A daughter remembers

In her book ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’, Pandit Joshi’s daughter Usha Kulkarni writes about Bhimanna’s love for his children and his generosity.

When Usha was born, the Joshi family was living in Dharwad. Her uncles Nani kaka and Venkanna kaka were also with them. They used to call Joshi couple as Bhimanna and Vaini. This practice was followed by Usha and her brother Raghavendra.

“Mother Sunanda always used to recall that Bhimanna decorated his marriage mantap on his own. Even after some incidents in the family, Bhimanna’s love for the four of us (Raghavendra, Usha, Sumangala, Anand) was never affected. An unforgettable incident is an evidence for this. When I was five-six years, I fell on the ground while playing at Nagpur. Bhimanna lifted me, and made me to take bath with scented water and wear new clothes. After shifting to Pune, his visits to other states increased, and his popularity across the country reached its peak. Even amidst his hectic schedule and riyaz, his love for us remained intact. He used to get maximum invitations from Kolkata.

After performing in Kolkata, he used to return to Pune with Bengali sweets, clothes and toys. He used to be very happy while distributing them to all children.

“Elder brother Raghavendra looks like Bhimanna and his voice was also similar to that of Bhimanna. But, myself, Raghavendra and sister Sumangala were interested in education, as our grandfather was an educationist. Younger brother Anand became a musician, and he is an industrialist by profession. He has given several concerts, after practicing music under the guidance of (Ashwini) Bhave Buwa and Prabhakar Pandav. My son Girish is interested in music and he has gained expertise in playing drums and banjo.

We have been successful in our life, because of the self-confidence and good characteristics developed in us by Bhimanna and Vaini, and for that, we are grateful to them.”