So read a headline recently opened on the website, a magazine of Indian English, above, a tribute to vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Mr. Joshi, who died on January 24, at 88, has been for decades one of the most venerable singers in the world of Indian classical music. Death in a hospital in Pune, India, Central West, was announced by hospital officials, The Associated Press reported.
After the announcement, according to many articles in the Indian media news, thousands of people packed the House of Mr. Joshi in Pune to pay their respects. He was accorded a State funeral with a 21-gun salute and dignitaries.
Mr. Joshi (pronounced JOE-shee) was familiar to a wide audience in South Asia through his live concerts, performances and many recordings on Indian film soundtracks. He also toured Europe, Canada, United States and elsewhere; its commitments in New York included an appearance at the Town Hall in 1982.
An artist in North Indian Hindustani, or musical tradition, Mr. Joshi was known as a master of khayal, a kind of vocal music concert. Khayals, whose lyrics can vary on such topics as the divinity, the seasons and love, are sometimes compared to lieder Western for their appearance in concert settings.
Khayals are sung in the traditional melodic mode known as ragas. Unlike lieder, are highly improvisatory, asking the great art of vocalist, that manipulates a song melody, rhythm and time each time it is sung. The result is a rendition in rigorous but imaginative original lyrics that could unspool up to 50 minutes.
In terms of performance Mr. Joshi was said to have a galvanizing effect on his audience. He had a formidable technique and voice resonance, negotiating with ease melodic tracks that are virtuous a significant component of improvisation khayal.
He enriched his singing head, hands and physical gestures that gathered speed with music.
"He was known for his musical creativity; just sort of flowed over him, "Bonnie c. Wade, a Professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley and an authority on khayal, said in an interview. "He could sing very fast, which had a good sense of time and was really nice to hear."
Mr. Joshi was also known for its breadth of music. He was closely associated with tradition Kirana khayal singing, which highlights the fluidity of the melody. But he also freely by many other vocal styles India. Consequently, according to news accounts over the years, his concerts had a pluralistic appeal that could transcend ethnic, linguistic, religious and class lines.
One of about 16 children of a Brahmin, teacher of Bhimsen Joshi was born in February 1922 in what is now southern Karnataka State, India. ("Pandit", hence the English word pundit, is an honorary title that denotes great learning or mastery).
Fascinated by the music as a child, he left home very soon — 11, many accounts — to wander the country in search of a guru who has taught him to sing.
His father finally found him and took him home, but over time the young Mr. Joshi apprentice itself to a series of Indian classical masters of song. He made his first recording as a young man and the early 1940s was regularly heard on the radio in Bombay, now Mumbai.
In 2008 he received the Bharat Ratna, highest civilian honor bestowed in the India.
Mr. Joshi by all accounts was a man of appetites, lovers of food and fast cars; He was also widely reported they struggled with alcoholism in the past.
Married twice; the survivors include four children from his first wife and three from his second.
In an interview, quoted in the English magazine India abroad in 1997, Mr. Joshi explained his eclectic approach to his art.
"For a few years after learning music, did not sing, I only listened to; I've heard a lot of different types of music, "he said. "This is a teaching that is as important as the practice of music". He added:
"The singer has to be a great thief. By each person take the best to create your own style ".
