Vasundhara Komkali Biography 
Vasundhara Komkali was a Hindustani vocalist and one of the leading exponents of the Gwalior gharana. She lived during the period, 1931–2015 in Jharkhand. She was a recipient of numerous honours including 2009 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and 2006 Padmi Shri, for her overall contributions towards the field of music. She was the disciple and second wife of renowned singer Kumar Gandharva. The singer married her after the death of his first wife. Their daughter Kalapini Komakali is a noted vocalist representing present generation.
Vasundhara Komkali was born on 23 May 1931 in Jamshedpur. Her maiden name is Vasundhara Shrikhande, and she belonged to a family of patrons of music. She met her future husband Kumar Gandharva for the first time as a child at the age of 12, at the All India Music Conference. She expressed her desire to become his disciple which he agreed and asked her to come to Mumbai. However with the outbreak of World War II, her trip got cancelled and she stayed in Kolkata. By that time she started performing for AIR radio station at Kolkata. After the war, she moved to Mumbai in 1946 and started training under B. R. Deodhar. As Gandharva was busy those days, he couldn’t accept her as student.
Later she returned to Gandharva to continue her musical lessons, and married widower Gandharva in 1962. His first wife had died in 1961 following delivery. Thus Kumar Gandharva already had two sons from first marriage when he married Vasundhara Komkali. She has one daughter in this wedlock. She performed as a vocal accompanist to Kumar Gandharva for the next thirty years, till his death aged 67. Popular vocalist Mukul Shivputra is her stepson.
Published: January 05, 2020
Updated: January 05, 2020
