MUMBAI: A lawyer by profession, and a veteran Khayal music exponent, Dr Chandrashekhar  Rele passed away today in Mumbai. He was 82.

Dr. Rele was a teacher, composer and a singer who studied vocal music with the legendary Kumar Gandharva. He took up music after his retirement from active law practice and devoted himself to composing music in the Khayal and teaching disciples in Mumbai.

Dr. Rele also studied under the guidance of the well-known musicologist Prof. B.R. Deodhar, and imbibed Prof. Deodhar's encyclopedic knowledge of Raga Sangeet. As far as his associating with Kumar Gandharva goes, Dr. Rele is considered as an as an authority on Kumar Gandharva's musical style. In his recent book, Kumar Majhaa Sakhaa Dr.Rele mentions about their musical association.

Apart from Kumar Maajhaa Sakhaa, Dr. Rele has also authored an extremely significant work on Raga Sangeet, entitled 'Svara Pravaaha'. He developed a new conceptual analysis of ragas based on movements (pravahas) and their interplay, challenging the orthodox system for classifying ragas in terms of scales.