Aakashvani Sangeet Sammelan to be named for Bhimsen Joshi

The prestigious Aakashvani music festival will be named after legendary classical vocalist lateBhimsen Joshi, it was announced on Saturday.

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting PrakashJavadekar made the announcement at Pandit Bhimsen Joshicentenary commemoration function here.

The music festival will now be known as `Bharat RatnaPandit Bhimsen Joshi Aakashvani Sangeet Sammelan', he said.

Javadekar also said that Doordarshan and All IndiaRadio have already made available Joshi's recordings onYouTube, and efforts will be taken to take this treasure to more people.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who was also present at the event organized by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, said Joshi was a bridge between Marathi and Kannada cultures.

The late doyen of Indian classical music was born at Gadag in Karnataka on February 4, 1922.

''Bhimsen Joshi came to Maharashtra from Karnataka.

Generally, there are lots of cultural issues between Marathi and Kannada peoples,'' Pawar said.

''But Bhimsen Joshi through his music tried to unify the two cultures. He served society through his music,'' Pawar said.

Pawar also reminisced that he had attended Joshi'sconcert at late Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan's house.