Smita Bellur - Hindustani Classical Vocalist Kirana

Born to Shri K. L Subba Rao and Smt. Susheela Rao, I am the last of the three children. At the age of 4, my ability to repeat what I had heard on local radio had pleasantly surprised my parents. My first debut on stage in a public platform was at 7, for an inter-school competition in solo vocal singing. The image of a future vocalist was crystallizing in my little mind. While in class 4, I took Carnatik classical music lessons for a brief six months from a teacher nearby. When we relocated to a newer extension Bangalore, my father felt an urgent need to find a good guru who could shape talent.

He was delighted when he found a revered teacher and Sangeet Natak Academy awardee - Shri P. R. Bhagwat to teach me. After hearing a brief song from me, he deemed me fit for his tutelage and soon started me on a Bhavgeet alongside ‘sa-re-ga-ma’ alankars. At the age of twelve I got a formal initiation into Hindustani classical music in the Khayal system .

Foundation years
For nearly six years Shri. P. R. Bhagwat, honed my skills in singing along with the nuances of the Kirana style of singing. Daily classes and intensive coaching gave me a strong foundation of raga, taal and the basic elements of alaap and taankaari. Although I did not reside there, I spent a lot of time in my Guru’s house, listening to classical and semi-classical music, practicing vocal as well as Harmonuim, learning photography, and even an occasional lesson in cookery/gardening (from my guru-ma, whom I fondly called ‘aayi’). In the true spirit of vidyadaan (imparting knowledge without a fee), my guruji bequeathed his invaluable music to me.
After schooling and pre-university college, it was time to decide what professional training I should take. Engineering tools and drawings had fascinated me from childhood, so I was keen to pursue a course in Engineering. Although artistry and engineering are not commonly pursued together, it evolved as a path that I would take.
While I was studying engineering at Bangalore, my guruji’s family had to move back to Dharwad. My TV recording for ‘Aralu Mallige’ – a programme for budding artistes had brought me in touch with the Nakod family at about the same time. I approached the illustrious ‘Sangeet Ratna’, late Pt. Arjunsa Nakod for tutelage.

Late Pt. ArjunSa Nakod, the doyen of Gwalior – Kirana Gharana, was a disciple of the legendary Ganayogi Pt. Panchakshari Gawai – the blind saint-musician from Gadag. Although he was so knowledgeable and venerable ('A Top' grade artiste of AIR Dharwad), Pt. ArjunSa was a patient, simple and kind guru. In the early days, he traveled to Bangalore to teach students, but later, I began traveling for taleem to Hubli.
During my years of tutelage under him, I learnt ragas like Rageshri, Bhoop, Chandrakauns, Gorakh Kalyan, and Bihag. It was unfortunate that while I was still learning the nuances of his style of singing, he developed liver cancer and passed away in year 2000.
Having completed my Bachelors in Engineering, taking up a job, was the natural progression. Quality Assurance was my chosen area, in which I acquired a Certification from the QAI USA and later, a Masters of Science post-graduate degree from BITs Pilani. Working for a software company gave me some important insights into entrepreneurship, people skills, time management and a eye for quality.

Developing my own style
After the sad demise of Senior Pt. Nakod, I started training under his son, Pt. Bhalachandra Nakod at Hubli and also did a brief stint of light music training with Shri. Vishwanath Nakod.
I also took guidance from Pt. Rajabhau Sontakke from for a year, while doing my ‘Senior Diploma’ from Prayag Sangeet Samiti – Allahabad. Late Pt. Sontakke was a direct disciple of the legendary Sangeet Martand Pt. Omkarnath Thakur, and I learnt various nuances about Purya, Purya-Dhanashri, Malkauns from him.

In my journey of music, the next turning point came when I was accepted as a disciple by the doyenne of the Jaipur Gharana - 'Gaan Saraswati', 'Sangeet Kaumudi' Dr. Alaka Deo Marulkar. Her style blends aesthetics with intellectual elements, making it appealing to both laymen and critics alike. With an intellect to match her creativity, Dr. Alaka soon became my idol for her exemplary 'planning, design and structure' in her raga presentation. Among the several elements of Jaipur gayaki I learnt from her were the quintessential treatment of laya and the space between two matra's, concept-oriented vakra taan , and several jod-raga's.

Once Pt. Prabhudev Sardar said, “A good guru never imposes his style on his disciple – rather he encourages his shishya to incorporate nuances into a unique style of his own.”
My gurus always encouraged me to incorporate nuances like taans, khatka, murki, intonation and style from the material I listened to, including my taleem; they allowed me to take to those elements of the gharana that I naturally took to. The emphasis was on wazan (maturity) in my singing. I draw a lot of inspiration from Jaipur artistes like Dr. Alaka Deo Marulkar, Vidushi Kishori Amonkar, and stalwarts like Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki when it comes to ‘badhat’ and ‘taans’.

All India Radio, Dharwad
The land of music maestros had always fascinated me and it was a dream come true to become a graded artiste of All India Radio Dharwad. The Gadag –Dharwad - Belgaum region has a rich history of legendary musicians. The 5 titans of Hindustani Classical music - Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur, Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru, Dr.Gangubai Hangal and Pt. Kumar Gandharva hailed from this region. There were others like Sawai Gandharva, Vidushi Shobha Gurtu, who are believed to have originated from this region. The corridors and walls of All India Radio speak of a rich tradition of extremely talented, classy musicians who were recognized all across India and the world as some of the most sincere and high quality musicians.

Sangeet Sankalp
I am actively involved in the nation wide co-operative of performing artistes, ‘Sangeet Sankalp’ as one of the founder members of the Bangalore chapter. I have also started an organisation for the propagation of Indian Classical music called People for Raaga. My passion for music has also made me freelance music journalist too.

Press Comments
“Lilting Melody” – Deccan Herald, Jan 2009
“Graceful Alliance…Her voice traversed the three octaves with ease, dazzling the audience. The synchronization was perfect, thereby enhancing the euphonious appeal.” – The Hindu, Feb 2008
“Amazing! ...” - Deccan Herald, Jul 2005
“Honesty in art and spirit” – The Hindu, Oct 2005
“Melody Makers” – Deccan Herald, Mar 2007
“The high point of her performance was the ‘tar saptak’ where the voice traversed effortlessly...” - Vijay Times, Dec 2003
“extraordinary talent in Hindustani music...” - Deccan Herald, Nov 2003
“I don’t want to commercialize my passion for singing: Bellur” – Hitavada, Jan 2006
“In pursuit of excellence” – Deccan Herald, Mar 2007
“Carving a niche in the realm of Classical music” – Indian Express, Mar 2007
“Melodious monsoon recital” - The Hindu, Aug 2005
“Music of the soul” – Indian Express, Dec 2006
“...she came in for some extraordinary appreciation from the audience...” - Samyukta Karnataka, 2001 (translated)
“With a mellifluous golden voice, sincere approach and abundant talent, her recital was soul-stirring.”- Prajavani, Aug 2004 (translated)
“...not only did she develop the raga beautifully, her exquisite taans made her recital magnificent.”- Dainik Bhaskar, April 2004 (translated)
“Convincing Kajri and Malkauns by Smita Bellur” – Lokmat, Jan 2006 (translated)
“that night the audience was spell-bound by the recital of the Gwalior- Kirana gharana vocalist” - Samyukta Karnataka, Jul 2005 (translated)
“Pleasant smile and melodious singing” – Prajavani, Feb 2006 (translated)
“Sing Nightingale, Dance with joy Nightingale” – Kannada Prabha, Mar 2007 (translated)

Recitals/Concerts and Achievements
A regular B 'High' artiste of All India Radio, Dharwad, I gave my first classical performance at the age of fourteen, at Rastrothana Parishat and since then has been performing at numerous music festivals, including:

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, New Delhi
India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Bharat Sangeet Utsav – Bangalore
Sangeet Sankalp Pune – Sudarshan Rang Manch, Pune
Saptak – Ahmedabad
Swar Sadhana Samiti – Mumbai
Parthasarathy Sangeet Sabha – Chennai
Pt. Manmohan memorial festival – Jaipur
Bangalore Habba 2006
Nizar Kala Sansthan – Nagpur
Pt. ShankarRao Gaikwad Punyatithi, Pune
‘Yuva Vandana ’, Sree Satya Sai Baba Ashram, Whitefield Bangalore
Sursagar – Bangalore
Pt. Sawai Gandharv Punyatithi– Kundgol
Asthavinayak Pratishtaan – Lathur(Maharastra)
Delhi Karnatak Sangha
4th National Level “Bharat Ratna M S Subbulakshmi” Memorial Music Festival - Gitanjali 2009 for Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University
Pt. Omkarnath Thakur Smriti
Ustad Imammuddin Dagar Music festival – Jaipur
Sree Rama Seva Mandali - Fort High School – Bangalore
Avani Rasika Ranga – Dharwad
Indian Institute of World Culture – Bangalore
Shree Gururaghavendra Temple at Mantralayam – Andhra Pradesh
Dutta Gaana Sabha – Barshi (Maharastra)
‘Samskrutika Sourabha’ at Ananya, Bangalore
Nadashri Sangeet Sabha – Hubli
Sangeet Pratishtana – Belgaum
SAP CIO Council – Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
All India Saraswat Cultural programme – Goa
‘Yuva Gana Mela’, Karnataka Ganakala Parishat, Mysore
Pt. Panchakshari Gawai Punyatithi at Shree Veereshwar Punyashram- Gadag
Rudrapatna Music festival – Hassan
Govt. of Karnataka, Department of Culture and Kannada music festivals:

‘Chalukyotsav 2006’ – Aihole- Badami- Pattadkal
‘Navraspur Utsav 2005’ – Bijapur
‘Karavalli Utsav’, 2003 – Karwar, 2006 Mangalore
‘Lakkundi Utsav’ 2006, Gadag
‘Thingala Sobagu’, ‘Samskrutika Saurabha’ and ‘Yuva Saurabha’ at Gadag, Haveri, Bellary, Bidar and Raichur

Awards
Smita has won the “Sangeeta Shri 2007” award by Shraddha Sangeeta Kala Samiti, Bangalore and the “Dr. Pt. Puttaraj Gawai Kripa Bhushana Prashasti 2007” – Gadag.