Welcome to Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal

Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal works for the promotion and propagation of Indian Classical Music and Dances with its main Sangeet Vidyalaya in Vashi, Navi Mumbai and has nearly 1200 affiliated institutions and nearly 800 Exam Centres all over the country from Assam to deep South Kerala and more than One Lakh students take examinations every year from Prarambhik (Beginners level) to Sangeet Acharya (Ph.D. level). Mandal’s General Body consists of members not only from almost all the States in India but from abroad also. The art of Indian music, which in the days bygone, had enjoyed the privilege of honour and esteem in the royal court, was deprived of it in the mid-eighteenth century. With a single aim in mind to uplift music, Pt. Paluskar set out on a Bharat Yatra in the year 1896 with his two disciples. He conducted music programmes in different states in India and received accolades and recognition. No treatise of musicology in India will ever be complete without making a study of life of the great visionary late Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya established by him in 1901 at Lahore. Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidylalaya Mandal is a virtual continuation of this Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.

Establishment and Progress of Gandharva Mahavidyalay

The Art of Indian Music, which in the days bygone, had enjoyed the privilege of honor and esteem in the Royal Court, was deprived of it under the British Rule. Due to this, the public had began to look rather disinterestedly towards Music. Musicians were being looked upon as illiterate, whimsical and uncultured persons by the society and public at large. Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar was aware of the humiliating treatment shown by the society and public towards music and musicians and aimed to uplift music and musicians to the esteemed and honorable status it now enjoys.

With this single aim in mind, Pt. Paluskar set out on a Bharat Yatra in the year 1896 with his two disciples. He conducted music programs at Aundh, Satara, Baroda, Rajasthan etc and received accolades and recognition. In the year 1898 he entered Punjab. On 5th May, 1901, Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar established the Gandharva Mahavidyalay at Lahore.

In 1907, Pt Paluskar reached Mumbai. In the year 1908, he established a Vidyalay at Girgaon. After this the scope of his activities widened and vidyalayas were established at Gokuldas market in 1911, Budhawar Peth, Pune in 1912 and at Nagpur in 1913. In the year 1915, he inaugurated the new building of Gandharva Mahavidyalay in Mumbai. Unfortunately, due to unavailability of adequate funds and resources, the building of Gandharva Mahavidyalay was lost in 1924. After a distinguished and unparallel service to the cause of Indian Music, Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar laid down his life on 21st August, 1931.

After the sad demise of Pandit Paluskarji, the task of democratizing music education was taken over by his disciples, who had, by then established in the field of music as teachers and artistes. A meeting of all the disciples of Panditji was convened in 1931, at Ahmadabad by Prof. Shankarrao Vyas & Shri. N. M. Khare. A large number of their colleagues responded and it was decided in this meeting that a body named “Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal” be constituted and its executive council elected, which should direct all activities. It was also decided that the general body should meet triennially and elect the executive council, including its President. Thus the “Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal” was formed in 1931.

For the first few years, after the formation of the Mandal, the disciples of Panditji established their own vidyalayas in different parts of the country and affiliated these vidyalayas with the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal. The Mandal drafted a syllabus for the various courses to be followed in the affiliated institutions. The first exams of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya were organized at the Anand Centre (Gujarat) as per the Mandal’s syllabus. Further the number of affiliated institutions kept on increasing and by the end of year 1950. These institutions were situated all over India in various provinces such as Mumbai, Gujarat, Sind, Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi , Rajasthan etc. Examinations were conducted according to the Mandal’s syllabus at various centers and approximately one thousand students appeared per year in the various examinations. The degrees and certificates of the Mandal were recognized by various universities and other educational bodies. During this period, a need was felt to co-ordinate and communicate the different activities of the Mandal to the various affiliated institutions, exam centers, music teachers, students and music lovers at large. For this purpose, it was decided to publish a bilingual monthly magazine i.e Hindi and Marathi, which will be the House journal of the Mandal. Thus, in the year 1947, on the auspicious day of Balipratipada (Diwali) the first edition of the Sangeet Kala Vihar magazine was published.