‘Ours is a great balance of mutual respect and learning’

An award-winning archaeologist and widely feted vocalist form a unique young culture combine

Sandeep Dahisarkar, 32, Archaeologist, art historian, author

Rutu Jadhav, 33, Hindustani classical vocalist, online music teacher

Sandeep Dahisarkar is the founder-director of Shilahara Heritage Services, Mumbai. He has worked with the Department of Ancient Indian Culture and Archaeology, Sathaye College, as an assistant professor; Department of History, Sophia College and IES College of Architecture as a visiting faculty member. To share his expertise, he introduced heritage walks in Vile Parle, Bandra and Juhu, as well as an interesting route explaining the statues of the Fort precinct. Awarded the Gulestan Bilimoria Junior Research Fellowship 2017 of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, he published his first book, The Pathare Kshatriyas of Bombay, as a result of that fellowship paper. It was followed by Dnyata Adnyata, a Marathi collection of articles on the history of the suburbs and city. His new title, on medieval Bombay, Sri Bimbakhyana, is ready for release. A consultant with the Holkar Cultural Centre, Maheshwar, he recently received the Sane Guruji Yuva Puraskar (Mumbai) and Yuva Sanman Puraskar (Pune).

Rutu Jadhav began his musical journey as a three-year-old and spent twelve years training under taar-shehnai maestro Pandit Vinayak Vora in the guru-shishya parampara. Born into a family dedicated to Indian classical music (his grandmother Kavita Inamdar, a renowned teacher who started Saraswati Sangeet in Dombivli, taught him initially), he received guidance from the internationally acclaimed sarangi maestro and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Pandit Ram Narayan. Tutored in the khayal gayaki tradition of kirana gharana, Rutu grasped a different gayaki from Dr Paramanand Yadav, a disciple of Padma Vibhushan recipient Pandit Kumar Gandharva and Professor BR Deodhar. At 17, he successfully took the Sangeet Visharad course from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. With systematic improvisation, and a preference for emotion and devotion-oriented rendering, he teaches in leading city institutions as well as privately online, and performs at prestigious platforms.

In Rutu’s home, filled with his father’s abstract oil paintings, the friends swap notes on all things classical and cultural. 

Sandeep Dahisarkar: July-August 2012, our post-graduation year, welcomed the first autonomous batch of students in St Xavier’s College. We usually sat beside each other and at the Heras Institute for assignments, reference and general reading, before travelling home together on the local train. 

Rutu Jadhav: We graduated in Ancient Indian Culture—Sandeep from Sathaye College and me St Xavier’s. The university topper, Sandeep didn’t indicate his geeky brilliance right away. An average student, I admired his passion for the subject. We often chatted in Marathi—rare at Xavier’s! Joining the Marathi Vangmay Mandal, I edited its annual, Pakhran, which Sandeep co-edited. We were part of the Mandal’s core committee, organising events like its annual Aamod festival and an inter-collegiate elocution competition. 

The duo exploring historic Walkeshwar last year

SD: Rutu works hard at the disciplined riyaz classical music requires. These days he dives deeper into music, while I teach art and local history in various colleges. I advise some of them to invite him for workshops on Hindustani music. Rutu is a good listener and silent observer. His manner of explaining nuances of music in depth with patience is a rare quality. 

RJ: A sitar student, Sandeep’s love for Indian classical music has matched my own understanding of Hindustani vocals, nurtured by my guru, Pandit Ram Narayan. Sandeep was the first among my friends to appreciate my dad’s art, thanks to his keen eye for all things artistic. Whenever he visits, he chats with my parents about painting, the Bombay School of Art, exhibitions, Hindustani music and travel.

SD: Besides the Xavier’s canteen and famous sandwich stall outside the college, we’ve hung out at Kyani and Badshah. I believe in creating good memories to cherish. Friendship isn’t just about eating out, but exchanging knowledge with quality thought.

RJ: Though I’m vegetarian and Sandeep non-veg, food is never an issue. We love authentic local community dishes and street food. His gym trainer might not be thrilled, but Sandeep sends me sugary and cheesy food place reels on Instagram. We enjoy Irani cafes, Maharashtrian restaurants in Vile Parle and Dadar, amazing shawarma places and the South Indian thali at Rama Nayak’s Udipi Shri Krishna in Matunga.

SD: Among the music halls we have frequented are Dinanath Mangeshkar Natyagruha, Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre to hear Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Bhaidas Hall for Vidushi Prabha Atre and Ravindra Natya Mandir for Pandit Mukul Shivputra.

RJ: My first visit to the Royal Opera House was with Sandeep for Amjad Ali Khan’s show pre-COVID. Sandeep, who lives in Vile Parle, is my go-to city discovery buddy. In college, we teamed up for surface exploration projects in Colaba and Khar Danda. As a Khar-Bandra resident, I showed him around old villages, which turned into a superb article within days. We made memorable trips to rock-cut caves like Kanheri and Elephanta, the Banganga Tank and Walkeshwar temples.

SD: Concerts and lectures excite us. We’ve both struggled for 10 years to achieve what we have today. What unites us is a mutual love for music, Marathi literature, travelling and visiting historical sites. We also have many common friends. 

RJ: Our academic roots are similar. We were colleagues at Sathaye College for a year. Incredibly meticulous, he taught me to properly use footnotes and create bibliographies for research articles. Once Sandeep decides to dig, his keen eye for art and architecture makes every trip a joy. He notices and appreciates everything, from statues to paintings, iconography and, in architecture, arches, pilasters, pillars, facades, staircase details… so exploring new places with him becomes a truly fulfilling experience.

Unconventional, Sandeep wears a dhoti or Bhikbali in his ear without worry about what people think. He strongly believes in preserving local language, using Marathi widely and openly, motivated only by the genuine love of its literature and culture. Few know he writes Marathi poems. I’ve composed for his “Jya phulanna gandha nahi” in raga Jog Kauns, and we recorded it. Ours is a great balance of mutual respect and learning. Sandeep’s attention to detail influences my approach and mine to music inspires him. 

Author-publisher Meher Marfatia writes monthly on city friendships. You can reach her at meher.marfatia@mid-day.com/www.meher marfatia.com

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