Pandit Vinayak Torvi is a well known Hindustani classical vocalist who has carved a niche for himself in the realm of music. Gifted with sonorous voice, he has been capturing music lovers in India and abroad with rich melody.
Born in the family of Keerankaars, he began early lessons in music at a tender age of nine, from Vidwan Tammanna Gurav and then continued with Vidwans Narayanachar Dandapur and Narayan Rao Muzumdar of Dharwad.

His 12 years of gurukulavasa under Gayanacharya Gururao Deshpande, the doyen of  Gwalior Gharana, groomed him. A commerce graduate, he joined Canara Bank and today, serves as a manager there. Torvi completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music securing first rank from Karnataka University, Dharwad. As a post graduate student at the university, he had the rare fortune to hone his skills under the tutelage of stalwarts like Gangubai Hangal, Pt Basavaraj Rajaguru and Pt Mallikarjuna Mansoor.

He is an acclaimed AIR (All India Radio) and Doordarshan artiste. He has participated in major music conferences and festivals all over India.

Torvi’s gratitude to his guru has blossomed into Gururao Deshpande Sangeet Sabha. The trust organises all-night music festival in Bangalore as a tribute to Gururao. It also organises youth festivals to provide platform to upcoming artistes and assists in organising music prorammes in remote areas by sponsoring artistes. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the Rajyotsava award. Pt Torvi believes in the traditional style of singing and do not appreciate mixing it with modern music. He shared his views with Sunday Herald.

What’s the state of Indian classical music now?

If we look back at the history of Indian classical music, there was very little opportunities available for the artistes to showcase their talent. But people did enjoy classical music and listened to it hours together. But now the situation has changed. The attention span of the listeners have come down and that has constricted the natural flow of the artiste. Today an artiste has to prepare the concerts according to the taste of the audience.

What is your opinion about the academic study of music?

Music should not be academically taught. Doing PhD on music without the indepth knowledge of the subject is of no use. The parents should be aware of their children’s interest and provide them with good music at a very early stage along with education.

The opportunities on television and radio...

The television and other media have very few programmes on classical music. I feel sorry that even the All India Radio has begun to overlook classical music.

About your All Night Music Mehafil...

When I came to Bangalore in 1982, classical music wasn’t popular among the masses. I started introducing Hindustani music here through Gururao Deshpande Sangeet Sabha which I founded. Along with Dinakar Kaikini and C G Ananthaswamy, I started the All Night Music Mehfil to provide a platform to well known musicologists and artistes. Now Hindustani music has grown like a tree. In the memory of my father, I organise Malhar Music Festival and for my students, there is Bytak every month.