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Posted by: Ashwin Batish Jul 29 2006, 07:31 PM

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a great man, my father (Papajee), Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish. He was fighting congestive heart failure for nearly 2 years. He died peacefully this morning at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz California. He leaves his wife Smt. Shanta Devi Batish, his five children - Smt. Surendra Devi Batish, Shri Tarun Kumar Batish, Smt. Vijay Laxmi Batish, Shri Ashwin Kumar Batish, and Shri Ravi Kumar Batish and eight wonderful grand children that loved him so dearly.
Private services are being planned. Panditji would have been 92 in December this year.

<p>
Condolences can be emailed to batishs@gmail.com, faxed to (831) 423-5172 or mailed to Batishs, 1310 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA.
<p>
To all my father's fans, please stay in touch. He leaves us with a tremendous legacy that we will share with you all in the very near future. It was his wish to never stop reaching out to spread the musical word. He believed if we all spent more time studying music and other arts the world would be heaven. He often said "with music you no longer need to try going to heaven, you are already there!"

<p>
We will sorely miss his presence and his phenominal grasp of culture, language, musical abilities, and humanity. I can only say that I and the rest of the Batish family members will try our level best to bring to you the teaching of this great personality. I aim to archive all his works and memorabilia at his home in Santa Cruz, California. USA and am seriously considering creating a non-profit foundation to carry on the work of my father.
<p>
You are invited to visit his personal site at <a href="http://www.sdbatish.com">www.sdbatish.com</a>. Any old images, music, trivia on my father's professional musical career will be greatly cherished by my family.

<p>

With great love and a very sad heart,
<p>
Ashwin Batish<br>
info@batish.com

Posted by: deewani Jul 29 2006, 09:38 PM

Another great loss for the music world. So sorry to hear this, condolences to you and your family. Wishing you the strength to carry on.

Posted by: bawlachintu Jul 29 2006, 09:46 PM

Ashwin ji

Ishwar apko dhairya aur hausla de.

Sangeet jagat ke liye apporniya kshati hai.

Batishji ke geet hamare dil mein hamesha roshan rahenge. Unke dwara kiye gaye
prernadayak karyon ko aap jaari rakhen, inhi shubhkamnaon ke saath

BC

Posted by: Guru Jul 29 2006, 09:48 PM

Im sorry for your loss. I hope you treasure the moments you had with ur father, My condolences to you and your family.

Guru

Posted by: sri Jul 29 2006, 10:13 PM

Ashwin

Just saw your post here.

This is a great loss to all of us, no doubt. I was hopeful that you would be able to squeeze in a few more interviews with him about the music scene of those days. Another link with the golden age of music has departed, with your father.

May God give you and your family the strength to face this inevitable event.

We will be in touch....and do feel free to ask any of us for any assistance that you may need at this hour.

Sri

Posted by: SuDeo Jul 29 2006, 10:39 PM

[quote name='Ashwin Batish' date='Jul 29 2006, 07:31 PM' post='275189']

Dear Shri Ashwin Babu,

I am with you and your family members in this moment of grief. Panditji has certainly made our life more bearable with his many wonderful songs. One I always cherish is his duet with Asha Bhosale in the film Ada (music Madan Mohan).

Please do keep his Website going.

Subhash G Deo

Posted by: shuklas Jul 30 2006, 01:45 AM

Ashween jee :


We all join you....& pray.

Aum Shanti.Aum Shanti.Aum Shanti.


Shuklas

Posted by: vivekpm Jul 30 2006, 01:56 AM

Sorry to hear this. May his soul rest in peace and may the strength be with your family in this moment of grief...

Posted by: maheshks Jul 30 2006, 02:08 AM

Ashwin Bhai,

Bhagwan unki atma ko shanti de tatha aap logon ka hausla banaaye rakhe.

A great loss to we all music lovers.

Posted by: shivani Jul 30 2006, 03:58 AM

Prabhu unki aatma ko shanti pradan karein.

Posted by: joshi Jul 30 2006, 11:43 AM

This is indeed sad news...

Ashwin ji, condolences of the entire music loving fraternity are with you and your family.

Posted by: mohd2004 Jul 30 2006, 05:27 PM

Ashwin Ji, its very sad news for all music lovers and a great loss to music world. May his soul rest in peace.

Mohd.

Posted by: surhall Jul 31 2006, 08:54 AM

QUOTE(Ashwin Batish @ Jul 29 2006, 07:31 PM)

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of a great man, my father (Papajee), Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish. He was fighting congestive heart failure for nearly 2 years. He died peacefully this morning at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz California. He leaves his wife Smt. Shanta Devi Batish, his five children - Smt. Surendra Devi Batish, Shri Tarun Kumar Batish, Smt. Vijay Laxmi Batish, Shri Ashwin Kumar Batish, and Shri Ravi Kumar Batish and eight wonderful grand children that loved him so dearly.
Private services are being planned. Panditji would have been 92 in December this year.

<p>
Condolences can be emailed to batishs@gmail.com, faxed to (831) 423-5172 or mailed to Batishs, 1310 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA.
<p>
To all my father's fans, please stay in touch. He leaves us with a tremendous legacy that we will share with you all in the very near future. It was his wish to never stop reaching out to spread the musical word. He believed if we all spent more time studying music and other arts the world would be heaven. He often said "with music you no longer need to try going to heaven, you are already there!"

<p>
We will sorely miss his presence and his phenominal grasp of culture, language, musical abilities, and humanity. I can only say that I and the rest of the Batish family members will try our level best to bring to you the teaching of this great personality. I aim to archive all his works and memorabilia at his home in Santa Cruz, California. USA and am seriously considering creating a non-profit foundation to carry on the work of my father.
<p>
You are invited to visit his personal site at <a href="http://www.sdbatish.com">www.sdbatish.com</a>. Any old images, music, trivia on my father's professional musical career will be greatly cherished by my family.

<p>

With great love and a very sad heart,
<p>
Ashwin Batish<br>
info@batish.com

Posted by: usrafian Aug 1 2006, 05:38 PM

Ashwin JI,

A great loss for all of us.

We at HF are all, with you & your family members.

It is A sad moment.

Raah-E-Roshan, Ek aur Sitaara Duub Gaya.

Mahan Vibhuti S.D.Batish Ji Ko Mera Naman.

USR

Posted by: RafiKiAwaaz Aug 1 2006, 10:18 PM

My Condolences to you and your family. This is a great loss to music world. May his soul rest in peace.
RKA

Posted by: pradeepasrani Aug 3 2006, 11:52 PM

Ashwinji

I saw this thread today so apologies for the delay.

Please accept my sincere condolences on the passing away of your dear father, respected Pandit Shiv Dayal Batish ji.

We shall all cherish his memories and the beautiful musical legacy he has left behind for us.

May the departed soul rest in peace.

Pradeep

Posted by: deewani Aug 4 2006, 06:19 AM

Some news articles:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/August/01/local/stories/03local.htm(Batishji's local paper): Please click to visit the newspaper's website (posting article here as well in case folks outside of US cannot see the page, hope that is OK).

By JONDI GUMZ
Sentinel staff writer SANTA CRUZ — When Shiv Dayal Batish was growing up in India, his family realized he had a rare musical gift and arranged for him to study singing with a well-known composer. He refused to take a job with the telephone company paying a few rupees a month to help his father pay the mortgage, and held onto his dreams for the musical career that was his destiny.

His stubbornness paid off soon after. He was called for a radio audition. At 22, he signed a contract that paid more than 300 rupees, five times the amount to pay off the mortgage.

He enjoyed success on three continents — India, England, and in the U.S. in Santa Cruz — and still had many irons in the fire when he died Saturday at age 91.

In India, he won fans by singing in Punjabi and Urdu as well as Hindi. His songs made the top of the charts, and when he was invited to perform in films, his hit songs brought him national recognition. He composed songs and served as musical director for more than a dozen "Bollywood" films.

Tiring of the ups and downs of the industry, he left for England. There, he ran into difficulty with immigration officials until Lord Fenner Brockway wrote a letter on his behalf and became his patron. His wife and his children joined him.

His family said he played music for "Help!" starring the Beatles 1965, met George Harrison, who was interested in Indian music, and taught Harrison's then-wife Patti to play the dilruba, an instrument played with a bow like a small bass fiddle.

How did this Indian musical genius come to make his home in Santa Cruz for 36 years?

Ralph Abraham, a math professor at UC Santa Cruz, explains.

In 1969, Abraham was a visiting professor in London, looking for instruction in the Indian music he had read about. He saw an ad for the Batish family and took weekly lessons on sitar. Taken with the experience, he arranged for Batish to teach at the university's Merrill College as a visiting lecturer.

Batish and his wife moved into the professor's house on California Street. When the year was up, they decided to stay. It seemed like destiny, given that a region near Bombay is known as Santa Cruz.

Since the teaching position had ended, the couple opened a restaurant, the Sri Krishna Cafe, on Mission Street. It was so popular, the manager of the McDonald's complained the waiting customers interfered with his business. The couple worked six days a week, according to then-Sentinel columnist Wally Trabing, and Batish got an ulcer. He returned to England, where his five children were living, but destiny intervened once again.

While in England, his request to immigrate to the United States was approved, so he decided to return to Santa Cruz.

This time, he and his wife opened another restaurant by the Clock Tower, near where the U.S. Hemp store is today. He called all of his children to join them and they helped in the restaurant.

His next move, in the mid-1970s, was to buy a building at 1310 Mission St., across from his first restaurant. There, he opened Batish's India House, a restaurant where he created a stage for musicians. "He was the visionary to see all this," said his son Ashwin Batish, who, like his father, is a musician of renown. "Food and music became our passion. We would sit on the stage, and he would perform every night. It didn't matter if it was one person or 100 listening. It was very high energy and it was beautiful to have him next to me."

All the children were involved.

"In our family, the music is the glue, you see," Ashwin said. "We could not break away from his spell."

During his years in Santa Cruz, Batish taught Indian music to Westerners, at the peak scheduling 60 to 70 students a week. He wrote English words for the Hindi versions he knew, "which made it very learnable," his son said, explaining that the catch-phrases help students memorize the music yet allow them to improvise.

His encyclopedia explaining Indian music scales, "Ragopedia," inspired other composers. Prolific, Batish penned nearly 8,000 compositions.

He started on his memoirs 10 years ago. A newer project involved recording largely undiscovered musical scales, or ragas, from south India, in an effort to bridge the cultural divide between north and south.

Congestive heart failure slowed him down; the last time Abraham visited was a month ago.

"He was putting up a strong fight," Ashwin said of his father. "He wanted more years to complete his projects."

Contact Jondi Gumz at jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com
S.D. Batish

BORN: Dec, 14, 1914, Patiala, India.

DIED: July 29, 2006, Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz.

HOME: 36 years in Santa Cruz.

OCCUPATION: Singer, musician, composer, restaurateur, teacher, author

EDUCATION: Studied with Chandan Ram Charan, an authority on North Indian music; learned to play harmonium, sitar, violin, dilruba and vichitra veena.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Established Batish Institute of Indian Music and Fine Arts on Mission Street in Santa Cruz.

HONORS: Silver jubilee celebration for 25 years on the Indian music scene, 1961; Tansen Award for best vocalist, from Bombay organization devoted to classical Indian music.

SURVIVORS: Wife Shanta Devi Batish; daughters Surendra Devi Batish and Vijay Laxmi Batish, sons Tarun Kumar Batish, Ashwin Kumar Batish and Ravi Kumar Batish, all of Santa Cruz; eight grandchildren.

SERVICES: Private; ashes will be scattered at sea. Memorial concert planned. Condolences may be e-mailed to batishs@gmail.com or faxed to 423-5172. Tributes are posted at http://index.php?showtopic=25501.%3C/p%3E



Another article from http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=194976:

Music stalwart Shiv Dayal Batish, 91, dies in America

Mumbai, July 31: The voice that charmed a million hearts over the air waves of All India Radio, rendering timeless numbers like the famous qawali Yeh Ishk Ishk or Na To Karwaan Ki Talash Hai and Poochon Na Kaise Maine Rain Bitaaye, Shiv Dayal Batish passed away at Dominican Hospital in California on Monday morning. He was 91.

He may not be so well known among the present generation, but old-timers would remember him as a stalwart on the Indian music scene since 1936. Batish is survived by his wife Shanta Devi Batish and five children. His son, Ashwin Batish, a sitar and tabla player, takes over his musical legacy.

''We will sorely miss his presence and his phenomenal grasp of culture, language, musical abilities and humanity. My father leaves us with a tremendous legacy that we will share with you in the very near future,'' said Ashwin from the US.

Pandit Batish often said: ''With music, you no longer need to try going to heaven, you are already there!'' Ashwin plans to archive all his father's works and memorabilia. He is also considering creating a non-profit foundation to carry on spreading Batish Sr's love for music.

It all began when Batish, in a small town called Bhatinda, 100 miles from Patiala, at the age of 12 sang for Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. This enthused the Batish family and it wasn't long before they packed him off to Mumbai to make it big.

In Mumbai, Pandit Batish soon became popular in film circles and was affectionately called the young Saigal after the famous singer-actor. He even took up small roles, but got bored and after hardly six months of his whirlwind introduction to the film world, he decided to return to Patiala. Here, he began training again under Guru Charan and returned with renewed vigour for his craft.

He lent his talent to various vocal and instrumental styles of North Indian music, including bhajan, geet, thumri, ghazal and film sangeet. In 1970, Batish moved to California to teach music at the University of California, Santacruz, where he subsequently settled. He has authored several books on music. He devoted his life to teaching and spreading the love for music.

Posted by: SuDeo Aug 4 2006, 10:50 PM

QUOTE(deewani @ Aug 4 2006, 06:19 AM)

Posted by: balajigade Aug 5 2006, 02:45 PM

An irreparable loss to the music world. A good singer, a music director and a great human being. May his soul rest in peace.

--Balaji

Posted by: desai2rn Aug 5 2006, 07:53 PM

This is a great loss for the music world. He will be miised by his family
and music lovers. May god rest his soul in peace.

Ramesh

Posted by: nirvana Oct 3 2007, 03:39 AM

Hi Ashwin,

I've just joined the forum. Please accept my belated condolences.

Your father was a genius and will be greatly missed.