Narayanrao Vyas

Pandit Narayanrao Ganesh Vyas was a Hindustani Musician of Gwalior gharana. He was a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. His 78-rpm discs of Khayals, Bhajans and Thumris were pubished in 1930’s and were very famous. Narayanrao Vyas was born in Kolhapur on April 4, 1902. He was the younger brother of Shankarrao Vyas (1898-1956). In 1911, at the age of nine, he joined the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar at Mumbai. Narayanrao was trained by Pandit Paluskar for ten years. In 1922, with elder brother Shankarrao Vyas, he founded ‘Gujrat Sangeet Mahavidyalaya’ in Ahmedabad. In 1927, Narayanrao Vyas came to Mumbai. In June 1937, this brother duo opened ‘Vyas Sangeet Vidyalaya’ at Dadar, Mumbai. From 1929 to 1955, he cut over 150 records in the 78-rpm format for the Gramophone Company (HMV) in Mumbai. The popularity of his records earned him HMV`s best seller gold medal. Narayanrao used to sing on Radio too. He toured and traveled extensively and sang in prestigious music conferences and concerts throughout India. He was also proficient in playing the Harmonium, Tabla, Sitar and Jaltarang. Narayanrao Vyas was honored with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1976), Tansen Award (Madhya Pradesh Government, 1977). Among his disciples were his own son, Vidyadhar Vyas, his guru’s son, Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar, the legendary Carnatic vocalist, M S Subbalakshmi and several others. He died on April 1, 1984.