Dr. Ravindra Gururaj Katoti

Born in a family of music lovers in the year 1969, Ravindra started learning Hindustani classical Harmonium at the age of eight. Since then he has been the disciple of Pandit Rambhau Bijapure, a Harmonium exponent of our times. The blessings and guidance of his Guru, and his own sincere efforts have moulded him into a versatile and brilliant Harmonium player.

Ravindra’s Harmonium solo playing is marked by presentation in gayaki anga along with elaborate exploration of the theme in lucid alap, brilliantlayakari, and clear tanakari.  Achieving volume control by manipulating bellows is prominently noticeable in his rendition. He is equally proficient in rendering khayal, thumri, dhun, and natyageet.

Several first prizes, scholarships and awards have come in search of Ravindra’s talent and art. Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy awarded him three years’ scholarship (1986-1989). He was honoured at the hands of His Excellency Dr. P. C. Alexander, Governor, Maharashtra State, for his top performance in Yuva Sangeetotsav held at Ujjain (M.P.), organised by South Central Cultural Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur (1993). Bhatkande Lalitkala Academy Raipur, M.P. conferred upon him the title, Sur Ratna (1994). He is Sangeet Alankar from Akhil Bharateeya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Miraj (1995). Ravindra is a regular performer on   AIR and Doordarshan. Many of his performances are also broadcast by private TV channels, FM radios and internet radios.

Ravindra is a regular performer on   AIR and Doordarshan. Many of his performances are also broadcast by private TV channels, FM radios and internet radios.

Ravindra has also established himself as an able accompanist and received acclaim from many of the top performing vocalists, organisers and connoisseurs as well. He has performed throughout the country and abroad, both as a soloist and an accompanist. He has accompanied many of the top ranking vocalists of the country including Dr.Gangubai Hangal, Pt.Bhimsen Joshi, Pt.Jasaraj, and Pt.Yashavantbua Joshi.

Presently Ravindra is member of Commerce faculty of Government First Grade College , Hoskote. He has been awarded the Doctorate on Tourism by the Karnataka University , Dharwad.

As a teacher:

Ravindra is sincerely putting focused efforts to train young harmonium players, some of whom are already performing as soloist and accompanists. He is shouldering the most important responsibility of transferring the legacy to the posterity. His ‘Learn to play Harmonium’ DVD is popular among Harmonium learners.

As an organizer:

Ravindra has been instrumental in instituting BIJAPURE HARMONIUM FOUNDATION in Bangalore. This is forum dedicated to the cause of promoting ‘Harmonium’, named after the legendary Harmonium exponent, Pandit rambhau Bijapure. The ‘Foundation’ has been actively organizing music events, projecting ‘Harmonium’ as an independent instrument. ‘Harmonium Habba’ an annual event, is gaining wide popularity among musicians and connoisseurs as well, in this part of the country.

The ‘foundation’ has produced audio CDs, a video documentary of Pandit rambhau Bijapure. His biography, ‘Swarayana’ also has been published, documenting five generations of music in and around Belgaum.

As a composer:

Ravindra has a very unique and creative approach as a composer. He has set tunes to a number of devotional songs and bhava geete. He has composed two ‘Raaga Malas’ with unique features. He has also given a creative touch, as a music arranger, to a number of light music albums.

The latest addition to his creations has been, ‘Harmonium Compositions’, which explore the rich and varied possibilities on ‘Harmonium’, with altogether a different angle.

As explorer:

Ravindra has been continuously exploring new horizons. His experiments of combining Harmonium with other instruments such as Western Accordion, Flute, Sarangi, Hawaiian Guitar have been widely acclaimed and appreciated by musicians as well as listeners. ‘Dhatri’ featuring Harmonium- accordion duet is being well received on www.amazon.com

Ravindra’s latest endeavor has been ‘Samarasa Samvadini,’ an exploration of different genres of world music through acoustic keyboard instruments.