Asha Bhosle pays her last respects to Pandit Jasraj

Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj ji breathed his last today evening. Born in 1930 Pandit Jasraj in a career spanning half a century, he has emerged as a major force in classical singing. Jasraj was initiated into vocal music by his father, and later trained as a tabla  accompanist under his elder brother, Pandit Pratap Narayan. He would frequently accompany Maniram in his solo vocal performances. He credits the vocalist, Begum Akhtar, as inspiring him to take up classical music. Jasraj had sung Khayals with some flexibility, adding elements of lighter styles, including the thumri. During the initial stages of his career, he was criticised for incorporating elements from other schools of music, or gharanas, into his singing.

In addition to performing classical music, Jasraj had worked to popularise semi-classical musical styles, such as Haveli Sangeet, which involves semi-classical performances in temples. He had also sung classical and semi-classical compositions for film soundtracks, such as the song, ‘Vandana Karo’, composed in the raga Ahir Bhairav by the composer Vasant Desai, for the film Ladki Sahyadri Ki a duet with vocalist Bhimsen Joshi for the soundtrack of the film Birbal My Brother and a ballad, Vaada Tumse Hai Vaada for a horror film titled 1920 directed by Vikram Bhatt.

Pandit Jasraj always had familial relations with Mangeshkar family. Mangesh family’s prominent member Asha Bhosle paid her condolences to Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj ji, “I am deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of Pandit Jasraj ji… I have lost someone who was extremely fond of me, I have lost a big brother indeed! _Sangeet ka sooraj doob gaya!_ He was a vocalist par excellence and I knew him for so long… even before his marriage to V Shantaram’s daughter. He used to praise me a lot and he always used to say “_Main tujhe gaana sikhaunga!”

Back in the day, when I had visited his classical school in the US, where he used to teach music to so many aspiring talents, I remember how I had wanted to enrol myself into his school because he was that good! On that same trip, we’d gone out for dinner, and Jasraj ji, who was a staunch vegetarian, kept requesting me to also turn vegetarian for health reasons.

I will always remember his childlike demeanor.

May his soul rest in peace!”

We at Cine Buster pay condolences to the family of departed soul.