Ramanlal C. Mehta (31 October 1918 – 18 October 2014) was an Indian musician and musicologist. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour.[1]

Life

Ramanlal was a Gujarati[2] who was born on 31 October 1918 in Surat in the state of Gujarat. He retired in 1978, from the MS University of Baroda, after serving as Principal of the College of Indian Music, Dance & Dramatics / Faculty of Performing Arts for several years. He died after a fall in 2014 at the age of 95.[1]

Musical career

He was trained in Hindustani classical vocal music by Kanchalal Manawala and later followed the Kirana style of Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan. He was with All India Radio for 9 years (1945–1953) prior to his taking up principal-ship of the Baroda Music College.[1] A vocalist of the Kirana Gharana Style, he developed his own style in Khyal and Thumri and gave several vocal concerts of Hindustani Classical Music in music circles, at music conferences and over All India Radio. He composed and produced more than fifty musical dramas and features over A.I.R., Bombay, Ahmedabad and Baroda (1945–1953).

Academic

Mehta worked in music education in India for over 45 years, serving as an expert member at national and state institutions and universities. He founded the Indian Musicological Society in 1970 and later served the society as honorary General Secretary.[3] He served as editor of the Journal of the Indian Musicological Society, since its 1970 inception, retiring in 2005. He also served as an expert member on the Central Music Audition Board (MAB) of All India Radio. On his suggestion, the first-ever conference on distance education in Indian Classical Music was organised by Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet Academy. He also published a collection of papers presented as Distance Education in Music.[3]

Author and critic

He wrote and published on various aspects of music. His publications include :

Mehta also published several research papers in scholarly journals.

Awards and honours

Prof. Mehta is the recipient of many awards, which include :

References

  1. ^ a b c "Professor Ramanlal Mehta dies at 96". The Times of India. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ Jain, Ankur (26 January 2009). "Padma Bhushan for 4 Gujaratis". The Times of India. Ahmedabad.
  3. ^ a b "Introducing The Indian Musicological Society, Bombay & Baroda". DoveSong. RisingWorld Entertainment. 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  4. ^ "SNA: List of Akademi Fellows::". Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  5. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.

External links

Padma Bhushan award recipients (2000–2009)
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Authority control databases
Categories