Asha Bhosle has given us eight decades of songs to remember her by. She made many public appearances in India and abroad, taking music forward and showing audiences a side to her that they had never seen before. Here's a look at The Legend through the years from our archives.
'When you reach a good point in your life, you should never forget the struggle that got you there. I haven't. That is why I have not become swollen-headed.'
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, who passed away on Friday, was an inspiration in more ways than one for Derek Trucks, a rock guitar phenomenon with a growing, global fan following."When I heard the news [of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's death], it was like losing Ray Charles, or John Coltrane, or Charlie Parker," Trucks said.
Sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan passed away in San Francisco at 1000 am(IST) according to family friend Robin Pal in Kolkata.
Ken Zuckerman recalls his 37-year long association with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
One of Debashish Bhattacharya's most remarkable contributions is that he has taken the scope and foundation of the slide guitar, improvised it again and again, thereby designing and creating four entirely new guitars.
Eminent Shehnai exponent Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan, one of the best-known players of the instrument after the legendary Bismillah Khan, passed away in Kolkata following prolonged illness. He was 77.
'The largest listenership for Vividh Bharati outside the country is in Spain.' 'The labourers who go there for the tomato-picking season feel cut off from their country and listen to Vividh Bharati to overcome their loneliness.'
'We played at Zakir's request. It was an amazing experience for me playing with a famous tabla player's son.'
Eight years ago, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain had narrated how his father Alla Rakha had welcomed him into this world by putting the musical instrument's rhythms into his ears when asked to recite prayers.
Ustad Zakir Hussain's story will be told in a thousand ways by each person who met him, loved him, spent time with him, got to know him and shared some precious time off stage with him, says Maanveer Singh.
He was a formidable musician but seemed utterly human, a Peter Pan who wore his genius with deceptive lightness. Sandip Roy remembers Ustad Zakir Hussain.
'When there was a match, he would be up all night watching it on his laptop with Kishori Amonkarji singing on the side.'
Have you ever met the maestro or experienced his magic?
The classical musician who represents the 12 generation of Jaipur's Beenkar Gharana breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Science at around 2:30 am, his adopted son and disciple Ustad Ali Zaki Haidar said.
Annapurna Devi was an Indian surbahar player of Hindustani classical music and she was the daughter and disciple of Allauddin Khan.
All of a sudden, in the space of some weeks, the nation seems to be running up a deficit on its cultural capital.
Versatile Hindustani musician Sharan Rani, popularly known as 'Sarod Rani', passed away in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, a day before her 80th birthday.A disciple of great music maestros Ustad Allaudin Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, she belongs to the Maihar Senia gharana and was hailed by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as the 'Cultural Ambassador of India'.Rani, a Padma Bhushan awardee who created new ragas, she traveled abroad to record with major music companies.
Malika had her origins in the Akhnoor region of Jammu and Kashmir and belonged to a family of musicians who performed at royal concerts in Jammu.
'Guruji inspired and indeed, changed the lives of so many for the better in the United States, in India, and elsewhere.' 'If you knew him, ever saw him teach, saw him dance, you would have thought that if anyone would live forever, if anyone could defy the inevitability of mortality, it would have been Pandit Chitresh Dasji.' Hours after renowned Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, 70, died of acute aortic dissection in his home in California, tributes poured in honouring the great dancer, and an even greater human being. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports
'He was a legend, he changed kathak and brought it to a whole different level.' 'He held very high standards and his energy was beyond imagination. He was god-like to see; he expressed such positive vibes.' Amid dance and music, friends and family mourned the loss of Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, who passed away on January 4 of a heart ailment. Touching tributes were made for the great dancer. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances