Your obituary to Bhimsen Joshi caught me by surprise (February 5, 2011). My throat tightened and my eyes misted over. Together with Girija Devi from North India, where he was from, as well as Ramnad Krishnan and Maharajapuram Santhanam from South India, he has long been one of my favorite singers from anywhere around the world. Your words brought him to life. I learned quite a bit, too. But there is one thing I would like to add, which you somehow missed. All my favorite singers are old. Human voice takes ages to develop. It has many obstacles to overcome, such as fear and desire. And it reaches perfection when nothing remains in the breadth’s way, as I keep reminding myself. The wonder of Indian music includes the devotion of millions to their aging bards, who really get going in their sixties or seventies. In many other parts of the world you have to be young to perform for your fans. India is different in this respect, and Bhimsen Joshi, who died at the ripe age of eighty-eight, is a perfect example of the difference.

Addendum (February 11, 2011)

I was just surprised by an electronic-mail message from Saugato Datta, an economics correspondent from The Economist: “I wrote the obituary, and I’m glad you liked it. He was one of my favorite singers; how wonderful he was yours.” Then he turns to my argument: “And that’s true, what you say about age. There was gravity to his voice that came with age, and made an already wonderful voice even more touching.” I responded immediately: “Wonderful to hear from you. And even more wonderful that Bhimsen Joshi’s voice has brought us together.” But then I went over the top: “There’s still chance for this world!” When I wanted to tell my beloved in the neighboring room about the message from the mighty newspaper, my voice cracked.