Tribute: Indian Ocean's Asheem

Asheem Chakravarty, the percussionist-singer of Indian Ocean, the popular contemporary fusion music band, passed away in Delhi on December 25. He was 52. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

Asheem had, in October 2009, suffered two massive heart attacks in Doha, Qatar, following which he slipped into a coma. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

He was hospitalised in Delhi where he breathed his last. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

Asheem's profile on the Indian Ocean band's official website says "Indian Ocean fans call him 'the man with the golden voice'. Amazingly, Asheem sings and plays the tabla simultaneously with remarkable clarity and ease, a difficult feat almost never achieved by Indian percussionists." (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

Fondly called Asheem Da, he quit a career in advertising to follow his passion for music. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

Asheem had played along with the legendary Pete Seeger. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

The story of Indian Ocean goes back to 1984 when Asheem and Sushmit Sen first met. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

Asheem was impressed with Sushmit's guitar skills and for the next few years the duo jammed together. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

The band Indian Ocean was formed in 1990 comprising Asheem, Sushmit, Shaleen Sharma, Indrajit Dutta and Anirban Roy. Rahul Ram, the band's lead singer joined in 1991 and Amit Kilam in 1994. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)

Indian Ocean, at its peak was made up of Asheem, Susmit, Rahul and Amit. The band's reputation grew following the success of their initial albums, Desert Rain and Kandisa. Their later albums Jhini and Black Friday (their first foray into Bollywood) were runaway hits. (Photo courtesy: Indian Ocean)