Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze was a revered Marathi singer. He was born on November 28, 1871 in Vazare, Sindhudurg. His father passed away when Vaze was an infant, after which he and his mother moved to Kolhapur, where she began working as a labourer. Vaze’s childhood was marked by severe hardship, with him barely managing to claim an education till the fourth standard. He was married at the age of 12.
Vaze was greatly fond of singing, and he learnt the fundamentals of the art from the Kagal-based musician Balwantrao Pohre. He later moved to Malvan and studied under Vithoba Anna Hadap for a year. Sometime later, driven by a sincere desire to sing, he set out on foot for Indore. There, he stayed with the famous tabor (a portable snare drum) player Nanasaheb Panse. Panse noted Vaze’s desire to learn music and sent him to Gwalior, where he became a student of Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan, a member of the Gwalior gharana (a specialist school of classical music).
Vaze lived off of alms, accepting whatever he got, and learnt as much as he could during his stay in Gwalior, eventually leaving to chart his own career. In this period, Vaze spent some time with several singers as well as with Swami Vivekananda. He even lived in Nepal for a year, working as a singer. He attended as many performances and engaged in as many bandishes (a performance of fixed, melodic compositions in classical music) as possible, and enriched himself through such practical experiences.
He returned to his own village 12 years after he had left, later moving to Goa. There, he headed a troupe of music students, to whom he imparted his knowledge. He also worked as the music director for the theatre groups Balwant Sangeet Mandali and Lalit Kaladarsh. As a result, he moved between Mumbai, Pune, and Dharwad. Towards the end of his life, he settled in Pune.
Vaze grew to become one of the most acclaimed singers and intellectuals of the Marathi music industry, receiving the honorary title of Gayanacharya (guru of singing). In spite of being influenced by the style of fellow and senior artists, his singing had a distinctive tone. He had a powerful voice well-suited to rhythmic melodies. He made significant contributions to the genre of Marathi Natya Sangeet. Some of his works have been collected in the volume Sangeet Kalaprakash (1938). He also composed a brief autobiography. Vaze provided tutelage to many musicians, including his son Shivrambua Vaze, Haribhau Ghangrekar, Keshavrao Bhosale, Deenanath Mangeshkar, Bapurao Pendharkar, and Bhalchandra Pendharkar. Vaze passed away in Pune on May 5, 1945.
Authored by V.R. Athavle for Marathi Vishwakosh at https://vishwakosh.marathi.gov.in/32240/
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