26 August 2018, Pune, Residence of singer Shaila Datar |
During my research for a documentary on the history of Marathi Theatre I met Shaila Datar. Here are some excerpts of her singing and an informal chats. Veteran art critic Sulabha Teranikar and Prachi Deval can also be heard in the recording. My friend cameraman Anirban Sadhu also is there with his baritone instructive voice to his team.
Born in 1953 in a family of musicians and music teachers, Shaila was trained in tabla and vocals by her parents Manohar and Leela Sardesai. During the early years she was lucky to receive the training form veteran songer Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande. She married Sudhir Datar, the grand son of legendary maestro Bhaskarbua Bakhle. She received her early training in classical music from her husband who is a disciple of Pandit Ram Marathe.
Shaila contributes greatly to dissemination and reaserch on music. Her deeply researched biography of Pandit Bhaskarbua Bakhle- Devgandharva is a significant contribution to the research in music and theatre in Maharashtra. She has received several State Government and Literary Awards for her books. She has produced Radio programs and Documentary films on artists like Master Krishna Rao, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar
Documentary on the history of Marathi Theatre can be seen here Part 1 & Part 2
