Parts of this article is written and discussed with Neeraj Vaidya. and it is thankfully acknowledged
Introduction
We decided to write a short account of Marathi Bhaavgeet, since it is a very rare subject that not many articles are written about. It is a rare form of poetry sung into songs that are very similar to Ghazals, do evoke very strong emotions in human mind.
What is Bhaavgeet?
“The term bhaav relates to emotion, and aptly, the genre of Bhaavgeet refers to songs with shades of emotions, brought forth through an aesthetic blend of poetry, melody and rhythm” (1). Aptly the slow melody of the music reminds one of bhajans (Hindu devotional songs), while overall treatment of the song lyrics akin to Ghazals. The subject of a bhaavgeet necessarily need not have to be Bhakti, but it covers vast variety of subjects. The legendary song Shukratara mand wara exist in listeners ears even after eighty years is the evidence that Bhavgeet music genre have profound role in India’s traditional music genres. Not only, Maharashtrians, but entire India play and love these songs. Indian express reported the celebrations done in year 2013 of its existence of 80 years; wrote this quote and quote as ‘Suresh Wadkar‘ji says “This light classical music form is a blend of poetry and music, and a great concert is one in which the singer knows the lyrics well enough to improvise and stress on certain words and sentences to make the poem come alive”.(2)
Here we are trying to bring some top songs and proponents of this genres. As always we bring the message we want to bring to our readers through embedding songs we think will generate an interest in youngsters.
Main proponents of this branch of music are
Sudhir Phadke (1919-2002)
Sudhir Phadke also known as Babuji was an icon in Marathi film industry and Marathi Bhaavgeet. He was a Singer and composer at the same time. His knowledge of classical music coupled with his style of Bhaavgeet compositions made each of his compositions unique with unparalleled melody for over 50 years.
Arun Date (4 May 1934 – 6 May 2018)
He is the second most prominent Bhaavgeeth singer and proponent of the style. His voice texture was one of the main reasons for his mass appeal like his predecessors like Sudhir Phadke. Here the very first Bhaavgeet he sung in 1962 and still considered as the classic example of this style of songs. Give a listen, sorry the audio of this recordings is very poor. Latter one is a good recording of the same song. Play both songs for sure.
His other famous songs include Bhatukalichya Khela Madhali, Shatada Prem Karave, Divas Tujhe He Fulayache and Jenvha Tichi Ni Majhi
Suresh Wadkar
Suresh Wadkar and his relenless efforts for nurturing many traditions of Maharashtra and India classical music is very commendable. His contribution to Marathi Bhaavgeet is as enormous as his works on other genres. His famous Ajivasan, an institute he established to train India’s traditions and music is one of a kind of an institute in Mumbai.
He in an interview to Indian express said this ” Bhavgeet is a lot like ghazals, but is not written as couplets. It is one of those forms of music where you can see people hanging on to every word they sing. On stage, when a singer delivers a particular turn of phrase, you can actually feel like you are reaching into someone’s being with your words. It is beautiful.”
Here is a collection of his Marathi Bhaavgeet. Enjoy.
Sanjeev Abhyankar
A Mewati Gharana Classical singer through his Marathi Bhajans kept his contributions to Marathi folk arts tremendously.
END NOTES
There are many hindustani singers sang and popularize many Marathi folk and Bhaavgeet. The fine line between the Bhaavgeet based on Raags and classical music is not clear. There are not many accounts of how the music is evolved and came to exist into its earliest forms. The research into this is yet needed.
A number of Bollywood playback singers toyed with the idea of making bhaavgeet albums. Lata mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mohammad Rafi, and Anuradha Podval are few among them. These albums have a market.
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