Music Lovers Mourn Kishori Amonkar’s Death   

Mumbai: Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar, who was cremated on Tuesday with full state honours a day after she died, was hailed by the music and political fraternity as an extraordinary singer whose soulful renditions will live on forever.

Amonkar, 84 , died here last night after a brief illness. Those who attended the cremation at the Dadar crematorium included Maharashtra cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde, santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, musician Abhijit Pohankar, actor Vikram Gokhale, acclaimed percussionist Taufiq Qureshi and noted playback singer Suresh Wadkar. Singer Mahesh Kale and theatre and film director Vijaya Mehta also paid their tributes to Amonkar, whose body was draped in the national tricolour before the cremation. Amonkar's eldest son Nihar lit the funeral pyre.

Amonkar's body was kept at the Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi area to enable people to pay their last respects and was then taken to Dadar crematorium for the last rites. Paying his tributes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the demise of Amonkar is an irreparable loss to Indian classical music. "Deeply pained by her demise. May her soul rest in peace. The works of Kishori Amonkar will always remain popular among people for years to come," he tweeted.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi said the country has lost the most prominent exponent of Jaipur Gharana. Extending her condolences to her family and admirers, the Congress chief said that "Kishori ji will continue to live amongst us through her vast repertoire of Khayal, Thumri and Bhajans". Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that Hindustani classical music has lost a legend. "A rare and extraordinary talent, her voice will remain with us always," he said on twitter.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also conveyed her condolences to the family members of the singer. "Let me express deep regret over the death of legendary classical musician Kishori Amonkar...Her death has caused immense loss to the world of Hindustani classical music," Banerjee said in a message. Renowned playback singer Lata Mangeshkar called Amonkar an extraordinary singer. "...Wo ek asaadharan gayika thi. Unke jaane se shastriya sangeet jagat ki bahut haani hui hai.(She was an extraordinary singer. With her passing away, the world of classical music has suffered a great loss."

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, in their condolence messages, described Amonkar as a doyen of classical music.

Born on April 10, 1932 in Mumbai, Amonkar was recognised as one of the foremost singers in the Hindustani tradition and as an innovative exponent of the Jaipur gharana. Amonkar's mother was well-known vocalist Mogubai Kurdikar, who trained under Alladiya Khan Saheb, the doyen of the Jaipur gharana. While learning the finer points and techniques of the Jaipur gharana from her mother, Amonkar also developed her own personal style, which reflected the influence of other gharanas and was generally regarded as an individual variant of the Jaipur tradition. Amonkar cultivated a deep understanding of her art, largely through extensive study of the ancient texts on music, and her repertoire was grand in its sweep.

As she prioritised the expression of emotion in her music, she frequently departed from the gharana's conventions of rhythm, ornamentation and broader musical structure in order to intensify the impact of the music. Besides being a renowned musician, Amonkar was a popular speaker. She travelled throughout India giving lectures, most notably on the theory of 'rasa' in music.

In recognition of her contribution to the arts, Amonkar, who is survived by two sons, received many awards, including the Padma Bhushan (1987) and the Padma Vibhushan (2002), two of India's top civilian honours. In 2010, she became a fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy of music, arts and dance.