What an invaluable treasure! Thank you so much for capturing this for eternity. Most of us at Loyola weren’t privileged to learn to singing from sir, though we have all learnt Hindi from him. Wonderful experience seeing the videos.

I was a student of our beloved teacher in Loyola and passed out in 91. He thought me Hindi, and Marathi. For me and my classmates at that time he was a terror, trying to beat some sense into us. What we later realised was, he was trying to make us better men. He was teaching us about life and not only the subjects he thought us. Thank you sir, for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with us. I for one was deeply impacted by him and will always remember him fondly. I only wish we had been exposed to the other facets of his personality.

Pt Devasthali or Devasthali Sir as we addressed him has no doubt played a great part in the development of character in every Loyolite who has studied under his wings. A tough disciplinarian and motivator. If we remember ‘Kabir ke Dohe’ even today, a large part of it is due to his quoting them every time he wanted to bring out life lessons. A teacher who believed in the overall development of the student. Every student admired him. We all remember him with great respect.

Devasthali Sir was my class teacher several times. One the hand i was dreading the fact that him being strict would be a difficulty but on the other hand i was happy that he was because then our lives would be filled with words of wisdom and encouragement, in the year to come. My mother complained to him that my marks were less because i played too much sport, he said to her calmly he is one of my favorite and best student in the class, and he fares well in studies just because he is allowed to play sports. I will never ever forgetthe great man and the influence he has had on my life.

Thanks Warren for sharing these details of Devasthali sir .

Warren

I was a student of Devasthali Sir in the late 70s and early 80s.

Seedhi Kataar mein Khade Raho….(Stand in a straight line) and he would keep us standing for a minute or two..

In the early 80s he transitioned from wearing Pant Shirts to Kurta Pajama and he also grew his beard long. He wore a white Pyjama with a silk Kurta (light yellow in color) and he wore the same color combination every day. I have vivid memories of him driving a Lambretta to school.

He taught us Hindi and I was fortunate to be part of a Choir that sang Patriotic songs as well on school days;

One such song was Unch Sadaa rahega Jhanda…

Another one was Aisaa Desh Kabhi na Dekha Kabhi na Suna hai Deshon Ka Sartaaj yahi Bharat Desh Hai…

But the one that really touched me was

Nahin Prem se Bhadkar kuch Bhi Prabhu ne yeh Vardaan Diya hai….

In 1982-83 Fr Toscano would have us sing these songs at Assembly.

I had no idea of his music background.He never mentioned it even once………

he often quoted Longfellow:
The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.

and another one was “Rome was not built in a day”…

Thank you for having a positive impact in our lives, Sir.

Yadvindra Singh
Loyola Batch of 1983

Next time you are in India, I MUST introduce you to Narayanrao Bodas – so much similarity in their voice and perhaps style too.

Hello Warren,
It is indeed nice to see this tribute of yours to Mr Devasthali.

As a student of Loyola Pune in the 1970s, his was an imposing presence – a teacher who was feared for his emphasis on discipline as much as he was loved for his commitment as a teacher.

At every alumni meet of our class, there is always a recollection of our experiences with him.

Thanks for exposing this artistic facet about him which he perhaps did not display much as our teacher of languages.

Hats off to your dauntless servitude to music, and tribute to Guruji. You are fortunate to have learned from Devasthaliji..

Very beautiful tribute. Thank you:-)

I have just discovered your wonderful site. Thank you for sharing the gems of Indian music and your passion and commitment. I am slowly reading through all the articles on your site.

blessings,

peter

Thank you Warren, for bringing Devasthali Sir back to us. i am a student of him as well, but only a schoolboy student trying to learn a language. Which i unfortunately did not do too well (in terms of marks!) But i learnt one mantra “Language is the mother of communication and communication is the mother of relationships”. He had mastered that and he passed that on too. While i had some idea about his connection to Music, i fathomed the depth of his immersion in it only when my own interest in music deepened. That showed me yet another dimension of this ‘many-splendored person. i do agree with an observation earlier about the role that he played in forming so many lives as a teacher; wherever and in whatever he taught. He gave; always, freely and joyously. While we were the blessed receivers.

Thanks to this blog (and Sandeep Agate); i again read Henry Longfellow’s immortal lines, which i heard from Sir so many times.

Also the immortal picture of him with Gajananbua.
What more can one wish for?

Pradeep Chakraverti
Loyola, 1971 batch and ICM lover.

I am an ex-student of Loyola School, Pune.
Devasthali Sir has left a profound and lasting impact on me and I would credit to him in large measure, whatever interest I have in Marathi literature & Hindustani music.
He was an excellent teacher.
But above all, he deviated from the textbook curriculum to inculcate ‘Bhartiya Sanskar’ on all his students.
We probably didn’t understand his emphasis at that point in our life, but today when I look back, I realize the importance of his teachings.
He very patiently made us realize and understand the importance of the writings Sant Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Kabir, Vivekanand, etc. etc.
To that extent I will be honest to say that without Devasthali Sir, my education in Loyola would have remained incomplete…

Thank you Warren, this is really great, feel Mr. Devasthali deserves this credit and respect.

I had the great fortunes of having him as my class teacher in Loyola, year of 1988-89, besides having him teach us Hindi, Marathi interspersed with a lot of Sanskrit.

He was strict, feared (also because he was so huge) but respected deeply. We were serious in his class, even a simple mistake would irritate him but his deep rooted knowledge and his patience clearly made him a great personality.

Even today, we all remember him fondly along with the other teachers who made us whatever we are today, and a great amount of the credit clarly goes to him.

Miss you Mr. Devasthali, i am sure you have earned your rightful place in the stars!!

Dear Warren,

Thank you for creating this tribute page to Guruji! It was you who first introduced me to Indian Classical Music and recommended me to study with Guruji in Pune. I am very grateful to you for those transforming experiences.

I went to India on a Rockefeller Traveling Fellowship in 1992-1993, and spent 10 months studying with Guruji. After taking daily lessons with Mr. Devasthali for four months, I was invited to stay in his home with his family. I spent many hours every day practicing the raags and taans, and had many warm and memorable events with the family members. It was an experience of total immersion in a caring environment that was completely without comparison — it was a watershed year in my life.

During my year with Guruji he would often jot down poem fragments into a small book for me; his quotations could be in Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, or English. All were carefully translated and interpreted. I keep the book with me in my office and refer to it frequently; here are some samples:

“Kathni thothi jagatamen, karni uttam saar” [talk is useless; work is the highest essence; Sant Kabir]

“Jo bhi karo kamaal ka karo” [Whatever you undertake, you should aspire to reach the highest peak; ascribed to Upendranath Ask’s father]

H.W. Longfellow, Psalm of Life:

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal.
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o’erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

I recently wrote a tribute piece to Guruji; I performed it at The College of New Jersey on my violin, triggering sound samples of his singing using software in Max/MSP on a laptop. Here is a link:
http://www.tcnj.edu/~nakra/GuruShishyaParampara_live.mp3

With best wishes,

Teresa

Teresa M. Nakra
Associate Professor of Music (Technology and Theory)
The College of New Jersey

adversity is a blessing in disguise

jo rak de dar par sar wo hi sardar banta hai

Thank you for sharing and continuing to share this wonderful gift through your teaching.

Dear Warren,

A wonderful thought for enlightning me with multiple aspects which I was unaware. I was his student at Hindi High School (1958 to 1964). He was the source of inspiration. He had profound knowledge in English, Sanskrit and I was fortunate to have a teacher like him. I last visited him Pune in 1969. I was looking forward to see him again when I visited India in 2006. I tried to contact you on your web site but had no response.

I feel indebted to him for all the “patience Strong” peoms and shaping me for the future.
I will always cherish his memory.

Ramesh Chadha

Albany, NY

Warren, Thanks a lot for sharing your feelings & the information about Pandit Devasthali Ji. When I listened the Talim recordings (Shree, Gaud Malhar, Nand & Todi), I found a great similarity with Pt. GajananBuwa Joshi in the teaching style – it is so obvious to have the similarity as Devasthali Ji himself was disciple of GajananBuwa.
I also got a new information that Devasthali Ji used to sing in Chisti concerts with name ‘Ram Saheb’ – that’s very interesting! I never knew that !
Unfortunately multifaceted personality like him is lessor known even in the music field because he was not part of the performing racket!
I always think that he deserved much more recognition!

Thanks Warren, for this blog to honor Devasthali sir – I don’t know what I can say that has not been said a thousand times before by his students, be it in school or elsewhere.

He was definitely an inspiration to all, and stood head and shoulders above everyone else for his character, his integrity, his drive and his passion for any subject he taught. I seldom remember him opening any of the prescribed textbooks, and instead he would teach us Hindi or Marathi using stories and personalities from the rich trove of literature and history, and impart his own philosophy about life and how it should be lived – with honor, dignity and honesty. Not for him the syllabus, or exams, or prepared question and answers, or marks – he challenged and inspired us to seek and to question – sometimes even ourselves – and in so doing, he prepared us for the much larger exams in life!

I can safely say that whatever many of us are today, whatever values we have got, whatever successes we may have enjoyed, whatever challenges we may have faced and overcome – a large part of the credit must go to Devasthali sir!

Thank you once again!

I have always loved and respected you, Guruji. I remember how we used to sing together — Warren, you and I — and how Warren would play the tamboura and record, and I would transcribe at top speed while you/we sang.
I remember when you gave us lessons for three or four hours at a stretch, with a stop or two for coffee, which Bhaiyyaji brought.
I remember how you would raise a quizzical eyebrow at me, when you wanted me to quickly translate one of your taans into sargam, and I would.
I remember how you would tell Warren and me, “No man can serve two masters,” when talking about us pursuing too many things at once.
I remember how you would smile indulgently when Warren and I told you about our enjoyment of the music of a certain loud, occasionally tuneless, but joyously boisterous and creative Hindustani singer, and you’d remark that everything we listen to goes into us, and that we have to be careful when absorbing music.
I remember how you and I would quote English poets at each other.
I remember how you were pleased that I chose to go into teaching English language and literature, but how you also urged me to not stop singing. (I shall start again, soon).
I remember how you listened, with an open mind, to the music we had composed and made.
Thank you for everything.
Love and respect,
Vijaya

Dear Warren,

A wonderful initiative on your part to honor Devasthali Sir!

I have had the benefit of his guidance and teaching when I was a student at Loyola High School. Based on the discussions in Loyola’s alumni groups and online forums, it is evident that Devasthali Sir has probably been the source of inspiration for most of his pupils in their lives. It is impossible to forget his style or substance and both continue to guide us still.

One of the recitations that I recall from my school days is a stanza from the poem “The Psalm of Life” by H. W. Longfellow. It was one of Sir’s favorite poems/stanzas and he recited this often to inspire us to achieve something greater than our immediate material aspirations. Staring from behind his glasses and smiling through his beard, he would say, with perfect intonation:

Lives of great men, all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time.

Devasthali Sir has left footprints that leads us still.

Thank you again for putting this blog together.

Best,
Sandeep Agate
Loyola High School, ’87/’89 Batch

Thank you for all the music, Gurujee, I am forever indebted, and my music forever imprinted with what you taught me!