Bengaluru’s Dharohar marks Pt Vinayak Torvi’s 78th birthday

Pt Vinayak Torvi’s 78th birthday was marked in Bengaluru with Dharohar, a festival that placed his teaching alongside his long career as a Hindustani classical vocalist.

Sur Naman: Nada Rupa Saraswathi presented two vocal recitals: one by Torvi’s grandson, Rishabh Badseshi, followed by Torvi himself. The programme also marked Sur Naman’s 15th anniversary.

A disciple of Pt Gururao Deshpande and Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Torvi has trained vocalists including Amrita Deshpande, Keerti Kumar Badseshi, Dhananjay Hegde, Dattatreya Velankar and Siddhartha Belmannu. He described arriving in Bengaluru after a Canara Bank transfer as a young musician concerned that Carnatic music dominated the city’s classical scene.

Torvi recalled being encouraged to build a Hindustani music community here. He later started the Gururao Deshpande All-Night Sangeet Samaroh, bringing the all-night mehfil format to Bengaluru. Its first edition, held in a house, drew an overflow audience; Pt Dinkar Kaikini performed for more than three hours.