Pt Bhimsen Joshi's funeral held with all state honours
Indian
oi-Shekhar Hooli
By By: Shekhar H Hooli
The
funeral
of
Pandit
Bhimsen
Gururaj
Joshi,
who
died
of
prolonged
illness,
was
held
with
all
state
honours
at
Vaikunth
Crematorium
in
Pune
yesterday
evening.
Amidst
thousand
of
his
tearful
fans
and
friends,
the
notes
of
'Mile
Sur
Mera
Tumhara...'
floated
in
the
air.
As
a
mark
of
respect,
buglers
played
the
last
post
followed
by
ceremonial
gun
salute
to
the
Hindustani
vocalist.
Before
this,
Bhimsen
Joshi
body
was
kept
at
his
residence
'Kalashree'
for
public
to
pay
the
last
respect
to
the
titan
of
classical
music
world.
Many
fans
and
friends
made
a
beeline
to
pay
homage
to
the
maestro.
Several
dignitaries
like
Maharashtra
Chief
Minister
Prithviraj
Chavan
and
the
Union
Minister
for
External
Affairs,
SM
Krishna,
Karnataka
Chief
Minister
BS
Yeddyurappa
and
former
RSS
chief
KS
Sudarshan
also
paid
tribute
to
the
departed
soul
of
Joshi.
Later,
Bhimsen
Joshi's
mortal
remains
were
taken
to
the
Vaikunth
Crematorium.
As
his
last
journey
started
from
his
residence,
his
bhajans
and
songs
were
played
along
the
way.
Listening
to
the
powerful
voice
that
enthralled
thousands
of
music
lovers
across
the
country
for
decades,
his
admirers
shed
tears
silently.
Bhimsenji's
elder
son
Raghavendra
performed
the
last
rites
at
the
electric
crematorium.
However,
Pandit
Bhimsen
Joshi
died
at
8:00
am
at
Sahyadri
Super
Speciality
Hospital
in
Pune
on
24th
January.
The
Bharath
Ratna
award
winner
was
suffering
from
multiple
organ
failure
i.e.
urinary
infection,
respiratory,
intestines
and
kidney
problems
and
was
recently
admitted
to
the
ICU.
The
Hindustani
music
exponent
breathed
his
last
in
the
hospital,
while
the
doctors
were
struggling
to
revive
his
deteriorating
health.