Karnataka to institute award in memory of Bhimsen Joshi

The Bhimsen Joshi Sangeet Ratna award would be given annually to outstanding musicians and would carry a cash reward of Rs one lakh, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said in the state Assembly.

The Assembly paid tribute to the doyen of music who had left an indelible mark in the field worldwide with his mellifluous Kirana Gharana style of singing. Joshi, born in Gadag district in North Karnataka, was one of the "stars in the galaxy of Hindustani musicians of the nation", Yeddyurappa said.

The House also paid homage to former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash, whom Yeddyurappa and others described as a "cultural and political ambassador of the state". The drama theatre, whose construction Prakash had taken up, has not been completed and the government would sanction Rs one crore for its completion, Yeddyurappa said.

The House passed obituary references to former MLAs P Thippaiah and Mohd Umar Abdulrehman, noted stage artiste Basavaraj Gudigeri and 102 Sabarimala pilgrims who died in a stampede at Pullumedu in Kerala on January 14.