New Delhi: World-renowned Indian musician and Hindustani music legend Pandit Jasraj, 90, has passed away. He died at 2.45 pm yesterday following a heart attack in New Jersey, USA.
With a musical career spanning over 80 years, Pandit Jasraj was awarded honors such as Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.
His wife is Madhura, daughter of renowned Hindi film director V. Shantaram. The physical body may be brought to India.
He is the daughter of a Hindustani musician, dancer, mini screen actress, and producer Durga Jasraj and the son of Bollywood music director Sarang Dev Pandit. Musicians Pandit Maniram and Pandit Pratap Narayan, actress and singer Sulakshna Pandit, and actress Vijeta Pandit are brothers. And the famous music couple Jatin Pandit and Jitin Pandit is nephews.
The curtain fell on an eight-decade-long musical journey of a unique talent with a large following and a large following in India and abroad.
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union named a small planet between Mars and Jupiter ‘Pandit Jasraj’ in 2006. In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his demise had created a huge gap in Indian culture.
He was born in 1930 in Hisar, Haryana to a middle-class Brahmin family, the son of singer Pandit Moitram. Gurus were father and brother Maniram.
The started his artistic life from Tabla. Gradually he switched to Hindustani music. The first concert was held at the age of 22 in the court of King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. The king donated 5,000 gold coins. The traditional Mewati Gharana is notable for its simple and enjoyable Tumri styles designed for Khayal.
Jugalbandi, in which the singer sings two tunes simultaneously on stage, is his contribution to the world of Indian music. He also sang semi-classical songs for movies.
He shared the stage with the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, and Tenor Luciano Power. Ramesh Narayanan is a Malayalee and has a large following of famous Indian singers including Sadhana Sargam, Anuradha Poudhwal, Kala Ramnath, Trupthi Mukherjee, and Suman Ghosh.
