Goodbye Dadu, Love You Eternally: Shweta Pandit Remembers Her Grandfather Pandit Jasraj

Actor-singer Shweta Pandit took to social media to pay her tributes to her grandfather and legendary music maestro Pandit Jasraj, who passed away aged 90 yesterday. Pandit Jasraj, who died in New Jersey, US, after a cardiac arrest, was a classical singer whose career spanned 80 years. In his lifetime he was conferred with numerous prestigious honours, including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan. His music contemporaries acknowledged his passing as a sad day for Indian music, with Pandit, his grand-niece writing that it was the "end of an era."

Posting a short tribute

to Pandit Jasraj on Instagram, she remembered his "smiling face everytime you called to see my baby girl," writing, "your blessings and love will make me move on somehow dadu... Love you eternally."

View this post on Instagram

End of an era.. your blessings and love will make me move on somehow dadu.. will miss your smiling face everytime you called to see my baby girl.. so much preciousness taken away. Love you eternally 🙏🏻 #goodbye #rippanditjasraj #panditjasraj #sangeetmartand #hindustaniclassicalmusic #legendsneverdie #memoriesforlife 💖

A post shared by Shwetaaaaaaaaa 💫 (@shwetapandit7) on Aug 17, 2020 at 7:25am PDT

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Earlier on Twitter, Pandit had shared pictures of her grandfather after his demise, writing, "Good bye my precious dadu. So many insanely beautiful memories you have given me.. but i have no words now."

Pandit Jasraj, also the uncle of Bollywood singer-composer duo Jatin-Lalit, had been quarantining in the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However his last rites will be performed in India. Shweta Pandit, who is based out of France, reportedly revealed, "Dadu’s body is being brought back from New Jersey and will reach Mumbai tomorrow (August 20). We need to get some permissions in place for safety during the pandemic.”

Tributes Pour In For The Music Maestro

The Indian music industry, including singers, lyricists and musicians from Bollywood, mourned collectively as tributes poured in for the late legend. Lyricist Javed Akhtar commemorated him by saying that "A huge pillar of Hindustani sangeet has fallen today." Lata Mangeshkar also posted a note for Pandit Jasraj in Hindi, expressing her sadness.

Singer Adnan Sami said that he was "devastated by the news," and that "the world of music is darkened as it’s brightest light has faded," a sentiment that Shankar Mahadevan echoed, writing that the loss would leave "A big void in the world of Indian Classical music."

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Pandit Jasraj, The Pillar Of Hindustani Music

Honoured as Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj, the classical vocalist was primarily known for extending the reach of Hindustani music beyond India, and popularising it worldwide. Belonging to the Mewati Gharana (lineage of Indian music), his soulful voice had touched upon most genres, ranging from classical, semi-classical, devotional, and even film music. He also served as a music guru to several renowned musicians from India, and across the world in the US, Canada, and Europe, and was a trained tabla player.

Pandit Jasraj credited the legendary Begum Akhtar, 'Queen of Ghazals,' as his inspiration for taking up classical music. Pandit Jasraj leaves behind a longstanding legacy of bringing innovation and recognition to Indian music.

Image Credit: Shweta Pandit Instagram