The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music training school, was set up in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in

Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872-1931), a renowned Hindustani classical musician, established the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at Lahore on 5 May 1901. This was a pioneering institution for systematic music education open to the general public, including women, breaking the traditional guru-shishya parampara monopoly. He later established branches in other cities including Bombay. Paluskar played a major role in giving Hindustani classical music a respectable place in society and bringing it out of the courts and into the public domain.