Archives West Finding Aid

Dinkar Kaikini (b. Mumbai, 2 Oct. 1927; d. Mumbai, 23 Jan. 2010) was a well-known vocalist and teacher who lived in Mumbai. His early lessons were from Kerekatti Nageshrao, of the tradition of Kale Khan of the Paṭiālā gharānā, and Omkarnath Thakur. Later he became a disciple of S.N. Ratanjankar and also a student of Marris (now Bhatkhande) College, Lucknow, where Ratanjankar was teaching. With a strong base of the Agra tradition of Faiyaz Khan (guru of Ratanjankar), Kaikini specialized in building a rāga structure through systematic ālāp with nom-tom. Other embellishments of his vocal art were upaj, sargam, boltān, and sapāṭ tān. He sang dhrupads, dhamārs, khayāls, ṭhumrīs, and ṭappās, and often concluded his recitals with a bhajan or some other short song. He was a producer of music at the All India Radio, Delhi, during 1955–71, and then the Principal of the music and dance academy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, till regular retirement. Highly respected for his strong knowledge of musical grammar and theory, his compositions are known under the pen name Dinrang. He has created some rāgas too. His compositions and creations of rāgas are available in his book Rāga Rang. His son Yogesh Samsi is a noted tabla player of the Allah Rakha tradition, while disciple-daughter Aditi Upadhya is a vocalist. His recent disciples include Dhruba Ghosh, well-known sārangi player, and Nishad Bakre. As an institutional teacher, scores have benefited from his guidance. However, those who received specialized training under him include Shashikala Kaikini (retired as Principal of Bhavan's music and dance academy), Premlata Puri, Indudhar Nirodi, Sudhindra Bhowmick, Arati Anklikar-Tikekar, Sadashiv Bakre, and Samarth Nagarkar. Well-known film singer Udit Narayan and Sanjeevani Bhelande are others who received periodic guidance from the veteran.

-- http://www.oxfordreference.com/