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Bhimsen rewarded for thirst for music

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

NEW DELHI/PUNE: Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, who is credited with leading the renaissance of Indian classical music with the passion and power of a one-man chorus, is only the sixth person from the art and culture fraternity to get the Bharat Ratna award. Acknowledged as the leading light of the ‘Kirana gharana’ (stream), Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi, 86, through his amazing absorption of the soul of various ‘gayaki’ styles, created a unique blend adding his own introspective aesthetic sense in an epic saga of struggle and single-pointed thirst for music.

A happy Bhimsen, on being told by his son Srinivas that he has bagged the country’s highest civilian award, said in Pune, “I accept this honour on behalf of all Hindustani vocalists down the centuries who have dedicated their life to music.” Although a Kannadiga by birth, the legendary vocalist is settled in Pune for more than half a century. – PTI

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