Pandit Vishnu Govind Jog, better known as V. G. Jog (born in 1921 or 1922 in Satara district, Maharashtra, India; died 31 January 2004 in South Calcutta, India), was an Indian violinist. Vishnu Govind Jog received his early training from S C Athavale and Ganpat Rao Purohit. Subsequently, he was groomed by renowned musicians Visweswar Shastry and S C Ratanjankar and for a short time, from the celebrated Baba Allauddin Khan. He was the foremost exponent of the violin in the Hindustani music tradition in the 20th century, and is credited for introducing this instrument into Hindustani music.
Although the European instrument had long been championed in the related but disparate South Indian tradition, violin had found little favour or appreciation amongst musicians and rasikas in the north of the subcontinent. Pandit Jog ushered in a new era of musical appreciation of Hindustani- style violin and was unquestionably the `Violin Samrat` for all time to come.
Groomed in the Gwalior, Agra and Bakhle gharanas, Pandit Jog blended the three styles into a unified stream, resulting in a refreshing blend of gayaki-ang and tantrakari-ang that was both erudite and classical yet romantic and evocative. Pandit Jog's virtuosity, mastery of ragas and an uncanny realisation of space and time in the construction and knowledge of rhythm are his hallmarks. Jog was a disciple of Baba Allauddin Khan. He earned a master's degree in music from Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music in Lucknow in 1944 and went on to teach there. He also taught at the Ali Akbar College of Music.
Pt V.G. JOG Violin & Ut Shaik Dawood Tabla - Raag Ahir Bhairav
At a very young age, he rubbed shoulders with all time greats at the Bhatkhande College of Music, Lucknow, in the 1930s--the first great attempt at institutionalizing traditional music instruction.An unassuming person of infinite charm, he is also regarded as an incomparable accompanist. A few years later, Allauddin Khan agreed to perform a jugalbandi with the young Jog and was so impressed with his music that he gifted to him his own violin. His duets with Ustad Bismillah Khan have met with spectacular successes in India and abroad.
V. G. Jog - Raag Purvi
Pandit Jog performed in all the major concert stages of the world. The Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Madison Square Garden of New York were the venues of his scintillating performances. An unassuming person of infinite charm, he was also considered an incomparable accompanist. The list of legendary musicians who eagerly sought his accompaniment includes names like Faiyaz Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali, Omkar Nath Thakur, Amir Khan and Kesarbai Kerkar. He is gifted with the remarkable ability to sense the pulse and mood of his audiences, and has toured extensively both in India and abroad, significantly in East Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, France, the United States, and West Germany. In 1985, he performed to great acclaim under the auspices of the Festival of India in the United States.
In recognition of his contribution to Hindustani Classical Music, he had innumerable awards and honours conferred on him. Chief among these were the Padma Bhushan (1982), the Sangeet Natak Akademi award (1981), and the ITC award. Pandit Jog was associated with All India Radio (AIR), Kolkata and was also a distinguished Member of the Experts Committee of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.
Beginning in 1999, he suffered from Parkinson's disease, and also suffered from respiratory problems in his later years. After prolonged illness Pandit Jog died on Jan 31, 2004. Some of his famous disciples are Mr. Pallab Bandyopadhayay, Mr. Utpal Chakrabarty, Mr Subal Biswas and so on.
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