Earlier this week I called on Tulsidas Borkar, the virtuoso of the harmonium, at his home in Mumbai. He received me warmly. We reminisced about the great Goan musicians of the 20th C and their disproportionate contributions to Indian Classical Music. He then pulled out his harmonium and launched into an impromptu recital.

Tulsidas-bab was born in 1934 in the village of Borim located in Goa‘s Ponda taluka (the same village gave us the poetic genius Bakibab Borkar). He had the privilege of receiving training for 10 years from Madhukar Pednekar – also from Goa, from the village of Malpem in Pednem taluka – perhaps the greatest harmonium wizard of the 20th C.

In the course of a long and distinguished career, Tulsidas-bab has provided harmonium support to most of the leading Hindustani vocalists of our time – Amir Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Mallikarjun Mansur, Kishori Amonkar, Jitendra Abhisheki, Basavraj Rajguru, to name a few. Even more important, he has produced the next line of musicians, with several of his students now counted among the top tier harmonium players in the country.

In 2005 Tulsidas-bab was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the then President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, the frequently-played filler interlude in between programmes on AIR-Panjim was a musical ‘button’ in Raga Tilak Kamod performed by Tulsidas Borkar.

Tulsidas Borkar, harmonium maestro
5D Mark II, 85L II

Tulsidas Borkar, at his home in Mumbai
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Harmonium maestro Tulsidas Borkar
5D Mark II, 14L II