Gandhi family had special regard for Bhimsen Joshi: Sonia

NEW DELHI - Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday expressed her heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and said the Gandhi family always had a very special regard for the music legend.

In a letter to his son Srinivas Joshi, Gandhi said Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was the doyen of Indian classical music and a living legend in his lifetime.

My family always had a very special regard for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and cherished him as a great musician, a fine human being and a wonderful ambassador of Indian culture. I join his huge circle of admirers and friends in paying tribute to him. We will always remember him with gratitude for all the ways in which he enriched our cultural life, she said.

Gandhi said she was deeply saddened to learn of his passing away. “His passing away is an irreplacable loss to the world of music and to India’s music tradition.”

“Pandit Bhimsen Joshi embodied the very pinnacle of our great classical music tradition. All those who were priviliged to hear him singing never forgot the magic of that experience which stirred and uplifted the soul. His great musical genius was a reflection of his own deep spirituality, his profound understanding of human nature, as well as his brilliant virtuosity,” Gandhi said.

She said his voice will live on forever, through his recordings, through his school and through his many disciples to whom he gave of himself with utmost generosity and dedication.

Joshi, 88, died of old age related ailments Monday morning at a hospital in Pune.