Pandit Jasraj brought harmony, peace, melody into our lives: Sonia

With the passing away of Pandit Jasraj, a voice of sublime beauty and spirituality has been stilled, leaving a silence that has left millions of music lovers bereft, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has said.

In a letter to Pandit Jasraj''s wife Madhura, Gandhi expressed condolences and said the whole nation mourns "with you at this time of grief".

"Pandit Jasraj brought harmony, peace, melody and solace into our lives as we listened engrossed and enchanted to his renditions of khayals, thumri and bhajans, each of them endowed with his unique musical genius and his ability to communicate to his audiences his own understanding of the divine and eternal truths," Gandhi said.

His warm rapport with his audience, his warm and large heart, gave that added dimension to his music, that drew us all to want to listen to him again and again, the Congress chief said in the letter dated August 18.

"With the passing away of Pandit Jasraj, a voice of sublime beauty and spirituality has been stilled, leaving a silence that has left millions of music lovers, including myself bereft," she said.

"We must give thanks that Pandit Jasraj blessed our country and our culture so generously throughout his long and rich life; and that we have the precious legacy of his music forever- a legacy that your children and all the disciples he inspired will take forward with devotion," Gandhi said.

Indian classical music doyen Pandit Jasraj died on Monday following a cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey. He was 90.

The classical vocalist, who infused life into the most complex ragas and held audiences spellbound with his craft, has left behind a storied legacy spanning more than eight decades.

He is survived by his wife Madhura, son Shaarang Dev Pandit and daughter Durga Jasraj, both musicians.