Expressing her condolences, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee described eminent classical singer Pandit Vijay Kumar Kichlu’s demise as an irreparable loss.
Kichlu, a Padma Shri awardee and recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, passed away at a Kolkata hospital on Friday evening. He was 93.
The noted vocalist’s body was kept at Rabindra Sadan around 12pm, where his fans and followers paid their last tribute
Kichlu had been suffering from cardiac problems and other ailments for long.
Born in 1930, he studied Dhrupad with the Dagar Brothers and Khayal with Latafat Hussain Khan. Along with his brother Ravi Kichlu, he had formed a popular classical vocalist pair.
Kichlu was the founder and head of the ITC Music Research Academy for 25 years. He had also founded the Sangeet Research Academy to nurture talents in Indian classical music.
