Legends

Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar – The Bhaav Gandharva

By Deepa | October 26, 2015

Shankaracharya conferred the title of Bhaav Gandharva on him. Rightly so, he understands the bhaav of the lyrics before converting it into a song. Poetry has been his weak point or should I say strong point!? A maestro who can handle extremely intricate tunes which look misleadingly hummable and hauntingly loveable. His music lingeringly easy on the ear of even a lay person and can hear those songs on a loop. The twists and the turns in his tunes come forward when one tries to sing them. He loves experimenting with the complexities of music no doubt. Composing heavenly songs by understanding the inner feeling of the lyrics with a touch of spirituality. Of course he has inherited music from his father and a great singer Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar. With music deeply rooted in his soul, he has penchant for selecting beautiful poems for his compositions.

Hridaynath Mangeshkar was born on October 26, 1937.Youngest of the Mangeshkar siblings, he is as talented as Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar and Asha Bhosle. He is popularly known as Balasaheb in the music and film industry. Hridaynath debuted his music career in 1955 with the Marathi film Akash Ganga. He was less than five years old when their father Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar died and started singing soon after his father’s death and by the time he was a teenager he was a recognised singer and composer whose compositions had spread all over Maharashtra. Since then he has composed for Marathi & Hindi films. Despite being very selective, Hridaynath Mangeshkar has composed many songs in Marathi and Hindi. Some of his most memorable Hindi films are Lekin, Maya Memsaab, Mashaal, Dhanwaan and Chaani.

His hit Marathi numbers includes Saagara Praan Talmalala Saagara, Jambhul Picklya Zaada Khali, Amhi Thakar Thakar, Visru Nako Shree Rama Mala, Nako Devaraya Ant Asa Paahu, Maaghe Ubha Mangesh Pudhe Ubha, Anandi Anand Gade and many more. Marathi films of his hit composition includes Nivdung, Sansar, Umbartha, Jait Re Jait, Haa Khel Savlyancha, Taambadi Mati, Mahananda, Pavana Kathachi Dhondi, Janaki etc.
He produced an album featuring the ghazals of Mirza Ghalib, titled Ghalib, sung by Lata Mangeshkar. He has also composed many songs rendered by Asha Bhonsle which are still hauntingly fresh. His collaboration with noted Marathi poets like Shanta Shelke and Suresh Bhat have produced many Marathi classic songs of unmatched popularity. He was awarded the title ‘Pandit’ by the people of Maharashtra at the hands of Pandit Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Pandit Jasraj.
Here’s a list of some of his Marathi songs which have a lingering effect on our hearts and minds –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0YY17FNS-s