Dhrupad maestro and Padma Shri awardee Ramakant Gundecha passes away at 56

Dhrupad maestro Ramakant Gundecha, the younger of the Gundecha brothers duo, passed away due to a heart attack on the evening of 8 November, 2019. He was 56.Gundecha suffered from chest pains while waiting at the Habibganj Railway Station to board a train to Pune and was rushed to a hospital. However, according to a report in The Hindu, his cousin, pakhawaj player Akhilesh Gundecha said that he died in the ambulance.The Padma Shri awardee's older brother, Umakant Gundhecha was travelling with him. The trio had performed at the Vishwa Rang - Tagore International Literature and Arts Festival in Bhopal a day earlier and had also attended a session at the event on the morning of 8 November.[caption id="attachment_7625961" align="alignnone" width="825"] Dhrupad maestro Ramakant Gundecha passed away on 8 November, 2019. He was 56. Image via Facebook[/caption]The Gundecha brothers, founders of Bhopal's Gurukul Drupad Sansthan, are known for reviving and performing the dhrupad, one of the oldest forms of Hindustani music. The brothers were awarded the Padma Shri together in 2012. Practitioners of the Dagarvani style of dhrupad, they trained under stalwarts, Zia Fariddudin Dagar and his brother Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.The duo has performed at countless festivals and concerts across national and international platforms and was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2017.Following his demise, a New Indian Express report noted Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath as saying that the state has lost a world-famous artist and his sudden death caused a vacuum in the art world.