India has travelled far and wide in space with its numerous successful missions and launches. But once upon a time, Indian music found its way to space and still echoes out inside the solar system. Kesarbai Kerkar, a Hindustani classical singer, who was named ‘Surashree’ for her melodious voice sang a rendition of a song that became a part of the album ‘The Sounds of Earth’, the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.
Early life
Kesarbai was born in Keri, a small Goan village on July 13, 1892, in a modest family.
Kesarbai was born in Keri, a small Goan village on July 13, 1892, in a modest family. Coming from a traditional family where music was the main source of livelihood, she began studying and learning the art at a very young age. “In those days, the only centre of music was the temple. One heard only Kirtans, Bhajans, and other devotional songs. I used to listen to these carefully, and back home I would try to hum them just as today’s boys and girls try to imitate film songs.” Soon, her family recognised her unique talent and sent her to Ramkrishna Bua Vaze for her first lessons in classical music.In 1908, the family moved to Bombay and there, she began her training with sitar maestro Ustad Barkatullah Khan. The period only lasted for five years as Khan was invited to Patiala and shifted there. In 1918, Kesarbai sang raga Miya ki Malhar which was taught to her by Ustad Barkatullah Khan. However, the city’s famous patrons and connoisseurs, Seth Vithaldas Dwarkadas, were so dissatisfied with her performance that he publicly rebuked her. The young musician was profoundly hurt by this and decided that she would only ever pursue a career in music with the mentorship of Ustad Alladiya Khan.For years, Kesarbai had been captivated by Ustad Alladiya Khan from the Jaipur gharana but persuading him was not an easy task. She sought the assistance of the Dwarkadas who sent a fabricated telegram, claiming illness and expressing his desire for the ustad to visit him in Bombay.On his arrival, Alladiya Khan was furious and imposed stringent conditions before accepting her as his pupil. In 1912, she began her apprenticeship with him. In Maharashtra, Alladiya Khan was called “Gaayan Maharshi” because more than 40 years of his life had been devoted to tapasya in the pursuit of this art, He jealously guarded his musical wealth, and apart from his brother Haidar Khan and sons Manji Khan and Bhurji Khan, very few outside his own family circle succeeded in being accepted as his disciples. Only two “outsiders” measured up to Alladiya Khan’s exacting standards. They were Kesarbai Kerkar and Moghubai Kurdikar. Khan Sahib used to take Kesarbai everywhere and make her sing with him in all his concerts. The most memorable of these, according to her, was the Vikramaditya Conference in Bombay in January 1944, where she sang with her guru. She continued to take talim from him for the next 27 years, right until he died in 1946.
The artist with a unique vocal talent
Kesarbai was a phenomenal vocalist with a voice manifesting a substantial three-octave range. This unique ability allowed her to transcend from the highest pitch to the depth of the lower notes, a feat seldom achieved by female vocalists. In her performances, she demonstrated quite a confrontational demeanour. If anything irked her, she would abruptly halt the recital. She exhibited an aversion to photographs in between her concerts and never entertained banal questions posed by journalists.During the peak of her career in the 1940s and 1950s, Kesarbai refused to record her music for posterity. Her decision to abstain from commercial recording came from her scepticism regarding modern technology and her commitment to preserving the purity and authenticity of classical music.Thus, she chose to move on with live performances and immersed herself in maintaining the purity of music.
Recognising a maestro
Kesarbai Kerkar receiving Sangeet Natak Akademy Award by Dr Rajendra Prasad at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 14, 1953
Of the numerous performances she gave in life, one was a recital at the residence of Rabindranath Tagore in Calcutta in 1938. Tagore was so touched by her performance that he personally penned a letter expressing the impact Kesarbai’s melodies had on him. He described her music as “an artistic phenomenon of exquisite perfection.” He said, “The magic of her voice with the mystery of its varied modulations has repeatedly proved its true significance – not in any pedantic display of technical subtleties that are mechanically accurate, but in the revelation of music only possible for a born genius. Let me offer my thanks and my blessings to Kesarbai for allowing me this evening a precious opportunity of experience.” He also awarded her the title of ‘Surashree’ translating to Goddess of Melody.In January 1969, she received the esteemed title of Padma Bhushan from the President of India for her remarkable contribution to the field of Indian classical music. Back in 1953, the Sangeet Natak Akademi also honoured her with the prestigious President’s Award. Lovers of music all over India referred to Kerkar as “the yogini of music,” for her devotion and dedication towards classical music and she will be forever remembered like this.
On a NASA mission
Kesarbai Kerkar’s rendition of ‘Jaat Kahan Ho’ in Raag Bhairavi still rings out in space
One of the highest peaks of Kesarbai’s career came in 1977 when NASA was preparing to send Voyager 1 into space. Onboard the spacecraft was a gold-plated copper disc containing a selection of musical compositions of some of the legends of the music world including Beethoven and Mozart. The album, titled ‘The Sounds of Earth’, also carried an Indian voice, that of Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar.Her rendition of ‘Jaat Kahan Ho’ in Raag Bhairavi was added to the disc, making India one of the 27 countries represented in space. She was selected on the recommendation of ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown, since her rendition was considered one of the finest examples of Hindustani classical music.
Retiring from music
Being the meticulous artist she was, Kesarbai refused to compromise with the subtleties and intricacies of her craft with age. Thus, she voluntarily retired from stage performances when she saw her voice declining in old age. She took her final breath the same year that Voyager 1 reached space, on 16 September 1977, at the age of 87. While she is no longer here, her voice still echoes in the interstellar.
