Ulhas Kashalkar

Pandit Ulhas N Kashalkar (b. 1955) is a noted Hindustani classical vocalist. He has received training in the Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra Gharanas, and is considered a legitimate representative of all three schools.

Early Life

Pandit Kashalkar was born in Nagpur. His father N D Kashalkar, lawyer by profession and a noted amateur vocalist and musicologist, was his first mentor. He studied music at Nagpur University, topping his post-graduate class. Around that time, he also received training from Rajabhau Kokje and P N Khardenavis.

Kashalkar initially worked as a programme executive at the Thane station of All India Radio. in 1993 he joined the ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a Guru.

Tutelage

Indian music is contoured heavily by its pedagogic tradition of Guru Shishya parampara. An examination of an artiste's musical lineage often yields rich insights into his musical style and personality. Kashalkar's two significant mentors were Pandit Ram Marathe and Pandit Gajananrao Joshi.

Ram Marathe (1924-1989), popularly referred to as "Rambhau", was a vocalist in the Gwalior tradition. He was a disciple of Mirashibuwa, who in turn studied under the legendary Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, a key figure in the history of the Gwalior Gharana. Pandit Marathe also trained in the Agra style for fifteen years under Jagannathbua Purohit. That apart, he was a prominent actor and music director in the Marathi stage.

Gajananrao Joshi (1910-1987) was an extraordinary figure in the annals of Hindustani music. His father Anant Manohar Joshi was a prominent vocalist and a direct disciple of Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar of Gwalior. Gajananrao learnt from his father for many years. However, in a step almost unprecedented for the son of a renowned musician, he also trained under notables of other gharanas, such as Vilayat Hussain Khan of Agra and Manji Khan of Jaipur. Even more extraordinarily, he taught himself the violin (reportedly compelled to learn the instrument at the behest of the ruler of Aundh, a princely state he was employed in). Kashalkar undertook a long period of tutelage under him. Indeed, most characteristic features of his style can be traced to Gajananrao's vocalism.

A third, comparatively recent influence was the Sitar maestro Vilayat Khan.

Music

Kashaklar's style is reflective of the remarkable tutelage that he has received. Both Rambhau and Gajananrao were uncompromising traditionalists despite their eclecticism and diversity of tutelage. This finds ample reflection in Kashalkar's vocalism as well. He possesses the rare ability to switch between three distinct styles (namely Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra), at times even in the course of a single performance. At the same time, adheres strictly to the aesthetic contours of whichever style he selects, and also to the formal and aesthetic demands of the raga being presented. He is noted for his authentic presentations of obscure traditional ragas. In an uncharacteristically expansive passage, the veteran music critic Prakash Wadhera once noted:

Ulhas is a fabulous vocalist, still in his middle years and young, who has an old musical head stuffed with innumerable current and rare ragas and compositions. Like a computer he never errs in any raga or composition howsoever intertwined or tricky it may be. He, just seems to press one key and out comes a raga in the true Jaipur colours, another to obtain a melody attired in the Agra style and still another to get a raga in the Gwalior habiliments. One can only imagine Kashalkar's questionless loyalty to his various gurus, and his own prodigious capacity to assimilate and consolidate the incoming knowledge.