Anand Bhate (born 29 April 1971) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. He is popular for his classical singing of songs from the Marathi film Balgandharva (2011).

Early life and training

Anand was born in Pune, India in 1971, in a family active in classical music. He inherited the singing tradition from his great-grandfather Bhate Buva, who was a well known vocalist for Thumri and Natya Sangeet in the 19th century. By the age of 10, he had started systematic training in classical singing from Chandrashekhar Deshpande, after which he trained under Yashwantbua Marathe and with Bhimsen Joshi, with whom he trained for 15 years.

Career

His first public appearance was as a child in 1981, when he performed Balgandharva's gayaki on All India Radio, Doordarshan and had a tour in the USA. Over the years, he has performed all over India and abroad in many prestigious music festivals such as the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Sangeet Samaroha, Chaturang Pratishthan Rangsammelan and Learn quest Music Conference. Bhate won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the 2011 Marathi movie on the life of the Marathi stage actor/singer Balgandharva.

Awards and achievements