Vidyadhar Vyas – Hindustani vocalist from Gwalior gharana who follows Paluskar style of singing

Vidyadhar Vyas is a Hindustani vocalist who performs Khayals in Gwalior gharana of Hindustani music. He follows Paluskar style of singing. He is the son of famous vocalist of 1930s, Narayanrao Vyas who introduced him to the same field. He is a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007 and many other musical honours. He completed Doctorate in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai, besides post-graduation in Sociology.

Vidyadhar Vyas was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra in 1944 in pre-independent era. Born into a musical family, Vyas too followed the family tradition of music and took initial lessons from his father. Khayal, tarana and bhajan gayaki are the different versions of music he learnt from his father. His professional career began in 1965, and till now he has dedicated more than 50 years to the same field. He is a regular performer at music festivals. He also writes columns on music and gives speeches on this subject for music programs.

Vidyadhar Vyas – Some interesting facts

1. Vyas performs in Paluskar tradition of the Gwalior gharana, and a contemporary exponent belonging to this tradition.

2. He became Executive Director of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata in 2007 soon after he received Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

3. His father was a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and performed in khayal, thumris and semi-classical bhajans. He also cut several 78 rpm discs in the pre-independent era.

4. Vidyadhar Vyas is a regular performer at Doordarshan and AIR, and an A-grade artist at All India Radio too.

5. He was a recipient of prestigious Puttaraj Samman in 2016 instituted by the Dr. Puttaraj Gawai Foundation.