Bal Gandharva (1888-1967), who reigned supreme in the world of the Marathi musical drama for almost half a century, was born as Narayan Shripad Rajhans in a middle-class Brahmin family. Endowed with a melodious voice and handsome looks, Bal Gandharva joined the Kirloskar Natak Mandali at the age of 17 to sing and play the female role in the Marthi version of the old Sanskrit classic, Shakuntal. In Mandali, and staged a wide variety of plays which included the old classics and the new contemporary themes. With advancing age, he took to giving extempore recitals of devotional and popular stage songs. Official recognition came to this unanimously acclaimed 'Nat samrat' after 1944, when he was elected president of the Marathi Natya Shatabadi Sammelan. In 1955 he was given the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award and in 1964 he was awarded the Padma Bushan. Incapacitated by paralysis since 1952, this uncrowned monarch of Marathi musical theatre died at the age of 79, in distress and penury.