Hubballi: The notes from his flutes can be heard in as many as 120 countries but thirty-seven-year-old Ramesh Bakale from Gadag is yet to see his biggest dream fulfilled- a music education society and a flute carving art gallery in Gadag, his hometown for which he requires government help.
Coming from the land of music stalwarts like Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Panchakshari and Puttaraj Gawai, Mr Bakale makes around 600 flutes every month. Earlier, he used to play flutes at various programmes and started making musical instruments on his own in the last one decade.
He makes as many as 36 types of flutes depending on their size and quality. He has already approached several elected representatives seeking funds to set up a music institution styled like a gurukul to provide training in playing the flute.
“There are only two flute training institutes in Bhuvaneshwar and Mumbai running on the gurukul model. We do not have an institute in Karnataka through there are many flute experts. Therefore, I am trying to draw the attention of the government to the need for an institute.
“We will provide a detailed proposal to our district in-charge minister H.K. Patil including the basic infrastructure we need”, he said. He has supplied flutes to renowned musicians including Praveen Godkhindi and the musical team of Bollywood music director A.R. Rehman.
