City vocalist to perform at prestigious music festival

Omkarnath Havaldar is a Hindustani Classical vocalist, and the son the Nagaraja Rao Havaldar. He was initiated into the world of music at a young age by his father. “Children usually play with toys, but I played the tanpura that he gifted me,” he shares. He says that music was a fact of his life, and not a decision that needed to be made. “I always knew I was going to be singing, and it naturally led me to a life of performance.”

He started learning at the age of four, and thirty years since, he still considers himself to be a student of music. While he started out playing the tanpura, he decided to follow his father’s footsteps and become a vocalist.

This year he will be performing at the 67th edition of the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav that is to be held in Pune from December 11 to 15. However, this is not his first appearance of the stage of the event. In 2012, he had accompanied his father for a performance.

“I am a vocalist of the Kirana Gharana exponent, which had been founded by Abdul Karim Khan. He had taught Savai Gandharva, who in turn taught Madhav Gudi, my father’s guru.
Both of them taught me. This event is like a homecoming, or some sort of pilgrimage, for me. This is my opportunity to pay homage to my musical ancestors,” he shares.

His younger brother, Kedarnath Havaldar, tabla artiste, as well as his cousin brother, Sameer Havaldar, a harmonium artiste, will also be performing at the event.

“We grew up together, as people, and as musicians. It’s very exciting that the entire family will be there to pay a tribute to this tradition,” he says.