Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, regarded as the father of modern
Hindustani classical music, was born in 1860. Since his childhood he was interested in music and was trained in classical music. Academically trained in law, he became a lawyer at Karachi High Court soon after completing his formal education. However, following the untimely death of his wife and daughter, Bhatkhande completely turned to music for solace. He mastered vocal music,
sitar and
flute from distinguished teachers such as Pandit Jairajgir, Pandit Raojibua Belbagkar, Ustad Ali Husain Khan and Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan. He devoted 15 years in studying music-treatises in
Sanskrit,
Telugu,
Bengali,
Gujarati,
Urdu, German and English. He also published a number of books on Hindustani classical music such as Abhinavaragamanjari, Lakshya Sangeet, Swaramalika and Bhav Sangeetham. Bhatkhande's greatest contribution to Indian classical music is the 10 Thaat system which organized all
ragas in a systematic manner. He died in 1933.
