Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS) Maharashtra, which was home to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, felt a deep sense of loss at his death Monday. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan condoled it as the demise of the doyen of Indian classical music while singing diva Lata Mangeshkar said "a legend" had passed away.

Expressing the deepest sense of grief, Governor K. Sankaranarayanan said Pandit Joshi, who moved to Mumbai in 1943 at the age of 22 and later made Pune his home, was a "celestial phenomenon" in the world of Hindustani classical music.

"It was indeed the collective good fortune of the present generation and the recent past generations that they lived in the same era in which Pandit Bhimsen lived and sung. He was the undisputed emperor of the Hindustani classical music and of the Kirana Gharana, and the world of music will never be the same again," the governor said in his condolence message to Joshi's family.

Joshi passed away at the age of 88 at a Pune hospital Monday following old age related ailments. He had been in hospital since Dec 31.

Chavan said in his message: "We have lost a legendary, unique personality who has showcased his talent through his music for last six decades. Maharashtra has lost the doyen of Indian classical music."

Lata Mangeshkar, who said it was an honour to sing with him, also lamented Joshi's demise.

"I am deeply saddened by his death. I have sung so many songs with him and it was an honour. I am sad that we lost a legend, a modest and loving human being who never threw his weight around," a teary-eyed Mangeshkar said.

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said: "We have truly lost 'Swarbhaskar'. He was renowned for the 'khayal' form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music, bhajans and abhangs. It is an irreparable loss."

Former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said: "Pandit Joshi's death is a big loss for the singing fraternity. His performances were always marked by spontaneity, accurate notes and dizzyingly-paced 'taans', which made use of his exceptional voice training and mastery over rhythm."

State Public Works Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said: "A 'Swarbhaskar', who shone brightly on the horizon of Indian classical music since the last seven decades, has set."

State Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) president Sudhir Mungantiwar described his death as a "a national loss but his contribution to music will remain immortal".