Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s love for cars was surpassed only by his passion for music. He was famous for driving, his accompanists being his co- passengers, to concert locations within a motorable distance from his hometown of Pune. His close associates still recall the time he went on a whistle stop concert tour; from Mumbai to Belgaum to Sholapur to Bangalore to Hyderabad to Nagpur to Raipur.“ When he was at the wheel, he would ignore the danger posed by bad or slippery roads, ditches, pot holes and other obstacles such as oncoming cars and stray cattle,” says an old associate. “ Only luck saved him from a couple of serious accidents. Of course, they made him more careful.” As his popularity spread and invitations came from all over the country, he realised that his trusted old Mercedes moved at a ‘ vilambit taal’. So he switched to air travel, giving his friends a reason for banter.
“ The disciple of Sawai Gandharva has become ‘ Hawai’ Gandharva,” a friend had joked, and the label stuck with the maestro.
He had his share of accidents, but nothing could get him to quit driving. His passion for cars was, not surprisingly, accompanied by an astonishing knowledge of automobile engineering. He once said to an interviewer: “ If I had not been a musician, I would have happily spent my life as a garage mechanic tuning engines of cars.” And on his favourite car, he had remarked, “ There is no car like the Mercedes.” Sadly, his Mercedes will no longer benefit from his loving touch.
And neither will his adoring fans.
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