Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled the death of celebrated playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam and hailed him as the "singing moon" who shed his radiance over the country.
The versatile singer, actor and music composer was laid to rest at his farm house near Chennai on Saturday with a 24-gun salute by the Tamil Nadu Police.
In a letter to his son SPB Charan, Sonia Gandhi said she was deeply saddened by the death of SP Balasubrahmanyam, "who so bravely fought the cruel COVID-19 virus for over six weeks before succumbing to it".
Sonia Gandhi said Mr Balasubrahmanyam was a shining symbol of India's rich musical and linguistic culture, singing with equal melodious and emotional power in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.
He brought joy and solace to millions of fans, and the artistic and cultural world is much poorer and darker for his loss, the Congress chief said.
"He was indeed the Paadum Nila -- the Singing Moon -- who shed his special radiance over our country," she said in the letter.
SP Balasubrahmanyam, who held sway over millions of fans with his golden voice, rendering a record 40,000 plus songs over five decades, died on Friday at a hospital in Chennai, plunging music lovers in grief.
After waging a grim battle for life following COVID-19 infection for 52 days, the 74-year old singer suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest and died in the afternoon, a day after his condition turned extremely critical.
A six-time national award winner, SP Balasubrahmanyam was honoured with Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2011.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
From FLiRT To FLuQE: What To Know About The Latest Covid Variants Covid Still Kills 1,700 A Week Around World: WHO Mallikarjun Kharge Highlights Sonia Gandhi's Editorial On PM Modi 600 Jobs, 25,000 Seekers: Air India Drive Sets Off Stampede Fear In Mumbai 4 Top Leaders Quit Ajit Pawar's Party In Major Setback After Poll Drubbing Trump's Running Mate Calls UK "Truly Islamist State With Nuclear Weapons Delhi Doctors Report Rise In Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease In Children World Emoji Day 2024: Know Date, History And Significance BJP Huddle In UP Today To Review By-Election Preps After Big Poll Setback Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.