V. R. Kadnekar

Pandit Vasant Rao Kadnekar was born in Bettim (Goa) in 1930. In his young age he started learning khyal under the guidance of his father, an exponent of the Bhendi Bazar gharana. Then he studied with two great singers, in the traditional learning system of the guru-shishya parampara: Parasuram Bua Parsekar of the Bhendi Bazar gharana and Ganapat Rao Dewaskar of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, a student of Alladiya Khan. In the 60s, he was accepted as a shishya by Pandit Lakshman Prasad Jaipurwale, the heir to a very important tradition: the Jaipur gharana. Pandit Kadnekar is one of the only three senior Khyal singers of this very highly estimated school. An All India Radio artist, he is dedicated to teaching: he has totally devoted himself to the traditional method of teaching.