2024: A Tragic Year for Indian Classical Music

The beats stopped suddenly, voices ceased flowing, and eulogies flooded social media. Even as musicians and fans try to come to terms with the news of tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain’s demise on December 15, they remember many other artists from the classical and lighter forms who passed away in 2024. Indeed, this has been a truly sad year, with the loss of some remarkable musicians like vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan, sarangi maestro Pt Ram Narayan, ghazal star Pankaj Udhas, sarod exponent Ustad Aashish Khan, vocalist Prabha Atre and Carnatic singer K.G. Jayan, to name some.

As the year began, people were paying tribute to pakhawaj expert Pt Bhawani Shankar, who had passed away following a cardiac arrest on December 30, 2023. The percussionist had regularly played with flautist Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia and santoor monarch Pt Shivkumar Sharma, besides many interactions with Zakir Hussain and Pt Anindo Chatterjee on tabla. He had a following of his own, and his death came as a shock to fans. At the same time, Carnatic aficionados were mourning the demise on December 31 of senior vocalist O.S. Thiagarajan.

Just 10 days later, on January 9, 2024, popular Hindustani classical vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan breathed his last. A maestro from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, he initially learnt from his maternal grand-uncle Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan and later studied at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata. He was known for his meticulous exploration of ragas, even earning the admiration of the legendary Pt Bhimsen Joshi, who invited him for a jugalbandi (duet) performance. The singer is often associated with the song “Aaoge Jab Tum” from the 2007 Hindi film Jab We Met.

Rashid Khan died young, at 55, suffering from prostate cancer. He was one singer who not only created an impact on the older generation but on young listeners, too. In fact, many upcoming singers looked upon him as a role model, as they enjoyed his renditions of ragas Puriya Dhanashri, Durga, Marwa and Madhuwanti. He balanced classical music and other forms like film music, Kabir bhajans and Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali poetry.

Very soon after, on January 13, the great Kirana gharana singer Prabha Atre passed away in Pune at the age of 91. She was to perform the following day at the Gaanprabha Hridayesh festival in Vile Parle, Mumbai, indicating she was active until the end.

Atre was one of those personalities who could be described as a ‘complete musician’. Besides being a much-admired performing artist, she was respected for her roles as a guru, composer, researcher, scholar, thinker, author, and concert organiser. A contemporary of vocalist Kishori Amonkar, she greatly influenced the next generation of female vocalists.

Another renowned singer passed away in February, and he belonged to the world of ghazals. Pankaj Udhas drew packed halls wherever he went, with the audience singing along to “Chitthi Aayi Hai” from the 1986 Hindi film Naam. He had a huge catalog of popular ghazals and geets, including “Chandi Jaisa Rang,” “Ghungroo Toot Gaye” and “Aur Ahista Keejiye Baatein.” Udhas was at the forefront of the 1980s ghazal wave, which took the genre to the masses, and spearheaded the Khazana festival at the Trident Hotel in Nariman Point, Mumbai, to raise funds for cancer and thalassemia patients. He was 72 and had been ailing for a few months till he breathed his last on February 26.

Noted Carnatic singers who died in 2024 included T. Seshachary of the Hyderabad Brothers (who was 68) and K.G. Jayan (89). In regional music, Sharda Sinha, who hailed from Bihar and mostly sang in Maithili and Bhojpuri, died on November 5 after suffering from multiple myeloma since 2017. The 72-year-old was best known for her wedding songs and tunes sung for the Chatth Pooja festival.

On December 11, renowned Gujarati singer Purushottam Upadhyay passed away at 90 in Mumbai. Known for his sugam sangeet compositions, his work spanned films, plays, and numerous stage shows in India and abroad. His songs were also sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, and Asha Bhosle. On December 15, the day Zakir Hussain passed away, classical vocalist and harmonium player Pt Sanjay Marathe died in Thane following a heart attack. He was the son of great vocalist Pt Ram Marathe.

An era among instrumentalists ended following the demise of sarangi king Pt Ram Narayan on November 9. He was 96 and known for popularizing the bowed instrument in solo Hindustani classical performances. He also played in the films Madhumati, Mughal-e-Azam, Milan, Kashmir Ki Kali, Gunga Jumna, and Pakeezah, among others. His sarangi was featured in the song “Saawariya” from the 2019 album Namah by Kerala band Thaikuddam Bridge.

Two senior sarod players passed away in 2024, and both learned from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The first was Pt Rajeev Taranath, who died in Mysuru on June 11 at the age of 91. Interestingly, he had a background in literature, which he taught at various universities in Karnataka. He also completed his Ph.D in T.S. Eliot’s poetry and was part of the Navya movement of Kannada literature before deciding to plunge headlong into music. As a writer, he continued to critique musicians. Five months later, Ali Akbar Khan’s 84-year-old son and disciple, Ustad Aashish Khan, passed away in Los Angeles. Besides his classical compositions, Aashish Khan was known for his collaborations with rock musicians George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton, and jazz saxophonists John Handy and Charles Lloyd. His record Golden Strings Of The Sarode was nominated for the 2006 Grammy for Best Traditional World Music album.

On August 20, reputed sitar player Manju Mehta breathed her last in Ahmedabad, where she organized the much-awaited annual Saptak music festival. A disciple of sitar legend Pt Ravi Shankar, she was the elder sister of Mohan Veena exponent Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Other notable deaths were of Kolkata-based tabla veteran Pt Sankha Chatterjee, Carnatic violinist Akella Mallikarjuna Sharma, mridangam exponent V. Kamalakar Rao and morsing player Srirangam Kannan. On December 15, a few hours before Zakir Hussain’s demise, his 42-year-old student Nilesh Jadhav succumbed to cancer. Jadhav had begun training under Ustad Allarakha. In fields related to classical music, one must mention noted dancer Yamini Krishnamurthy, a master of the Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi dance forms, and filmmaker Kumar Shahani, whose experimental film Khayal Gatha traced the evolution of the khayal form of vocals.

Over the past few days, numerous tributes have been paid to Ustad Zakir Hussain on social media, in newspapers and on television channels. Besides his genius as a musician, the 73-year-old legend was known for his charisma, warmth and wit. His death rounds off a rather gloomy year in Indian classical music. The music lives on.