Swami Harballabh was a Hindustani classical vocalist and a saint. [1] In 1875, he established the first Hindustani classical music festival in the world, known as Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan. [2]
He was born to an affluent family at a village in Bajwara. He was a student of Swami Tulja Gir, who encouraged him to practice art and music. [2]
Although Baba Harballabh came from a long line of saints who sang devotional songs, he went on to formal training under Pandit Duni Chand of Ujahan (now in Sialkot district) and maintained the guru-shishya parampara at Devi Talab, where scores of disciples learned the art from him and other masters. [3]
Swami Harballabh had many disciples, and he attempted to instill a love of music in them. The place where Swami Hariballabh used to sing became a Kashi for musicians and players of classical music. [2] [3]
Baba Harballabh also translated Raag Darpan and wrote Sangeet Dapran. [3]
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