Gadag (N. Karnataka): A single day mourning has been ordered by Karnataka govt on the unexpected death at 97 in Gadag of music Doyen Puttaraj Gavai, whose body is kept at the stadium to pay respects before it leaves on a Shoka Yatra (final journey) in Gadag. The grand old man (a blind person from childhood but erudite in music traditions of India) died on Friday and will be buried Saturday night here, 480 km north of Bangalore.

Gavai was a great exponent of the Gwalior (MP) Gharana, and also provided free education to tens of thousands of children, making their families grateful to him. He was a writer of over 50 books and scholar in Kannada, Sanskrit and Hindi. He wrote Gita in Braille to help blind persons like him.
CM Yeddyurappa accompanied by Ministers, and leaders from Congress and JD (S) with followers joined the serpentine queues at Gadag to lay wreaths of tears and pay last respects to the doyen who had mastered the Uttaradi (northern), Dakshinadi (Carnatic) forms of music, besides instruments such as violin, sarangi, tabla, and veena, which he taught many.
Schools were kept closed in Gadag, Haveri and Dharwad districts, to mourn a man known as “Light of the Blind” for his services to the visually affected persons, over so many decades till 2010.