Pt. Chintaman Raghunath Vyas popularly known as Pt. C.R. Vyas can be called the perfect and excellent instance of what a man is capable of, if he has that inner tenaciousness and willpower to make it big in life, despite several difficulties. He was born into a poor family, in an even poorer locality, who were inclined to just the basic amenities of day-to-day life. Since childhood Chintaman had a wish to learn music, but had to curb it down due to his parents` wishes. However, his uncle was a respectable sitarist, who gave the young man to Govindrao Bhatambrekar of Kirana gharana, who polished Chintaman Vyas into a musical man. Much later, he left for Bombay to earn a living and make their ends meet. While in Bombay, besides working for odd hours, he never lost his sight for singing and studied under his guru, Pt.

Rajarambua Paradkar of Gwalior gharana, who took him as his disciple for Chintaman`s gifted and mellifluous voice. And he was a talented man to have absorbed every nuance he received from his guru and deliver accordingly. His was a kind of musical tapas. The several diversions could never waver him towards other fields, and he kept his inner promise to sing even better. Later, he also was attracted towards Pt. Jaganathbua Purohit of Agra gharana, and also picked up necessary tips from him. In this manner, he was an educated man of all the three major gharanas. Quite naturally, his renditions were exceptional in quality, and every musician to common man were enchanted by his vocal capability. His received education from his gurus was successful to make him a guru himself, to share his thoughts and intellect to his disciples.

Pt. Chintaman Raghunath Vyas was born in a devout family of keertankars and Sanskrit scholars in a obscure village near Osmanabad in Maharashtra. The village he was born into had no facilities for modern education - a fact that did not bother his conservative father. His mother, however, was a determined woman. She went on a hunger strike lasting a few days in order to persuade her husband to agree to send her three sons to a good school. Chintaman`s father eventually gave in. The three children were admitted to a school in the town by their maternal uncle. Chintaman`s uncle, though a farmer, was a good sitar later and recognized his nephew`s musical inclinations soon. He placed the 14-year-old lad under the tutelage of his friend Govindrao Bhatambrekar of Kirana gharana. It was under this demanding guru that his classical base was built. He taught Chintaman until he was 21.

At 21, Pt. Chintaman Raghunath Vyas concluded that he needed employment and, more importantly, a guru to help carry on his musical quest. He left his village after coaxing his reluctant father to part with 50 rupees and landed in Bombay, which was to be his domicile until his death. Fortunately he obtained a job in an engineering college in Matunga. The impoverished, but determined, young man stayed with a relative in Girgaum and would trudge the distance on foot daily.

Evenings and holidays were spent attending musical concerts where he devoured every stylistic nuance and idiom that came his way. He also began giving concerts during this time. His clear voice and dedication caught the attention of Pt. Rajarambua Paradkar of Gwalior gharana, who was glad to take him under his wing. The next 15 years saw Vyas getting further training in the traditional gurukula style under his new guru.

The years of study were also the most challenging. He also got married to his guru`s sister-in-law. In her he found a supportive companion who adjusted with his deepest passion, music, and also his hardy and simple habits. He now had a job with ITC; to supplement his income, he also taught music at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. His day began at 4.30 A.M., then intensive riyaz, then came the job at ITC (at which he slogged until his fifty second year) until evening, followed by training sessions with his guru until the late hours of night. In all this time he had the luxury of just four hours of sleep. Life in Bombay was never easy, given the demanding nature and pace of urban life. But such was the intensity of his devotion to his art that he remained oblivious to all comforts. Though Vyas always sustained his family with all he had, he was detached from their day-to-day life. Extraordinary must have been the dogged resolution, the inner spiritual strength of this smiling avuncular-looking man. That he persevered unwaveringly in his musical tapas right at the very heart of the teeming metropolis, with its many colourful temptations and luring opportunities, speaks volumes on his inner resolve, and his powerful sense of mission.

Pt. Chintaman Raghunath Vyas` associations with kindred spirits like Pt. K.G. Ginde, who was his spiritual brother in many respects, Pt. Dinakar Kaikini and Pt. S.C.R. Bhatt expanded his musical horizons. The eternal student in him was drawn to Pt. Jaganathbua Purohit of Agra gharana. A major composer and teacher, Jaganathbua (also the creator of Raaga Jogkauns) penned several popular bandishes under the pen name, `Gunidas`. The relationship between the guru and the student was a deep and intense one - one that eventually catalysed Vyas` evolution into a finished artist. By the time he was into the fifth decade of his life, he was one of those rare singers who had mastered the music of three gharanas and had unified their best elements into his own approach. Vyas was also a composer par excellence. Many of his compositions are sung by several contemporary concert artists. For Vyas, like several great teachers belonging to the previous generation, held that a musician ought to learn several bandishes in the same raaga in order to master all its nuances.

The great strength of Vyas` music is its hard-won solidity, its unhurried expansiveness and its steadiness. All components of khayal gayaki have their place, unfolding as they do in time with dignity, ease and poise. Feelings, emotions, nuances come alive and take flight within the disciplined framework of form. One listening to his live double-album, brought out by Navras, with a keen ear can get a good picture of these qualities, His Mian ki Todi and Poorya contain all the virtues he has been praised for by many of his contemporaries as also lovers of music. Tonal purity and meticulous accuracy of notes give his performance the touch of the master classicist. As several noted contemporary performers have confessed, Vyas` music offers few excitements to the average listener, but it is a vast storehouse of ideas for the singer with an open ear and mind. For this very reason, he has been called the musician`s musician. His Shree, Gauri and Marwa, while not profound experiences, entice one with their accent on classicism.

Vyas` legacy continues through his many disciples, Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, though not a full-fledged disciple of his, learnt much from him. Prabhakar Karekar, his finest disciple, remembers his guru as one in the mould of the `rishis of yore`. Ganapathi Bhat, Suhas Vyas (his son), Kunda Weling and Sanjeev Chimmalgi are well-known names in the concert circuit. Yet his legacy is not confined to his disciples alone. Several contemporary musicians like Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Lalit Rao, Shubha Mudgal and the sarod player, Biswajeet Roychowdhry have picked up many a musical idea from him. Importantly, they recognized that Vyas belonged to the vanishing species of older gurus entrenched in the enduring philosophical values of classicism; as one who gave the best part of his life assimilating and perpetuating received legacies despite privation, poor receptivity, non-recognition and all the other wearisome odds the artistic world is so full of. The poise that he had is rarely achieved and rarely maintained to the very end in the world one inhabits. In this, among other things, he was a true hero of the inner spirit.