Anjanibai Malpekar

Anjanibai Malpekar (22 April 1883 – 7 August 1974) was an Indian classical singer, belonging to the Bhendibazaar gharana of Hindustani classical music. In 1958, she became the first woman to be awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. Her grandfather Vasudev Malpekar was also a respected classical musician and singer. At a young age of 8, she started her musical training under the tutelage of Ustad Nazeer Khan of Bhendibazaar gharana. The gharana had its origins in the much older Moradabad gharana, and was based in the Bhendi Bazaar area of Bombay. Anjanibai Malpekar has a devadasi background. In addition to being proficient in classical music, is also an excellent kathak dancer.

Career

Malpekar gave her debut performance at a concert in Bombay, British India, in 1899, at the age of 16. In those days, women of "respectable families" never sang in public, while Malepakar went on to have a flourishing singing career, with both public and royal patronage. In time, she became the doyenne of the gharana.

Besides her singing, she also got acclaim for her beauty. When painter M. V. Dhurandhar did an oil painting of her, another painter Raja Ravi Varma was inspired, and went to do a series of paintings with her as muse, including "Lady in the Moonlight", "Lady Playing Swarbat", "Mohini" and "The Heartbroken", She modelled for him during his stay in Bombay in 1901 and 1903. However this wasn't without its drawback, especially when singing in public concerts meant singing primarily to a male audience, this often led to harassment. Thus in 1904, she even developed fear of singing in public, and lost her voice, though she regained it after a year. Thus at age 40, she decided to devote the rest of her years, to teaching music. In the coming decades, she taught some notable names in Indian classical music, including Kumar Gandharva who was her first disciple, Pandit T.D. Janorikar (1921–2006), Begum Akhtar and Naina Devi.

Death She died on 7 August 1974 in Bombay (now Mumbai), at the age of 91.

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