Kumar was born in Lakshmipura in the Bellary region of northern Karnataka. Kumar's late father Huleppa was a Janapada folk singer and leather puppeteer. In 1968, when he was 15 years old, Venkatesh was taken by his uncle Belagallu Veeranna to the Veereshwara Punyashrama in Gadag, run by the Veerashaiva saint and Hindustani musician Puttaraj Gawai. For the next 12 years, he lived at the ashram and learned Hindustani singing in the Gwalior and Kirana styles under Gawai. Kumar blends these styles in his presentations, though he admits to influences beyond these gharanas, chief among them being Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana. His guru was also trained in Carnatic music, and as a result, there are traces of Carnatic elements in Pandit Kumar's music, especially in his sargam patterns.
