Biography of  Narayan Rao Vyas

Born: 1902, Kolhapur
Died: 1984

Narayan Rao was one amongst the selected few who integrated philosophy in Hindustani classical music, which provided new life to it. For him, music was not only a means of livelihood but also a way to get Moksha (salvation). He was a believer in the purity of music and remained a traditional singer throughout his life.

Narayan Rao was born in 1902 in Kolhapur of Maharashtra. From his childhood, he had shown his earnest wish to learn music. He was admitted to the Gardharva Music University of Bombay. After completing his education, Narayana Rao founded the Rag Sangeet Vidyalaya in Pune and taught music to hundreds of students.

He was an expert singer of high pitch. He said good voice is a god-gifted thing but to keep it in its pristine form is not a simple thing. His three minutes Gramaphone Record became very popular during 1945-50. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government and Tansen Award from the Madhya Pradesh government. He died in 1984.