HT This Day: November 5, 2008 — Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Born on February 4, 1922 at Gadag in the state of Karnataka, he is also the recipient of Padma Vibhushan (1999), Padma Bhushan (1985) and Padma Shri (1972)

New Delhi: Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.

HT This Day: November 5, 2008 — Bharat Ratna for Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (HT)

“The President is pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said on Tuesday.

Born on February 4, 1922 at Gadag in the state of Karnataka, he is also the recipient of Padma Vibhushan (1999), Padma Bhushan (1985) and Padma Shri (1972).

A descendant of ‘Kirana Gharana (stream)’, Bhimsen Joshi is known for khayal form of singing and also for his bhajans. His first live performance was at the age of 19 and his debut album, containing a few devotional songs in Kannada and Hindi, was released a year later.

At 11, he left his home to learn singing through the guru-shishya tradition and spent three years in Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur trying to find a good guru. In 1936, Rambhau Kundgolkar, popularly known as Sawai Gandharva, agreed to be his guru.

The Bharat Ratna had not been conferred on anyone since 2001, when it was jointly awarded to Lata Mangeshkar and Ustad Bismillah Khan. Several names, including those of former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chandra Shekhar and Charan Singh, had been proposed for the award. BJP prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani had proposed Vajpayee’s name.