I was astounded to hear Kishori Amonkar's voice in Geet Gaya Patharone for the first time. I thought, "This is like a boundaryless, sweet flow of music... an uncontrollably emotional overflow of a few tunes!"
With my newly found interest in this Gana Saraswathi, I started reading many stories about her with awe.
I am sharing a few with you all--
She was awarded two of India's top civilian honors, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
Kishori Amonkar was known for her unique interpretation of the Jaipur gharana, Kishori Amonkar is considered one of the best singers in the Hindustani tradition. A group of musicians with a common musical style is known as a gharana.
Being a well-known classical singer, she never tolerated interruptions during her performance and used to assume that the audience would pay close attention.
Interviews are unpleasant for Kishori Amonkar. She doesn't like to discuss her music with strangers, in addition to thinking they are a waste of time "because they take away important minutes from her daily riyaz and teaching." Therefore, it wasn't shocking when one of the greatest classical voices of all time abandoned a group of journalists outside her hotel suite in Delhi once, and turned down a scheduled interview. "I'm tired right now. Ask them to come home to discuss," she told them from behind the door, as her student Nandini Bedekar gave them an apologetic look!!
Amonkar has variously been headlined as a “tempestuous diva” (Business Standard), an “elusive prima donna” (Wire.in), “a diva…ferocious feline…unique all the way” (Pune Mirror), and “the reigning diva of the Hindustani classical stage” (Scroll.in), while celebrity editor Shobhaa De’s ‘How to be a Chick’ column described her as “fiery, mercurial, magnificent, majestic, [and] moody”. You get the picture – partly because these terms have a familiar ring (…echoes of Nina Simone?).
Well-substantiated tales of Amonkar’s uncompromising antics range from scolding politicians for their cultural cluelessness to repeatedly shouting “sit up” at front-row dignitaries who were slumping mid-raga. Fiercely protective of her time, she rarely gave interviews – no-showing to those she did agree to, and on other occasions quizzing the journalist on abstruse aspects of raga geometry before proceeding (“How will you interview me if you don’t know classical music well?”). Scornful of standard critical accolades, she dismissed the validity of the Bharat Ratna – India’s highest civilian award – on the basis that it had also been given out to a mere cricketer: Sachin Tendulkar.
“She was once about to perform at the Gulmarg Golf Club in Kashmir, where the audience included then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Someone began passing a platter of pears around. Amonkar refused to sing further. When an industrialist’s wife once ordered a paan during her performance, Amonkar screamed, ‘Am I a kothewali to you?’ From editors and politicians to industrialists and famous artistes, many have faced Amonkar’s wrath during concerts…”
https://ragatip.com/why-oversimplify-pt-2-kishori-amonkar/
( Information Credit: Google)
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