Vamanrao Deshpande

Who was Vamanrao Deshpande?

Vamanrao Deshpande was a famous music critic, musicologist and a prolific author on the subject of Indian Classical Music.

While he was a practising chartered accountant of fifty years standing and was senior partner in the Batliboi Purohit chartered accountancy firm in Mumbai, India, he claimed music as his first love. Having been initiated into music in his early childhood by his father, he later received training from stalwarts in three major traditions: in the Gwalior tradition by Yadavrao Joshi, in the Kirana tradition by Sureshbabu Mane and in the Jaipur tradition by Naththan Khan and Mogubai Kurdikar. He shunned the concert stage, but performed regularly on the All India Radio, Bombay, from 1932 to 1985.

For some years he was a member of the central audition board of the All India Radio and of the panel of judges of the All India Radio's music competitions. He was also a member of the arts committee of the Maharashtra state Board of Literature and Culture and of the University of Bombay for seventeen years. In addition, he was connected with many musical institutions in various capacities.

He is the author of 'Maharashtra's Contribution to Music'. His Marathi book 'Gharandaj Gayaki' won the Maharashtra State Award for the best work in aesthetic criticism in 1962. The Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, honoured it with an award as the best Marathi book on music during the period 1961 - 1969. 'Gharandaj Gayaki' has since been translated into a number of languages, including 'Indian Musical Traditions' in English and 'Gharanedar Gayaki' in Hindi. It is recommended reading in the music syllabi of many educational institutions across the country.