Doyen of Indian Classical Vocal Music, Pandit Jasraj Has a Minor Planet Named After Him

It is a great honour that the International Astronomical Union has named a minor planet discovered between Mars and Jupiter after the great Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj. The honour puts Pandit Jasraj in the galaxy of other stars like Mozart, Beethoven and Tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who have minor planets named after them. The Eminent Vocalist Pandit Jasraj’s music career spans eight decades. At the tender age of six, he started playing the tabla on stage. The citation received from the IAU states that his distinctive voice traverses remarkable four and a half octaves. Pandit Jasraj is the recipient of the Padma Vibhshan, the nation’s second-highest civilian award. He has also been bestowed with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academi Award. Many of his classical and semi-classical vocals have been made into albums and film soundtracks. Jasraj has also taught music in India, Canada and the US. What is a Minor planet? Minor planets can be dwarf planets, Trojans, centaurs, asteroids, Kuiper belt objects and other trans- Neptunian objects that are in direct orbit around the sun but are not fit the characteristics of a major planet. The minor planet 2006VP32 has the number 300128 which matches with the birth date of the star musician-28/1/1930. Pandit Jasraj felt blessed and said that he could experience God’s grace in this honour. For an artist who has dedicated his entire life to music, this honour is a special recognition of his work.