Uday Bhawalkar

Pandit Uday Bhawalkar was born on 5 February 1966 in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, the youngest of three siblings. He began training in classical music from his elder sister. At the age of 15, in 1981, he received a scholarship at the Dhrupad Kendra, Bhopal (Ustad Allauddin Khan Academy), where he was first introduced to the formal study of Dhrupad. He subsequently trained in Mumbai, spending over 12 years studying and living in the traditional guru-shishya parampara with Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (Vocal) and Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (Rudra-Veena), the towering pillars of the Dhrupad tradition. An inspiring, significant moment in this period was when Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, the eldest of the Dagar family, upon first hearing Uday's performance in 1987, blessed him with a gold medal.

Uday Bhawalkar is among the foremost Dhrupad vocalists and has been a strong force in its growing recognition, popularity and resurgence worldwide. He believes that when immersed in the note and raga, the self disappears and music takes on its own existence — the principle of 'darshan' in Indian philosophy. Dhrupad is one of the oldest forms of North Indian classical music, and Uday maintains its majesty and subtle nuance. He has developed a unique style deeply embedded in raga, ras and bhaav.

Since his first performance at Bhopal in 1985, Uday has performed widely in India and abroad, in concerts, workshops and lecture-demonstration sessions. He has performed across Europe, USA, UK, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, Nepal and Bangladesh. He has collaborated with contemporary dancer Astad Deboo, the Ensemble Modern Orchestra (Germany), and has been accompanied on the Pakhawaj by Ustad Zakir Hussain at the Prithvi Festival in Mumbai. He has also contributed to the soundtracks of international art films including Mani Kaul's Cloud Door, Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer, Amol Palekar's Anahat, and Renuka Shahane's Rita.

Besides being a performing artist, Uday is a sensitive teacher with a devoted following of students. In 1992, he was instrumental in the creation of the Veena Foundation, a trust founded in memory of the late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, to promote Dhrupad music and provide scholarships to economically challenged students. He has taught internationally at institutions such as the Rotterdam Music Conservatory, the University of Washington (Seattle), and the Asian Music Circuit (London). In 2012, he became a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata. He is also a Guru at the Bengal Foundation's Parampara Sangeetalay in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In recognition of his artistry, he has received numerous prestigious awards including the Ustad Allauddin Khan Academy Scholarship (1981–1985), National Scholarship (1986–1989), Gold Medal from Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (1987), Junior Fellowship (1993–1995), Rashtreeya Kumar Gandharva Samman (2001), Vishva Sangeet Ratna from Della Heritage Foundation (2005), Raza Foundation Award (2006–2007), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2021), and the Hanumant Award (2023).