Manik Bhide


Manik Govind Bhide is a Hindustani classical music vocalist from Kolhapur and based in Mumbai. She is known for being Kishori Amonkar's student and Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande's guru and mother. She is an exponent of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.

Early life and training

Born in Kolhapur, Bhide was encouraged by her parents to learn music. She began her early classical training with Madhukar Sadolikar of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
Later, Bhide married scientist Govind Bhide. Following, around 1964, the couple relocated to Mumbai. A family friend, Wamanrao Deshpande, brought the young couple to meet Mogubai Kurdikar, his guru. Though Kurdikar wasn't present, Bhide met Kishori Amonkar and soon became her student after the former heard the latter sing. She continued to learn from Amonkar for 15 years. Bhide learned alongside Suhasini Mulgaonkar, Arun Dravid, Meera Panshikar, and others.

Training with Kishori Amonkar

Though a devout follower and admirer of Amonkar, Bhide's relationship with her guru was challenging and demanding. Under tremendous stress and Amonkar's infamous temperamentality. Bhide had accompanied Amonkar in every concert for over a decade. After a falling out, Bhide discontinued learning from Amonkar in 1981. Following, she dedicated her musical life to teaching. After several decades, Bhide and Amonkar reconciled.

Career

Bhide has performed at most major music conferences in India and was a regular performer for All India Radio.

Students

At the urging of Mogubai Kurdikar, Bhide began teaching her daughter, Ashwini, the Jaipur-Atrauli gayaki. She has also taught Geetika Varde and many others.

Discography