A Father Remembers

Nearly 47 years-ago (April 1961) Gururaja Joshi, the father of BhimsenJoshi, wrote a longish biographical essay in Kannada for an anthologytitled Nadedu Banda Dari, published by Manohara Grantamala in Dharwad.The volume was being published to celebrate the 25 years of the publicationhouse which was, incidentally, run by Bhimsen Joshi's uncle, the playwright G BJoshi or Jadabharata. Manohara Grantamala is among the most respected publishinghouses in Karnataka and among the writers they have introduced and supportedthrough their literary careers are Girish Karnad and A K Ramanujan.

Bhimsen Joshi (born 1922 in Ron of Karnataka on the Rathasapthami day)was just about 40-years-old when this essay was written, but had alreadymade a big name for himself in the Hindustani classical music circuit. Whilewe usually read sons writing about their fathers, in this raretribute, a proud father writes about his accomplished son.

The essay, which is roughly about 7000 words, is a delightful glimpseinto the beginnings of Bhimsen's musical journey. The Kannada prose isso magnificent that it even offers a rich poetic experience tothe reader. You can sample a small 'jhalak' of it in the section titled 'Conception.' Thispiece is a testimony to a father's evolution and erudition as much as theson's climb to musical greatness.

Just because it is penned by a father, completely smitten by his son'smusical genius, one need not think it is dishonest or hagiographic. Infact, it is critical in parts and honest to the bone. For instance, itdoes not hesitate to record the pilfering that the young Bhimsen wouldindulge in. There is also an expression of the father's dilemmaabout his son taking a second wife (Vatsala), even when the first one(Nanda) is alive with three children. About this, he pleads"helplessness" and says that not always can parents save theirchildren from "calamities" that they bring upon themselves.  

The entire text is interesting because of the slow pace of itsdiscovery. The father takes time to make sense of his son's eccentricities.He tries to advise himself patience when the son often leaves home under ambiguouspretexts. There is the anxiety in Gururaja Joshi about people"mistakenly" holding him responsible for his son's running awayfrom home. He claims Bhimsen's "grit and determination" ashis own. He also asserts that it is he who was his son's firstbenefactor and has been there at every single bend of his musicaljourney. 

Gururaja Joshi is also self-conscious about the biographical piece he iswriting and says that people should not mistake his indulgence in his son'ssuccess. The last paragraph of the essay is very moving. He says: "IfI have truly helped Bhimasena in his musical journey; if I truly believe inhis music, I hope god will ensure that Bhimasena is by my side when my endcomes and as he expands the aalap of the Bhairavi raag I sever mylinks with this world." One does not know if this wish came true.

Here are a few translated bits from the essay. I readily admit thatmy lines do not match the excellence of the original, but they strive to give afair idea of the father's intent. The editing, sub-heads and arrangement of theparagraphs to give a chronological sense is mine. This is translated withkind permission from the publisher: