi'. 50 books of music were also published by Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar.These include Sangeet Bal Bodh, Sangeet Bal Prakash, 'Raag Pravesh' etc. You also edited the 'Sangeetamrit Pravah' monthly magazine. Panditji continued in the service of music for life and became a resident of Miraj Nagar, Maharashtra on 21 August 1931. Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, the bright constellation of Indian music, will always be unforgettable in the music world.

 Paluskar is seen as the musician who brought respect to the profession of classical musicians and took Hindustani classical music out from the traditional Gharana system to the masses. He wrote a book on music called Sangeet Bal Prakash in three volumes, and 18 volumes on ragas as well. His disciples  became renowned classical singers and teachers. His son Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar was also trained in classical music.

ather, Digambar Gopal Paluskar, was a singer of Kirtan (a religious song).

He went to a local school in Kurundwad for primary education. But tragedy struck Paluskar at an early age. During a Hindu festival called Datta Jayanthi, a fire-cracker burst near his face damaging both his eyes. Being a small town, there was no immediate treatment available and Paluskar lost his eyesight. Nevertheless, he regained it some years later.

The king of Miraj recognising the talent in the boy put him under the guidance of Balakrishna bhuva Ichalkaranjikar, a learned musician. Paluskar trained under him for 12 years until in 1896 the relations between the teacher and student became strained.

After that Paluskar began touring the country and studied the musical traditions in each part of Northern India. He went from place to place and visited many royal families in cities like Baroda and Gwalior, well known for their patronage of musicians. But he broke a long-standing tradition of Indian music by giving a public concert in Saurashtra and charging a nominal fee. Till then, concerts were given only in palaces or temples. He studied Brijbhasha, a dialect of Hindi, spoken at Mathura. Vishnu Digambar met Pandit Chandan Chaube and learnt Drupad music form from him. In 1901, he reached Lahore, where he decided to establish a music school.

On 5 May 1901, Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the Gandharva mahavidyalaya, a school to impart formal training in Indian classical music with some historical Indian Music. This was a school open to all and one of the first in India to run on public support and donations, rather than royal patronage. It was a challenge to the traditional method where students lived under the same roof with their teachers. Many students from the School's early batches became respected musicians and teachers in North India. This brought respect to musicians, who were treated with disdain earlier.

In September 1908, Paluskar went to  Mumbai to establish another branch of the school. As the work-load increased, he shifted the school from Lahore to Bombay. To accommodate all the students, he took loans, built a new building for the school and hostel as well. To settle debts, he gave several public concerts. But while on a concert tour in 1924, Paluskar's creditors attached his properties and auctioned off the school.

On 21 July 1973, the Post and Telegraph Department paid homage to Paluskar by releasing a commemorative stamp. In its 2000 millennial issue,India today magazine included Paluskar in its list of "100 people who shaped India