Cinemaazi remembers P Madhukar on his death anniversary
20 Jul 1967
Cinemaazi remembers Madhukar Gangadhar Pednekar or P Madhukar, as he was better known, who passed away this day, 20 July in 1967. An important figure in the history of harmonium playing, he was not only well-known for his harmonium accompaniment and solo recitals, but he also devised new techniques for the instrument. Born into a family of musicians in 1916 in Bombay, he began training in harmonium at the age of eight under his maternal uncle, Shankarrao Rajapurkar (Gunijan). Later he went on to receive a gold medal from noted vocalist Sawai Gandharva. Training further under Bahulkar, he also became a disciple of Annasaheb Mainkar, harmonium player and noted music director. He also assisted Mainkar in composing music for films and went on to become a successful music director himself. Composing music for Marathi, Hindi and Telugu language cinema, films he scored music for include Chokha Mela, Chaliteel Shejari (1950), Vakil Saheb (1943), Dharampatni (1953), and Savitri (1941). Composing music for theatre, he was also employed by HMV. His noted disciples like Anant Kemkar, and Tulsidas Borkar have propagated his style which also wins recognition on the contemporary concert circuit. The violinist V G Jog has also fondly remembered Madhukar’s skill on the harmonium and that his favourite musician was Behre Bua.
