Shri Ramanlal Chhotalal Mehta
was born in 1918 in Surat in
Gujarat. He received his initial
training in Hindustani music
under Kanchalal Mamawala and
was later a student of Ustad
Abdul Waheed Khan of the
Kirana gharana.
Over a career in music
spanning more than six
decades, he has acquired high
distinction as a musicologist,
academician and teacher. After
serving All India Radio for nine
years, he joined the Maharaja
Sayajirao University of Baroda
in 1954 as Principal of its College
of Indian Music, Dance and
Dramatics, and served in that
position up to 1978. In 1970 he
established the Indian
Musicological Society in Baroda
which besides publishing a
scholarly journal - the Journal
of the Musicological Society —
has brought out a large number
of books by leading Indian and
foreign scholars. Shri Mehta
himself has authored several
books in Gujarati, Hindi and
English on various aspects of
music, and edited some twenty
publications published by the
Indian Musicological Society.
These include Psychology of
Music, Music and Mythology,
Thumri — Tradition and Trends,
and Compositions in Indian
music.
For his service to music, Shri
Mehta has been honoured with
an honorary doctorate
conferred by the Akhil Bharatiya
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in
1967. His service in music has
been recognized by several
leading institutions. He received
the State Award for music from
the Government of Gujarat in
1978. In 1983, the Ministry of
Education and Culture,
Government of India, gave him
an Emeritus Fellowship.
Recently, he has been
conferred the Padma Bhushan
(2009).
For his outstanding
contribution to Indian music,
Shri R.C. Mehta is elected Fellow
of Sangeet Natak Akademi.