Between 15^th to 20^th August 1933, a young boy of 10 ran away from his home in Gadag (Karnataka). A few days later, as he sat singing near Asar Mahal in Bijapur, he was recognized by a family friend who took him home and sent for his father. Within these past few days, the boy had been to Bombay, paying for his passage by singing in trains, and had now ended up in Bijapur. When asked the reason for his running away; the reply was I want to learn music.

This young boy was none other than the great singing wizard Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Born  on 4^th Feb 1922 in Gadag, Karnataka, though there was no tradition professional music background to the family, Bhimsen was musically inclined from a very young age of 3. His grandfather Bhimacharya was a Kirtankaar, his father Gururaj was a Sanskrit pandit, and his mother Ramabai used to sing devotional songs and had a very sweet voice. After he was brought home from Bijapur, his father started his music tuitions on a monthly fee of four rupees, an exorbitant amount in those days. He was taught Raag Bhimpalas and Bhairav by Janappa Kurtakoti. But young Bhimsen yearned for lessons from Abdul Karim Khansaheb. He was well aware of his father’s financial capacity and hence, he started making plans to elope once again. The opportunity soon came when his father went to Bombay to give his MA examinations.

This time he first reached Pune in search of illustrious singer Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar. Shri. Phulambrikar agreed to teach him but asked for 100 rupees as his tuition fees which was roughly the amount Bhimsen’s father earned as monthly salary.  Bhimsen then caught a Bombay-bound train and from there, he somehow reached Gwalior. This journey from Gadag to Gwalior can only be described as daring and quixotic in nature. Clad in the only pair of clothes and with no money, he sang to fellow passengers who gave him money to buy food and sometimes fed him in return for his songs. Learning from different masters, his quest in search of a suitable Guru spanned various places such as Gwalior, Rampur, Lucknow and Jalandhar.

In December 1935 he was in Jalandhar to attend the prestigious Harivallabh Sangit Sammelan. Eminent singer Vinayakbua Patwardhan was entranced by young Bhimsen and asked him to sing. When his finished singing, Patwardhan commented that his search had ended and that his Guru resided close to his hometown in Kundagol, Karnataka. Thus after almost two years since leaving home, Bhimsen met his Guru Shri. Rambhau Kundagolkar, more famously known as Sawai Gandharva, an accomplished master singer belonging to Kirana gharana of Hindustani classical music. His apprenticeship was remarkable for years of rigorous training and a lot of hardships; he used to train for 16-17 hours daily.

Apart from pure classical form, he has also explored semi-classical forms of singing; along with kyals he has sung various thumris, bhajans and Kannada Daswani. His Santwani (Marathi bhajans composed by different poet saints) which was started in 1971 is extremely popular to this date. Also as a playback singer, he has sang songs in a few Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Bengali and also English films. He has also combined the Raga Rageshri with Kalavati to form Raga Bageshri. And who can ever forget the melodious soulful beginning of Mile sur mera tumhara by him.

His performances were marked by spontaneity and dizzyingly paced tans, accurate notes which make use of his exceptional vocals and a mastery over rhythm. His voice is so pure and divine; that listening to him sing is a sublime experience, packed with extreme emotion that audiences have cried affected by his singing the world over. As Pandit Ravishankar rightly said of him, the stamina Panditji projects while singing justifies his name Bhimsen. He has performed in over 23 countries and more than 70 cities. A small example cited by his daughter Shubhada Mulgund; in South Fallsburg, a Red Indian came to attend his performance and was so entranced by Panditji’s singing that he removed the necklace he was wearing and put it around Panditji. This necklace was probably made up of bones and was a sacred icon of his tribe which Panditji still keeps in his home.

Sawai Gandharva passed away in September 1952. In order to pay homage to his Guru, Panditji started the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav in Pune the following year and it is being celebrated till date. Though he and Guru followed Kirana gharana, he did not limit this festival to it but brought together all the other existing branches of Hindustani classical music. It became a symbol of prestige and recognition for the singers to sing in this festival. Now in his 88^th year, Panditji is not able to sing due to old age and sickness but his presence during the festival is still sought after by the audience.

It is a measure of his stature in the Indian music that he has received high national honors such as: Padmashri (1972), Padmabhushan (1985), Padmavibhushan (1999), and Bharatratna (2008) among many others.

The legend still lives on and as his Gurubandhu Pandit Feroze Dastoor said; He certainly is a historical figure and the likes of him are born only once in 500 years.