My first guru was my late father Shri Pargjibhai Joshi. Pragjibhai was an accomplished harmonium and dilruba player. He was a music teacher in a private school in Ghatkpoar Mumbai and was well known among his students for his insistence on adherence to fundamentals of music like swar, lay, taal, raag swaroop and fingers accuracy on the keyboard.

With both training and blessings from my father and guru Shri Pragjibhai, I was fortunate enough to get initiated at the age eight in the world of Indian Classical Music that helped me establish a life long bond which was to carry me to deeper and wider realms of Music.

Pandit Manohar Chimote (1929 -2012) was a prominent Samvadini player. It will not be an exaggeration to say that it was Pt. Manohar Chimote who laid the foundation of solo Harmonium - Samvadini vadan in the field of Hindustani Classical Music. He made it his life mission to elevate harmonium - an instrument of Western import - to a level of full fledged solo instrument on par with the sitar, the sarod, the flute and the santoor... He thus renamed Harmonium as Samvadini.

Pandit Manohar Chimote was born in Nagpur in an aristocratic family having a business in mining.The Chimote family was also prominent for holding kirtans and sangeet bhaithaks. However it was this latter tradition of the family that influenced a young Manohar more deeply and moulded him in to becoming what he later came to regarded by all and one as Pt. Manohar Chimote- Samvadini maestro.. Pt. Chimote received initial training form late Pandit Bhishmadev Vedi (1910-1984). He then migrated to Mumbai in mid forties and on the advise of Pt. Vedi got associated with late Guni gandharva Pt. Laxmaprasad Jaipurewale (1915-1977).

Simultaneously he also became a much sought after harmonium accompanist to all leading vocalists of the day like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Nazakat Ali & Salamat Ali. He also had a stint with the Hindi Film industry as a musician. However none of these activities could sustain his interest for long as his main interest lay in developing Harmonium as a solo instrument. So Pt. Chimote disengaged from these peripheral supporting activities and focused on Samvadini sadhana and made it his life mission.

Pt. Manohar Chimote was not only a prominent Samvadini player, but also an excellent vocalist, a hard tasking Guru, a serious thinker and researcher on various aspects of music, an original composer and an imprompto performer. He was equally well versed in both the genres of Music i.e classical as well as semi classical like the thumri and dadra and folk dhuns. He was running a musical academy called Samvadini Sangeetalay at Goregaon in Mumbai where he imparted sangeet vidya in guru shishya parampara to number of students. Pt. Manohar Chimote featured as a performing artist on platforms of many music circles all over India. He also featured in Jigalbandhi performances with UstadShahid Parvez (Sitar), Pt. Ronu Mazumdar (Flute) and Pt. Siddharth Parsvekar (Violin). Pt. Chimote was conferred with many sanmans and awards by music organisations and government bodies.. Prominent among them being Maharashtra Gaurav Purashkar in 1998.