Pandit Bhavani Shankar who is known as the Pakhawaj maestro passed away on December 30, 2023, on Saturday. His family has confirmed the news and said that his 'rasam kriya' will take place on December 31, from 12pm onwards in Borivali. Shankar had returned from a program on December 26, post which he was having some trouble breathing. He was rushed to the hospital the same day and the treatment began.
However, slowly, all his organs like kidney stopped functioning and he was put on ventilator. He breathed his last on Saturday afternoon.Shankar was born into a musical family, beginning his study of pakhawaj and tabla at the age of eight. He had played with many Indian artists including bansuri player Hariprasad Chaurasia, santoor player Shiv Kumar Sharma and tabla players Zakir Hussain and Anindo Chatterjee. Bhawani's father Babulalji was a renowned Kathak performer and that's why he got introduced to 'pakhawaj' so early on at the age of 8.