Shridhar Parsekar (1920-1964) may be an unfamiliar name to most lovers of Hindustani music today. He was a noted violinist and he also composed for theatre.
Originally from Goa, he also composed music for a Hindi film called Nagad Narayan (1943). The Marathi version of the film was called Paisa Bolto Aahe (1943) (see Ashish Rajadhyaksha/Paul Willemen, Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, BFI Publishing, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1998, p.1943).
This short episode in our series on Hindustani musicians who composed for Hindi cinema features two songs composed by Shridhar Parsekar for this film.
As per the information provided with the track, the first song is sung by Ameerbai Karnataki and Khan Mastana.
According to the information provided with this track, the second song is sung by Rajkumari Dube, Khan Mastana, and chorus.
For those of the readers who may not have heard Shridhar Parsekar’s violin recital, here is a recording that features his interpretation of Marwa, a raag prescribed for twilight. The composition is set to the 16-matra Teentaal.
One of India’s leading tabla players, Aneesh Pradhan is a widely recognised performer, teacher, composer and scholar of Hindustani music. Visit his website here.
