The music of Belagavi has many shades. The multicoloured aura of the Saptaswars created here has brightened the lives of hundreds of aspirants. The Gurus here have devoted their lives to accumulating unlimited knowledge and have given it back to them in heaps. Many of them have earned fame not just due to their teachings, but for their open-eyed observations and keenness of uncorrupt flow of right knowledge. Among such personalities, Adv. A V Kulkarni (1912 – 1999) was noted as a man with a passion for music and a dogmatic belief that it was with the most perfect teacher! He was an unmatched critic in this matter, who lived his musical life adhering to its right principles.
A V Kulkarni completed his B.A. from Fergusson College in 1936 and L.L.B. from Poona Law College in 1939. While in Pune, he developed his passion for classical music and commenced learning vocal music from Pt. Avadhutbuva Pujari.
Pune at that time was at the peak of cultural activities and music-loving people had enjoyed the closeness of many stalwarts like Balgandharva. Marathi stage music became the landmark of being a music lover. This atmosphere helped A V in developing his own passion. Along with learning vocal music, he took interest in reading old texts on music. Thus, his music progressed with a thought, based on earlier texts as well as on contemporary views.
Adv. A V Kulkarni began his career as a lawyer in Belgaum. In those days, he learnt harmonium, flute and Tabla to support his musical talent. He took guidance from Pt. Ingalebuva of Gwalior Gharana (the disciple of Pt. Balkrishnabuva Ichalkaranjikar) and later from Pt. Tamhankarbuva. His vocal programmes were broadcast from AIR Dhawad since 1950s. He was an A-graded artiste. He took part in ABGMV Mandal’s Golden Jubilee music conference at New Delhi in 1952. He bore a special place in the hearts of his co-artists and was an active member of Sangeet Kalakaar Sangh and Art’s Circle too!
A V Kulkarni earned his doctorate ‘Sangeet Praveen’ from ABGMV Mandal in 1963 with flying colours. He was appointed on the panel of the examiners by the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board and also by the Mandal. He was an important member of the examination committee and a question paper setter of Karnataka University, Dharwad.
As a Guru, he was admired by all musicians in Belgaum. He guided many talented aspirants like Nagesh Bandekar, Vitha Kanwinde, Gururaj Mirajkar, Lalita Kulkarni, Ramesh Marathe (Goa), Hegde and Das from Shirsi and Dr. Tengse from Devgad.
Adv. A V was a prolific writer. Along with music, he wrote on the philosophy of J Krishnamurty. He wrote many articles in Tarun Bharat, Sangeet Kala Vihar and in other magazines devoted to music. His reviews were well studied and threw light on the good angles of the performers. They helped the artistes improve their performance. His quotations from the earlier texts explained the terms and their relevance in today’s music. Unfortunately, most of the music performers were ‘illiterate’ from the theoretical point of view and that disturbed him a lot. I began writing on music in 1979, and I was happy that he read those articles and critically examined the way I wrote. Since I was a fresh writer on music, his guidance made me what I am today.
A V tried his best to improve the examination system of ABGMV Mandal. His observations and suggestions were exemplary, and they could improve the system a little.
One more part of his artistic life was his passion for acting. He acted in many musical and non-musical plays from Varerkar Natya Sangh. His house in Baswan Galli was a rendezvous for many artistes, actors and art lovers.