Kesarbai Kerkar

about

Born in the tiny village of Keri (also spelled "Querim"), in the Ponda taluka of North Goa, Goa (then a Portuguese colony), at the age of eight Kerkar moved to Kolhapur where she studied for eight months with Abdul Karim Khan. Upon her return to Goa, she studied with the vocalist Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze (1871-1945). At the age of 16 she migrated to Mumbai, where she studied with various teachers, eventually ending up as disciple to Ustad Alladiya Khan (1855-1946), the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, beginning in 1921. She belongs to Gomantak Maratha Samaj. Kerkar eventually achieved wide renown, performing regularly for aristocratic audiences. She was very particular about the representation of her work and consequently made only a few 78 rpm recordings, for the HMV and Broadcast labels. Kerkar was awarded the decoration of Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 1969, and in the same year the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra conferred upon her the title of "Rajya Gayika." Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is said to have been very fond of Kerkar's singing. Her honorific title "Surashri" (or "Surshri") literally means "excellent voice" (sur meaning "voice" and shri meaning "excellent), and was bestowed on her in 1948 by the Sangeet Pravin Sangitanuragi Sajjan Saman Samiti of Calcutta. In her ancestral village of Keri, the Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar High School now occupies the site of Kerkar's former second home, and the house where sh

top songs

albums

Living Music from the Past: Kesarbai Kerkar (A compilation of 78 rpm recordings)

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Aquarium Drunkard Presents :: Ghost Capital IV

Kesarbai Kerkar

Atrauli Jaipur, Vol. 1

Voyager Golden Record

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Atrauli Jaipur,Vol. 1

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Bhairavi

Kesarbai Kerkar: 1944-1953

Living Music From the Past

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Dhun Pilu

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Raag Durga

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Jaat Kahan Ho (Lofi)

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