Kesarbai Kerkar Biography 
Kesarbai Kerkar was an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She was born in a small village, Keri from Ponda taluk of North Goa on 13 July 1892. Khayal was her specialization in singing. A few of her records available right now include Classical Vocal CD (2008) by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Golden Milestones (2003), Vintage 78 Rpm Recording, Living Music of the Past CD and Baithak Series – Live concert Recordings. In the year 1969 she was honoured with Padma Bhushan by the government of India and state of Maharashtra conferred upon her the title of "Rajya Gayika”. In 1948, Sangeet Pravin Sangitanuragi Sajjan Saman Samiti of Calcutta gave her the title, "Surashri" for her excellence in singing. Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar High School is located at her village, exactly at the same place of her second home.
Kerkar, born in Goa at the age of 8 moved to Kolhapur along with her family. In Kolhapur, she received formal training in music from doyen of Hindustani music, Abdul Karim Khan. Again she returned back to her hometown where she restarted her studies under the tutelage of Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze. At the age of 16, she moved to Mumbai where she learnt under different gurus. She last learnt from Ustad Alladiya Khan, the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
Very soon Kerkar gained popularity performing regularly for aristocratic audiences. She was very particular about the representation of her work and hence she had recorded only a few records, for the HMV and Broadcast labels. Nobel laureate Tagore was very fond of Kerkar’s singing. Kerkar holds the distinction of including one of her recordings, "Jaat Kahan Ho" on the Voyager Golden Record which was sent into space aboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1977.
Published: N/A
Updated: February 20, 2014
