Vinay Bharat Ram has been regarded as an individual, who has aimed at the success directed by his passion for the thing. Vinay Bharat Ram is a business tycoon, who holds the post of the head of the multi-crore DCM group. But his love, obsession for music cannot be regarded as a lightheaded fancy of a business tycoon. He has bagged the honor of being sharing the stage with the Indian classical music maestros like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Kishori Amonkar to note.
After his performance as a vocalist at the Royal Festival Hall in London, one of the leading newspapers, `the Guardian` reviewed that `it was like listening to Cezanne`. Vinay Bharat Ram was initiated to the world of music at a very tender age. He has bagged the honor of receiving tutelage of maestros like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar and Annapurna Devi daughter of legendary Baba Allaudin Khan and former wife of Pandit Ravi Shankar. This disciplinary man even today wake up at 5 a.m in the morning for `riaz`. His `riaz` in an usual manner extended to 8 a.m. as he said, "Music is cocktail for me. I get drunk on it".
This celebrated Indian classical Music vocalist, Vinay Bharat Ram studied at the premier Universities like University of Delhi, Michigan and Harvard. He has also taught at the India`s most estimably known management school, the Indian Institute of Management at Ahemdabad. He has also served as the visiting professor of economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The Indian Institute of Technology has been regarded as one of the front most engineering universities of the country.
This business tycoon apart from his judicious business success holds back his cultural roots in India. He has written a book to his credit namely, `Hindi Kavya Mein Kalidas Ka Meghdoot`. This book is a transformation of the poet Kalidasa`s Sanskrit epic in Hindi poetry. He has also written another two books to his credit namely, `Import Substitution Exchange Rates` and `Economic Development and The Theory of the Global Firm`. After coming back to India in the year 1963, Vinay Bharat Ram exhibited his first performance in front of public at the Mahajati Sadan in Calcutta. After that he started performing at a regular basis. His execution received well acclamation from the audiences.
Today Vinay Bharat Ram has been regarded as one of the leading vocalists who admits lineage from the Maihar Gharana. The Maihar Gharana draws its ancestries to the legendary Tansen. He says, "I am indebted to God for giving me such Gurus. Whenever I get an opportunity I go to pay my respects to them". When he was asked about his inspiration, he has always named Pandit Ravi Shankar.
When Vinay Bharat Ram recalls his childhood, he said, `In the forties when I was barely 10, I was already familiar with Hindustani classical music as our house was host to great musicians like Baba Alauddin Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Bada Ghulam Ali and Vilayat Ali Khan. These maestros used to come and stay in our house`. He has performed at highly esteemed occasions many times like Shankar Lal Festival, Madras Music Academy, Mylapore and Swami Haridos Jyanti. Vinay Bharat Ram has also bagged the honor of leading the delegation of artistes who went to England in the year 1970. They all performed at the Queen Elizabeth and Royal Festivals Halls. As he recalls, `Girja Devi and I were the first vocalists to perform in England. At the Royal Festival Hall almost 70 percent of the 3500 audiences were Britishers`.
The leading performer of Indian music including Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Hari Parsad Chaurasia, Shiv Kumar Sharma and many more have also performed with Vinay Bharat Ram. To him, his most unforgettable execution was at Shantiniketan. As he thinks back, "The audience was rapt when I sang the Meghmalhar raga. By sheer coincidence it started raining and I got a thundering applause. I still can`t forget that standing ovation".
