Magazine of March - 2010 - Rups.net

SHIVDAS CHANDAVARKARand his Music Room(October 11, 1926 - January 25, 2010)In Fond Remembrance– Prakash BurdeHe carried 84 years lightly on his small frame. With restless energy, like a man possessed,Shivdas Chandavarkar was totally and completely immersed in music - specifically, Hindustaniclassical music. Though asthma was his constant and nagging companion since his early years,Shivdas managed his vocal music creditably since childhood and was well groomed in his KiranaParampara. He was also an accomplished tabla player and was an accredited All India Radiosinger of Hindustani classical music. He continued to perform as long as it was possible to have acontrolled breath, so very necessary for the delineation of the theme. The day he realised that hewas unable to sing due to asthma, he called it a day and diverted his energy to building archivesof the great masters. He made a name for himself as a collector of rare records and arrangedmany a listening session in and around Pune, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Nashik and many other places.He had already planned to donate his vast collection arranged according to the Gharanas andin chronological order. He had developed such a rapport with the Pakistan embassy that theyarranged to send him a rare audio-visual CD of Roshanara Begum and many listening sessionswere held in Mumbai and Pune.While we were in the midst of planning our itinerary to visit Hubli and Kundgol for the SawaiGandharva festival in this March, death struck like lightening. Rather, it came silently, stealthily,afraid as it were of his overcharged restless energy. During my three-month forced bed rest, it wasShivdas who unfailingly would phone every fortnight, cheer me up, and like a railway guard showme the green signal, urging me to move on. He was very happy to know that I was back on my feetand to keep me in good humour sent me recordings of the great masters of different Gharanas andto keep me busy asked me to send him a short write-up on Bhendi Bazar Gharana. This was to befeatured in our forthcoming visit to Hubli. Gangubai Hangal’s grandson Manoj was in touch withhim. He had already finalised a vehicle to carry us all to Hubli.While in his seventies, Shivdas developed the idea of maintaining the archives and moreimportantly share his passion with others. As Abraham Lincoln put it aptly, “And it’s not the years inyour life that count, its life in your years”. It is truly well said that he who learns to play his music inhis eightieth year, will play at the ResurrectionMangala (wife), Satish (son), Vinaya (daughter-in-law),Krishna, Shyamsunder (brothers), Rekha (sister), Relatives, Admirers and Friends.50Vol. 91, No.3, March 2010Kanara Saraswat