History:
The story of the origin of 'Gayan Samaj Deval Club' is very interesting. It begins with the coming atogether of a group of music lovers, which gave birth to two different organizations, followed by their subsequent merger in the larger interest. Karveer Gayan Samaj established in 1883 and Deval Club in 1893 got amalgamated in 1946 and since then the trust is known as Gayan Samaj Deval Club. Gayan Samaj Deval Club is one of those distinguished organisations in the country, which has enjoyed the royal patronage in its budding stage. The visionary King of Kolhapur, Rajarshee Chhatrapati Shri Shahu Maharaja had a great love and affection towards the classical music, dance and drama. His patronage has been instrumental in stability of this organisation. Moreover, eminent artists of different generations have supported the club activities so as to reach to the status that it enjoys today.

​

Karveer Gayan Samaj:

Initially in 1883, Late Shri. Govindrao Deval, Chief Justice Vishwanathrao Gokhale and Police Officer Shri. Natu decided to spend their evenings in musical way, for which they decided to establish an organization, which was named as Karveer Gayan Samaj. Each time either a classical vocalist or an instrumentalist in the town was invited for presenting, his skills and the flavor of his art. Gradually, apart from the artists in Kolhapur, this trio started organizing concerts of even the visiting artists, for which they used to hire the rooms of then Rajaram College building. The monthly membership fees were 25 Paise only. The remuneration paid to the artists was whatever they could afford from the collection of membership fees; as the programs used to be free for all. Karveer Gayan Samaj was the originator for institutionalizing music education, as they started the 1st music class in Kolhapur in 1890. Despite many ups and downs, Shri. Mehendale and Shri. Limaye continued this activity till 1930.

​

Deval Club:

​

In 1893, Late Shri. Keshav Govind Alias Baba Deval, along with Late Visubhau Gokhale (Father of Shri. D. V.  Gokhale, Editor of the Daily Kesari from Pune) and Late Shri. Trimbakrao Datar came together and started organizing picnics, socials and dinner parties along with musical concerts and programs. Though this began in an informal way and was confined to only a small group of people; slowly its popularity spread around resulting in an increased attendance from public.

​

There was no formal  membership and the participants were sharing the actual expenses. Eventually people started calling these gatherings as Deval Club and that was how, the foundation of another legendary organization was laid. Meanwhile in 1895, Ustad Alladiya Khan saheb, the doyen of Jaipur Gharana, who had arrived in Kolhapur as a Special Court Singer, started attending these gatherings. Late Shri. Govindrao Tembe, a great musician, writer, actor, singer and an expert Harmonium player, was also a regular member of this group. They had hired the first floor of a residential building of Mr. Balwant Trimbak Luktuke, located behind the Laxmiprasad Theatre in Mangalwar Peth area. Many more musical personalities such as Shri. Balkrishnabuva Ichalkarangikar, Ramkrishnabuva Vaze, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan saheb, Bhaskarbuva Bakhale, Ustad Manji Khan and Bhurjikhan saheb, Bal Gandharva, Keshavrao Bhosale . followed them and slowly Deval Club became very popular.

​

Apart from these great musical personalities, the music lovers regularly attending included Narhar Ramchandra Joshi (Later shifted to Indore), Narayan Apte, Rambhau Vajramushti, Rajarambapu Vankudre (Father of V. Shantaram), Kashinathrao Bodas, Haribhau Taralekar, Venkatrao Managavkar, Vasudevrao Gabale, Vasunana Nagavkar, Bhausaheb Limaye, Mehendale, Baburao Ruikar, Shri. Krishnarao Bawadekar and many more. Most of them were also the members of earlier founded Karveer Gayan Samaj.

Apart from arranging musical programs, Deval Club also took up the task of musical education and after having its own premises in 1921, started a music school, which was looked after initially by Shri. Keshavbuva Gogate & Shri. Apayyabuva, and later on by Shri. Gundopant Walawalkar, Shri. Devasthali and Shri. Hawaldar. Both Karveer Gayan Samaj and Deval Club were working for the same cause of promoting mainly the Indian Classical Music. Majority of the members were also common. Naturally, a thought of putting an end to the existence of the two different entities was slowly and strongly developimg. Eventually in 1946, both the institutes amalgamated under the existing name, i.e. Gayan Samaj Deval Club. Later on in 1987, another historic institution namely 'Karveer Natya Mandal' also decided to end up its separate existence and got merged into Gayan Samaj Deval Club.

​

Patronage of Shri.Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaja

​

Both Karveer Gayan Samaj and Deval Club started their activities out of pure love towards Hindusthani Classical music. Neither of them had any formal establishment nor the funds so as to have their own premises. Naturally, all the early activities were being arranged in either of the member's residence or in a rented hall. Many of the concerts were held in a hall of the Rajaram College. Since regular attendance had substantially increased, a residential hall on the first floor of the building owned by Mr. Luktuke, situated behind the Laxmiprasad Theatre in Mangalwar Peth, was taken on rent on a regular basis. That was the time when the great musical personalities such as Govindraoji Tembe, Ustad Alladiya Khan saheb,

Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale, Bal Gandharv, Keshavrao Bhosale and many others became regular visitors, who attended every function religiously. Eventually all their admirers and followers followed suit and the popularity of this Club started spreading across the country.

No wonder, this group started feeling a need for their own building, where they could independently continue their activities. For the purpose, with a view of collecting funds, they produced a few theatrical plays; including mainly 'Vinod', a comedy authored by Shri. Madhavrao Joshi. The actors in this comedy included V. Shantaram, Bhalji Pendharkar and Baburao Pendharkar, who later on became great personalities of Indian Cinema. Rajarshi Shri. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaja was in the audience for one of the shows and was very much impressed by their performance. Understanding the need of the club and considering its achievements in past, he donated to the club, a piece of land and an amount of Rs. 3000/- as donation and additional Rs. 3000/- as loan, for the construction of club building. He did this in the memory of Shri. Govind Ballal Deval, his resident tutor and the author of Sharada, Manapaman and SanshayKallol, the great Marathi musical classics. Deval had passed away in 1916. Following the footsteps of Rajarshi Shri Shahu, many renowned musical personalities and admirers of arts, donated generously for the club building, which was completed and inaugurated by Shri. Shahu Maharaja in 1919.

​

This building has witnessed the golden era of the development and popularity of the traditional classical performing arts. All the renowned artists of the time have resided and performed their skills in front of the highly appreciative crowd of Kolhapur. Now with the passage of time and changing needs of the city, this historical building has been reshaped to facilitate the road widening work. Simultaneously, the club has taken up construction of a modern multipurpose cultural complex, suitable for the modern times, so as to give a fillip to the ongoing activities. Nevertheless, the institute is planning to reconstruct this heritage building in the memory of Shri. Govind Ballal Deval, as also of Rajarshi Shri. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaja for his unforgettable contribution and patronage for Classical music, Dance and Drama.

​

Cultural Heritage of Kolhapur:

​

Indian culture has a glorious tradition in various art forms. Indian epics,architecture and sculpture, with a history of thousands of years, speak volumes for the deep setting of art in the minds of the ancient Indians. The origins of Indian classical music can be traced back to the Vedic period, to 'Sam Veda' in particular. A significant achievement of this period was the theorization of these art forms. Bharata's 'Natya Shastra' of this period speaks in depth about the aesthetics of Indian Classical Dance and Drama. The 'Rasa Siddhanta' in this work, is relevant even today, as a valid and inspiring concept.

This was followed by the creativity of generations of artists, which took this heritage to greater heights. The uniqueness of Indian classical art forms, acknowledged from time to time, lies in its relationship with nature and its potential of crossing the material boundaries, thereby achieving spiritual enlightenment.
From ancient times, the Indian Emperors have consciously supported and nurtured the art practices. This tradition
continued even during the Mughal regime. Tansen, a great musician and vocalist, belongs to the same era. Further,
even under the British rule, rulers of some states: Jaipur, Agra, Gwalior, Benaras, Baroda, Mysore. etc., were keen
about preserving this heritage. In the recent past i.e. during the last 150 years, under the leadership of Shri Shahu
Maharaja, Kolhapur has acquired a leading place for itself, on the national scene.

Kolhapur is a sprightly little town with an impressive historic background, located at the meeting point of the coastal
th Konkan and the plains of Deccan. It is also known as 'Kalapur' i.e. 'The city of arts'. At the end of the 19 century, His
Highness Shri Shahu Maharaja became the ruler of Kolhapur. He was a great visionary reformist, and happens to be
the architect of modern Kolhapur. On the one hand, for sound economy, he decided to help agriculture and to achieve
this objective; he constructed the 'Radhanagari Dam' and established the famous 'Jaggery Market' of Kolhapur. He
promoted education for all classes of the society and was keen on the development of the weaker section. Kolhapur,
which was till then recognized as a holy place because of the famous Shri Mahalaxmi Temple, was soon recognized
as a progressive state of the country. 

​

While fighting for social justice and heralding social reforms, he was also conscious about preserving the country's
cultural heritage. He also established various institutions to promote sports and culture. He constructed the famous
'Khasbag Wrestling Arena' to promote Indian style Wrestling and constructed the 'Palace Theatre' to encourage
performing arts. What is more, in the very second year of his Coronation, he invited the classical vocal music doyen,
Ustad Alladiya Khan to Kolhapur and appointed him as the Court Singer. Motivated by the Maharaja, several
luminaries in Music, Drama, Fine Arts, Sculpture and even Film, who later won universal acclaim, emerged in this
ethos. The list includes Baburao Painter, V. Shantaram, Bhalji Pendharkar, Baburao Pendharkar, Abalal Rehman, G.
Wadangekar, Baba Gajbar, Ustad Alladiya Khan, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar,
Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze, Keshavrao Bhosale, Govindrao Tembe, and Bal Gandharva, to mention a few. Gayan
Samaj Deval Club, dedicated to the preservation and propagation of the heritage of Indian Classical Music, Dance
and Drama, came into existence in this period. The Club was then patronised by His Highness Shri Shahu Maharaja
and is amongst the very few centurion institutes of the kind.