Sitar maestro Pandit Debu Chaudhuri dies of Covid related complications

Sitar maestro Pandit Devbrata Chaudhuri died of Covid related complications at a Delhi hospital on Saturday, his son Prateek Chaudhuri said. He was 85. Prateek announced death of his far, more popularly known as Debu Chaudhuri, on his official Facebook page.

"My Far, Legend of Sitar, Pandit Debu Chaudhuri... is no more. He was mitted with Covid along with dementia complications and was put in ICU on ventilator around midnight today.( 1st May 2021)..after which he suffered a heart attack and could not be revived ..... In spite of all efforts and prayers he could not be saved," Prateek wrote.

musician is survived by his son Prateek, daughter-in-law Runa and grandchildren Rayana and hiraj.

An SOS message about his critical condition was posted on Twitter. Following message by his followers, Chaudhuri was mitted to Guru Teg Bahur Hospital. He was later shifted to an ICU but his condition worsened.

sitarist, considered among greatest sitar players alongside Ust Vilayat Khan, Ravi Shankar, and Nikhil Banerjee, belonged to Jaipur's Senia Gharana of music started by descendants of Tansen's family and known for working towards preserving purity of ragas. 

Chaudhuri h been awarded Pma Bhushan and Pma Shri. He was also a teacher and writer as he h penned six books and composed many new ragas.  A disciple of Mushtaq Ali Khan, he was born in 1935 in Mymensingh (now in Banglesh). Like most of India's classical music greats, he started his training when he was young, just four. 

world of Indian classical music has lost two of its greats to COVID-19 in less than a week. On April 25, Hindustani vocalist Pandit Rajan Mishra died of COVID-related complications and in search of better health facilities at a Delhi hospital.

Mourning Chaudhuri's death, musician Nilri Kumar said, "Anor s news of demise of sitar maestro pandit Debu Chaudhuri ji to Covid and its complications. May his legacy continue through his son and disciples and we pray for peaceful onward journey of his soul. Om shanti."

On April 28, around 4 pm, Chaudhuri's acquaintance Pavan Jha put out a call for help on Twitter saying, "Urgent, Call for help #Delhi. Pmabhushan sitarist Pandit Debu Chaudhuri (85) is critical. He immediately needs an oxygen cylinder with oxygen fittings and oxygen concentrator at Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi."

He later updated that Chaudhuri was on his way to GTBH following efforts by bureaucrat Nirupama Kotru and actor Bhumi Pednekar who arranged an ambulance for sitarist.