2022-11-24 Thu

Ramachandra Kundgolkar Saunshi, popularly known as Pandit Sawai Gandharva, was a popular Hindustani Classical vocalist from Karnataka. He was a master in the genre of Kirana Gharana style. He was the leading disciple of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan and a guru of Bharat Ratna laureate Bhimsen Joshi.

He joined a drama company and became known for his singing in Marathi theatre. He received glory for playing female roles, and also the title, Sawai Gandharva after, Bal Gandharva, the doyen of Marathi theatre. He worked for Govindrao Tembe's Shivraj Natak Mandali for a short period of time before becoming famous for playing female roles.

In 1942, when he was 56, his career in concert ended abruptly following a paralytic stroke, but he continued to teach until his death in 1952.

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