Doyen of Hindustani classical music Pandit Bhimsen Joshi dead

Legendary Hindustani vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, whose powerful and penetrating voice transcended the mundane and transported his audience into the sublime, died in a city hospital here today after a prolonged illness.

He was 89.

Joshi had been put on life support system following old age-related ailments leading to kidney and respiratory failure after his admission to a hospital on December 31, his family said. He leaves behind three sons and a daughter.

A recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, Joshi was the most-celebrated exponent of 'Kirana gharana' of Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan.

A pall of gloom descended on the city as the news of his demise spread with people making a beeline to his residence to pay their last respects to the singer who was the most powerful figure on the Hindustani music concert platform of 'khayal gayki'.

Condoling the passing away of the maestro, President Pratibha Patil said, "In his death, the country has lost a great personality who was an exponent of vocal music."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his death was a national loss. "I am sad to learn about the passing away of Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. It is a national loss," Singh said in a condolence message.

Observing that Panditji was among the greatest musicians, the prime minister said, "Millions and millions of music lovers all over the world enjoyed and will continue to enjoy his music genius."

Noted Hindustani classical singer Pandit Jasraj said he was shocked and saddened at the news of Panditji's death in the early hours. "This is sunset at sunrise," he said.

"He did not belong to any particular gharana, but to the entire Hindustani music world. Joshi had held music lovers spell bound over the last several decades," Jasraj said.

Carnatic music exponent M Balamuralikrishan, who had sung jugalbandis with Joshi, said, "It is a great loss for Indian music not just for Hindustani music. I had the opportunity to sing along with him. He was like my elder brother. It is a personal loss".

Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma told PTI that more than four generations of music lovers had heard Pandit Bhimsenji. "He was like a collossus. My association with him goes back to half a century. I have so many sweet memories of our travel and performance together."

Born on February 4, 1922 at Gadag in Dharwad district of Karnataka, Joshi got a boost to his career during a concert in Pune in January 1946 on the occasion of the 60th birthday of his guru Sawai Gandharva.

What distinguished him from the ordinary was his powerful voice, amazing breath control, fine musical sensibility and unwavering grasp of the fundamentals that made him the supreme Hindustani vocalist, representing a subtle fusion of intelligence and passion that imparted life and excitement to his music.

The last rites of Joshi would be performed in the evening, family sources said.

In the forays Joshi made outside the classical fold, he lent his voice as a "dhrupad" singer for a Bengali film based on the life of Tansen and later sang as a playback singer for Marathi film "Gulacha Ganapati", produced and directed by celebrated Marathi humorist "Pu La" Deshpande in addition to Hindi movies "Basant Bahar" and "Bhairavi".

But it was his 'Sant Vani' recitals, which bore the flair of Marathi 'Bhakti Sangeet' that added immensely to his popularity in both Maharashtra and Karnataka which have had a long succession of saint-poets.

He was honoured with the Padma Shri (1972), Sangeet Natak Akademi award for Hindustani vocal music (1975), Padma Bhushan (1985) and Madhya Pradesh government's "Tansen Samman" in 1992. Bharat Ratna was bestowed on him in 2008.

Joshi had undergone a surgery for removal of a brain tumor in 1999 followed by a cervical spine operation in 2005.

The maestro's last surprise public performance that regaled the audience was during 2007 'Sawai Gandharva' annual music festival which he himself had started to commemorate the memory of his guru.