KOLKATA: Pt Barun Kumar Pal, an exponent of Hansa Veena or Indian slide guitar, breathed his last at his Kolkata residence on Monday morning. He was 76. According to his family members, the musician passed away in his sleep. He was battling complications following a brain stroke that he had suffered in September last year.
Pt Pal was associated with Ravi Shankar Institute of Performing Arts in Delhi and was loved and respected as a fine teacher and mentor to hundreds of classical music students around the world. He was one of the pioneers of Maihar Gharana and travelled across the world to perform until the pandemic halted live concerts. “Lack of mobility due to pandemic took away the joy from a man who celebrated music all his life,” said a family member.
Describing him as “one of the biggest unsung heroes in the country”, percussionist Pt Subhen Chatterjee said, “His contribution to Indian classical music with the Hansa Veena, his very own instrument, should have been celebrated. Barun da deserved more appreciations. He was a brilliant musician, a fantastic human being and a very knowledgeable person,” he said.
