Malti Pandey

Popular bhavgeet and playback singer Malti Pandey was born on 19 April, 1930 in Poona. She had an affinity for music from childhood. Singing on AIR Poona at age 15, she went on to do her PhD in Music. Excelling in classical and Marathi songs, as well as bhavgeet, she also rendered playback for films. Her songs feature in the Hindi films Seeta Swayamvar (1948), Maya Bazar (1949), Shrikrishna Satyabhama (1951), Shri Vishnu Bhagwan (1951), and Malati Madhav (1955). Stree Janma Hi Tujhi Kahani (1952), Lakhachi Gosht (1952), and Vithalpai (1953) are among the Marathi films she rendered playback for. Her lullaby Kunihi paay naka vajavoo was a favourite, as was Tya tithe, palikade, tikde, maziya priyeche zopde. Malti Pandey passed away in 1997. 

Malti Pandey received her training in music from several teachers like Bhaskarrao Ghodke, Trivedi Master, Vilayat Hussain Khan, Vinayak Buwa Patwardhan, Bholanath Ghatt and also her husband Pandit Padmakar Barve. At the age of 15 years, she was invited to sing on A.I.R. Poona. She went on to do her PhD in Music.

Malti was introduced to playback singing by music director Sudhir Phadke, who invited her to Prabhat Studios to audition for the songs of the Marathi version of Aagey Badho (1947). Her first lori or lullaby was Kunihi paay naka vajavoo with singer and music director Gajanan Watve and poet Shrinivas Kharkar. While many singers and music directors went on to record lullabies, this particular lullaby rendered by Malti remains one of the most fondly remembered by Marathi listeners.

She went on to sing many Marathi songs under the music direction of Gajanan Watve, Sudhir Phadke, Ram Phatak, Shrinivas Khale, Datta Dawjekar, and Madhukar Pathak. She also rendered playback for Hindi films, singing approximately 15 songs under the music direction of K Bhole, Avinash Vyas, and Sudhir Phadke. 

While she sang very few Hindi songs, Pandey was most famous for her Bhavgeet in the 50s among Marathi listeners in India and across the world. Also a classical singer and popular for her Marathi songs, she was more comfortable in the realm of Marathi music. 

On the personal front, she was married to classical singer Pandit Padmakar Barve. Their son Rajiv Barve is a singer, while daughter Priyanka Barve has also sung for Marathi and Hindi films. 
Malti Pandey passed away on 27 December, 1997.