Pune: Father who loves, a simple and generous human and a tremendous and unique vocalist is how Shubhada Mulgund describes his father Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
“Baba really likes American cars.
We have buick when I was four years old and we used to live near Giopal Gayan Samaj in Pune.
Baba used to take me to drive.
He also rides a bicycle, and I used to ride a double seat with him when Mother will send us assignments to the bank or vegetable market.
In the car mechanics, we will sit for hours when Baba discusses around maintenance.
But I never get bored, “he recalled.
His love for driving is legendary.
“Whether it’s a family vacation or concert in Mumbai, Hubbali, Dharwad, Gulbarga or Kolkata, we traveled by car.
I remember traveling to Kashmir and to Kankumari from Pune with Baba on the wheel.
He knows the streets of the internal village like the back of his hand,” he said.
Mulaaguund spent years with his father traveling with him for concerts, recordings and accompanying him at Tanpura.
“Baba prefers to reach the location only for hours before the concert.
When I was very young, I will fall asleep and wake up when he will sing Raag Bhairavi.
There is a different aura about him after the concert,” he said.
Shubhada had attended hundreds of concerts, training at home and Riyaz with his mother, Vatsalabai vocalist.
“Baba never put me down to teach music.
Whatever I relapsed was to listen to it and Aai.
He is right, pure and perfect, even when he sang for the last time in the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav in 2007 despite being sick.
He never shouted quality-quality this.
that’s why he never failed to reach the audience and the people loved him very much, “he said, adding” Baba’s simple.
All he needed was two tanpuras, tabla and harmonium.
“” Whether it Narsobachi Wadi or a small village in the Netherlands In the middle of winter, all the baba concerts, “he added.
Panditji always respects all artists regardless of their stature.
“He highly respected for the Gandharva Sawai Teacher (Rambhau Kundgolkar) and extraordinary dedication to his craft,” Mulaguund said.
“When I got married, I remember him standing near me with tears in his eyes when Mangalashtak was being read out.
It was the only time I saw it like that,” he said.