Bharat Ratna for Pt. Bhim Sen Joshi

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the legendary exponent of Hindustani classical music, was tonight chosen for the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. The honour for the 86-year-old vocalist, who belongs to 'kirna' gharana, caps a distinguished career spanning more than seven decades since he first performed at the age of 19.This was after a gap of seven years that the government selected a performing artist for the highest award, the last previous recipient being shenai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan. In fact, the last time a person was chosen for the honour was Khan."The President has been pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi", a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said late this evening.Born in Gadag district of Karnataka on February 19, 1922, Joshi has already bagged several prestigious honours including Padma Vibhusan in 1991, Padma Bhusan in 1985 and Padma Shri in 1972.