Gurus
Pt. Chintubuva Mhaskar
Revered Mr. Chintamani (Chintubuva) Mhaiskar ji was a very renowned vocalist and guru in Maharashtra. He was an honest Kala-upasak and a disciplinarian.
Mhaiskar-buva as everyone fondly called him was the disciple of Pt. Kagalkar-buva.
Famous classical vocalists like Alladiyakhan saheb and Kagalkar-buva used to offer their classical recitals in the renowned Sambhare Ganesh Utsav.
Mhaiskar-buva had accompanied his Guru Kagalkar buva on such occasions. Kagalkar buva always mentioned Mhaiskar-buva as one of his brightest and favourite disciple.
As a guru, Mhaiskar-buva himself created many well-known disciples who emerged to fame later on.
Bharati Vaishampayan - Dean of Music Department at Shivaji University, Shalmalee Joshi, Manjiri Asnare-Kelkar, Mangaltai Joshi, Ravindra Kulkarni and Sharad Bapat are some of the very well-known disciples of this great guru.
He taught music selflessly, unconditionally and painstakingly for 40-50 years in his Gurukul "Swarsudha Sangeet Vidyalaya" located in Sangli.
His speciality was that he specifically taught students to sing and play the tabla at the same time which invoked a deep perception of laya and sur together and opened up new vistas in the students journey.
Pt. Ratnakar Pai
Pt. Ratnakar Pai received musical training from two erudite teachers, Mohanrao Palekar and Utd. Gulubhai Jasdanwalla. Pai's was regarded as the foremost authority on the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana because he represented a union of the two sub-streams of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, having learnt from descendants of Gharana founder Utd. Alladiya Khan and from the foremost, non-blood-related disciples of the Ustad. Pai was instrumental in clarifying the differences and enhancing the wholesomeness of the Gharana's ideology.
Endowed with a sweet voice and an uncanny sense of laya (tempo), Pai's singing is one of the purest expressions of the traditional Jaipur-Atrauli Gayaki. The aesthetics of the gayaki are based on the solid foundation of compositions that delineate the nuances of a Raag accompanied by a syncopated approach to laya. The balance of melody and rhythm is tightly woven and the appeal is distinct to the structural and intellectual aspects of creativity, with emphasis on precision, clean and bold strokes and balance, rather than on frills, decoration and technical showmanship.
Pai died on the evening of 9 August 2009. Pai has taught many successful musicians, including Jitendra Abhisheki, Bhalchandra G. Tilak, Dr. Milind Malshe, Mrs. Shalmalee Joshi, and Smt. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande.