Abhijith Shenoy K - "Abhirang"

At the age of 5 years, Abhijith used to listen to and repeat songs he heard on television / radio.

It was on a ‘Talents day’ at his school (Sri Aurobindo Memorial School, Bangalore), when he sang 

Pt Bhimsen Joshi ji's portion of 'Mile Sur Mera Tumhara', that it was noted by the school's Principal and 

Manager (Ms Aditi Vasisht and her brother Sri Raj Vasisht-a student of Pt A Kanan). They sent a letter 

home, asking his parents, Smt Shwetha Shenoy K and Sri Satish Shenoy K, to have him pursue Hindustani 

Classical Vocal. 

His grandmother Smt Radha Shenoy spared no effort in the search for a Guru, whom she found in 

Pt D B Harindra - of the Gwalior Gharana; one of the leading vocalists in Bangalore; one of the 

founders of Hindustani Sangeet Kalakara Mandali; one among the first to propagate Hindustani Classical 

Vocal in Bangalore.

Abhijith’s grandfather, Sri Karki Gopal Shenoy was into drama, where he played the tabla and 

leg harmonium. His father, an avid listener of Hindustani Classical Music and singing film songs, 

used to record live concerts / collect lp's and cassettes. His mother, in her childhood days at Kundapur, 

learnt Hindustani Classical Vocal and Harmonium for 3 years under Pt Govindrao Shanbhag. But till date,

no one in the family had pursued music professionally.  And so, it was in April 1987 that Abhijith’s first classes began. 

He found his true 'Saath' in his younger brother - Adarsh, always told that he would accompany his elder brother’s singing, took to tabla, under the able guidance of Sri Nagraj Gaekwaad. 

Later, he went on to learn under Pt Rajgopal Kallurkar. He also studied the nuances of the carnatic taal 

system under Vidwan Anoor Ananta Krishna Sharma. Presently, he is learning from Pt Yogesh Samshi. 

Thus, they embarked together on this never-ending journey of Sur and Laya, aiding each other's 

understanding of the art.

The usual difficult phase of the boy's voice breaking was very successfully accommodated by guruji's 

guidance in Swar Sadhana (voice culture). After which, the concepts of Raag Vistaar and Vilambit were 

unravelled to Abhijith. What followed was a period of very rigorous training and riyaaz, each class well 

over 4-5 hours, with emphasis on methodical exploration of a raag and finding the perfection of swar. As 

guruji would say - "No raag can be fully sung; No raag is a closed chapter. Even a child may sing a 

phrase you would never have imagined in all your years of riyaaz. So, always look for something new, 

something different, without transgressing raag-niyam. A raag is a personality - it will reveal itself to you 

in layers, provided you look for it."

Abhijith also had the good fortune of studying from his guruji's sister and brother-in-law in Hubli – 

Smt Vasanta Janthalli and Pt Ramchandra Janthalli. This was where he learnt one of the most important 

lessons for life. Pt Janthalli had recently suffered a paralytic attack and the entire left side of his body was 

immobile. Yet, this did not deter him from waking Abhijith up at 5.30 am for riyaaz. Abhijith recounts – 

“The scene of Pt Janthalli playing the harmonium with his good hand and Smt Vasanta aiding him on the 

bellows, will always flash before my eyes. The 'Seekh' - All problems/ailments I faced or am to face seem 

trivial in the face of 'Will'.

Concerts happened and they found the encouragement and good advice from all senior artists in the city. 

Hindustani Classical Vocal and Bhajan/Dasavani Concerts rendered at the following Prestigious Platforms –

· Sangeeta Krupa Kuteera, Bangalore.

· Sawai Gandharva Festival, Kundugol.

· Karnataka Sangha, Mumbai.

· Gnana Prabhodini School, Pune.

· GSB Samaj, Vadodara.

· Yuva Sangeetotsav, Gururao Deshpande Sangeet Sabha, Bangalore.

· Devnandan Ubhaykar Memorial Concert, Bangalore.

· Sur Sagar, Bangalore.

· Other places – Hubli, Dharwad, Sagar, Sirsi, Shimoga, Siddhapur, Karwar, Yellapur, Honnavar, 

Goa, Puttur, Mangalore, Kanhangad, Kundapur, etc.

Abhijith and Adarsh soon got their grades at All India Radio - Bangalore Station (presently B-high).

Their school (Sri Aurobindo Memorial School, B'lore) and college (Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, 

Bangalore) furthered their art with their encouragement and belief.

Abhijith has been a recepient of Aryabhatta award, Yuva Chandrahaasa Purasakara, of State and Central Govt.  Scholarships in music under the HRD department, of the Sur Sagar Scholarship in music.

He trained in chess for 10 years under Prof Simadri. Winner in many intra/inter-school and college chess competitions, he was ranked 3rd in the State-Level ‘Under-17’ category.

He was Student Leader of the Hindi Parishad at Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College and wrote poems and articles for the College Hindi Magazine ‘Parichay’. He is also the recepient of  the title 

Raag - Ratna by Ragamitra Prathishtan, for his work on reviving Aprachalit raags.

Abhijith’s ability to express his ideas through prose and poetry in Hindi was first noticed and encouraged 

by Smt Anuradha K, my Hindi teacher at Sri Aurobindo Memorial School, B'lore. With the blessings of 

all his Hindi teachers / lecturers in school / college, this ability transformed into classical bandishes. 

Adarsh concocted his pen-name "ABHIRANG", under which at present, Abhijith has written around 320

bandishes; encompassing vilambits, druts, taranas, thumris and raagmaalikas. He has also created new raags, such as – Raag Hari Abhogi, Raag Jogswaravali, Raag Gorakh Malhar, Raag Shaadav Keervani, Raag Bhoopal Madhyam, Raag Komal Jog, etc. 

Pt Harindra's interest and research in reviving aprachalit raags percolated down to Abhijith, who carries

on his guruji’s work by researching old music treatises, old recordings - writing compositions in these 

raags and presenting them in his concerts; and also studying and adopting raags of the Carnatic system of 

music into Hindustani Vocal. In guruji's words - "All raags come within the gamut of the seven notes. 

Thus, no raag need be given the tag 'aprachalit', provided an able artist studies and presents them in a Sabha of interested audience. Even one reference / one recording is sufficient to keep alive a raag for the generations to come. And that must be your legacy 

- Music has given you everything; What can you give back?" 

At present, Abhijith is directing a documentary series on 'Bhairav ke Prakaar' for All-India-Radio, B'lore).

Abhijith joined back as a Lecturer in Personality Development in his own college (Sri Bhagawan 

Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore). Now, under the banner of Human Networking Academy, he conducts  

classes on Mind Management and Human Values - for students, teachers, parents and corporates. 

He trained and headed the Jain College Music Group which was awarded the Best Group in the Hindi, Sanskrit and Regional Language categories at the All-India National Level Group Song Competition held at Hissar and Jaipur by the Bharat Vikas Parishad.

Former principal of Jain college and presently the Chief Mentor of Jain University, Prof K S Shantamani 

imparted valuable life lessons to Abhijith.

 A Sanskrit scholar, a spiritual sadhika, and a Carnatic vocalist, 

she always expressed – 

"What will finally reflect in your music is your own life - your purity, honesty and modesty."

Abhijith’s marriage with Krupa K S (a Carnatic Vocalist, student of Smt Janaki and Smt Jambukannan), 

furthered his interest and understanding in Carnatic Music.

Guruji Pt D B Harindra always professed that - "Every artist is a Gharana in himself / herself. That is 

why we call it Khayal Sangeet. it is like asking the question - IS RAAG KE BAARE MEIN AAPKA 

KYA KHAYAL HAI? With the amount of exposure we have to concerts and recordings these days, we are influenced by new ideas / styles from everywhere. But 'what to pick up' has to be a very conscious choice based on one's reasoning and within the raag-niyam. Listen to all artists, pick up -try-adopt ideas; those that challenge yet are conducive for one’s vocal abilities. So, it is very likely one will find shades of various influences.”

In his vistaar, one would notice Guru Pt D B Harindra ji's concept of 'Nyaas Vichaar' - taking each swara as the nyaas, approaching it from different viewpoints, thus creating multiple perspectives. 

Harindra ji always extolled the importance of SUR - "Don't hurt yourself by hurting the swara". So, Abhijith has always paid extra heed to the purity and perfect placement of the individual note pertaining to the raag's requirements. 

The emphasis has been on vakra taans and sargam patterns, extolling the control of voice to execute any UPAJ with ease. "Do not make the difficult thing easy by diluting the subject matter or simplifying it to 

suit your weakness. Explore and learn how to handle the most difficult thing with the greatest of ease."

If you visit his website - http://abhijithshenoy.in, one finds a lot of riyaaz sessions he had with 

Guruji; most without tabla accompaniment. The reason being - even without the tabla / pakhwaj 

accompaniment, the artist must be able to convey to the discerning listener the rhythm and flow of the 

bandish.

To explore and broaden his horizon and expression, Abhijith wished to learn Thumri-Gaayan; 

leading him to his next Guru - Smt Aditi Upadhya Kaikini (daughter of Pt Dinkar Kaikini 'Dinarang'). 

Her teachings about swarbhaav, layabhaav, voice modulation and paying heed to the shabd and ras of a 

bandish, enhanced Abhijith’s perspectives and outlook about music.

Both brothers completed their Vidwat exams from the Karnataka State Board and Sangeet Alankaar 

from Akhila Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai. They now plan to enrol for the Sangeetacharya 

program under Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai.

Abhijith takes classes in Hindustani Vocal at home, and online classes for students – out-station and abroad.

2 audio cd's- NINAAD (Hindustani Classical Vocal) and NAADAMRITA (Kannada Bhajans) have been released by Lahari Recording Company, Bangalore.

As it has been said, "Everything has to come together to bring about an artist - A Guru, the right Family 

environment and values, a conducive work scenario, and relentlessly striving for near perfection". By 

God's grace, Abhijith and Adarsh have received all these elements.