Sarangi maestro Ram rayan gets Bhimsen Joshi Award

Mumbai, Feb 3: Sarangi maestro Pandit Ram rayan has been chosen for the prestigious Bharat Rat Pandit Bhimsen Joshi classical music award for 2015-2016, Maharashtra’s Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde announced here on Wednesday.

The annual award, instituted by the Maharashtra government, is given to individuals who have excelled in classical vocal or instrumental music, the minister said.

The award, filised by a committee of top music artistes and exponents, comprises Rs.5 lakh in cash, a trophy and a citation. Pandit Ram rayan, 88, has been playing the sarangi since his childhood, and over the years acquired global acclaim for his music for which he was conferred India’s second higest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, in 2005.

He popularised the bowed instrument as a solo concert instrument in Indian classical music and is considered the first sarangi player who became successful in the intertiol are. (IANS)