Vishwanath Jadhav


Vishwanath Jadhav was an Indian classical khyal singer and a disciple of Abdul Karim Khan, the founder of Kirana gharana.

Training

He learned under Abdul Karim from 1906 until the latter's death in 1937. He also took lessons from Nissar Hussain Khan of Gwalior gharana.

Career

Jadhav was appointed a court musician of the former princely state of Kolhapur by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj in 1920s. He had also been invited to perform on various occasions by Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore State. In 1938, he was also bestowed the title of "Proudh Gandharva" by Wadiyar. He used to also perform at the royal functions of Sangli State. Being friends with Dinanath Mangeshkar, he also taught the veteran Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar in her childhood days at Sangli.
Jadhav composed music for films in the early talkie era. He was the music composer of the 1937 film Gangavataran. The film was written and directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, who is known as the "father of Indian cinema". It was the first sound film and the last film to be directed by Phalke. In 1938, he also composed music for the mythological film Dhurva Kumar based on Dhruva's story. The film starred actors Kumar Prabhakar and Raja Paranjape.
On 4 April 1952,pt. Vishwanathbuwa was honoured by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Delhi.

Legacy

He has three sons, who are also classical singers and who run the Pandit Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav Memorial Committee which promotes Hindustani music. In May 2012, the committee submitted a collection of about 500 notations of various bandishes that pt.Jadhavbuwa preserved of his learning from his gurus Nissar Hussein Khan and Abdul Karim Khan, to a Pune-based group Pune Bharat Gayan Samaj.