Bhimsen Joshi Passes Away Pandit Bhimsen Joshi dead

posted by Shwetha M R on 3:11 PM | Permalink >> 0 Comments

Veteran vocalist and Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away this morning at Pune's Sahyandri Hospital 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.

He was honoured with the country's highest civilian awards like the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Maharashtra Bhushan, Karnataka Ratna and Bharat Ratna.

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'.

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".

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