Pt venkatesh kumar biography

Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar (born July 1, ) is an Indian Hindustani vocalist. He is best known for his rendition of devotional songs composed by Swami Haridas and Kanakadasa.

Kumar belongs to the Kirana and Gwalior Gharana.

Early life and musical training

Kumar was born in Lakshmipura in the Bellary region of northern Karnataka.^[2][3] Kumar's late father Huleppa was a Janapada folk singer and leather puppeteer.

Neelam

In , when he was 15 years old, Venkatesh was taken by his mothers brother, father in law Nadoja Belagallu Veeranna to the Veereshwara Punyashrama in Gadag, run by the Veerashaiva saint and Hindustani musicianPuttaraj Gawai.

For the next 12 years, he lived at the ashram and learned Hindustani singing in the Gwalior and Kirana styles under Gawai. Kumar blends these styles in his presentations, though he admits to influences beyond these gharanas, chief among them being Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana.^[4] His guru