KOLKATA: The strains of sarangi sounded more melancholy on Monday when the world of music got to know about the demise of Pt Ramesh Mishra in New York. The stalwart sarangi player, who was long battling esophageal cancer , is survived by his wife and son.Son of maestro Pt Ramnath Mishra , Mishra had begun his initial intensive training at very tender age from his father and acquired further training from Pt Hanuman Prasad Mishra and Pt Gopal Mishra. Subsequently, he became a disciple of Pt Ravi Shankar. In 1959, he was sent as a cultural delegate to Pakistan by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. Both as soloist and accompanist, Mishra travelled all over the world accompanying internationally reputed artists. Additionally, he also produced numerous recordings including his own solo records. Connoisseurs talk about his sarangi recitals in many important programmes/albums including Ravi Shankar’s "Live in Kremlin" and the Grammy nominated album "Legacy" produced by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. He was also a participating artist in the production of the "Concert for George" at Royal Albert Hall in London.Kolkata incidentally has had a special relationship with Mishra. It was in this city where he had spent a major part of his career before leaving for New York. Not just Indian classical musicians, others who recorded basic Bengali song albums have also had the privilege of working with him. For all of them, it is the tone of his sarangi that set Mishra’s recitals apart from the rest. "The moment Ramesh-da started playing his sarangi, the entire atmosphere would change. I loved that tone so much that I would even request him to fly down from New York to play with me in my concerts both in India or even in England," said tabla player Pt Subhankar Banerjee.Mishra’s demise is a big loss for the music fraternity, said Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar. He pointed out at how most recordings of Pt Ajoy Chakraborty, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shipra Basu and Haimanti Shukla have had Mishra on the sarangi. "All famous recordings of Pt Ravi Shankar had Ramesh-da on the sarangi too. I personally have so many memories of working on albums with him. He was also there with us when we had performed at the Hollywood Bowl. There was some magic in his fingers that changed the mood whenever he started playing," Majumdar said about the Sangeet Natak Akademi recipient.Mishra has also played in a song by American hardrock band Aerosmith. Titled "Taste of India", this song was released in 1997 on the band’s "Nine Lives" album. The song contains elements of Indian music throughout, along with driving guitar riffs and a heavy backbeat as well as a sarangi intro by Mishra.Incidentally, Mishra’s New York flat was a go-to destination for many Indian classical musicians. "Not just the likes of us, even Zakir bhai, Pt Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan saab would go over to his flat and engage in long hours of music and adda. He was such a great host and was dear to all of us," Majumdar said.A fortnight back, tabla player Subhen Chatterjee had spoken to him. "We have had a long history of playing concerts together. He would frequently accompany Girija Devi on her concerts across the globe where I would be on the tabla. She is very upset with the news of his demise," Chatterjee said.Describing Mishra’s style of performance, Chatterjee said, "There are two styles of sarangi playing in India. One comes from Jaipur. Ustad Sultan Khan saab played this style. There were stalwart sarangi players from Baranas gharana . But they hardly ventured out of India. Internationally, Ramesh-da had single-handedly popularised the Benaras gharana of playing sarangi," Chatterjee said.Besides his music, Mishra also inspired many with the way he dealt with cancer. "Even while battling the disease, he would still perform. He would himself drive and come to concerts. Once I remember we had a concert in Philadelphia. He wasn’t keeping too well then and was on liquid diet. But his love for music was so much that he still came and performed with us," Chatterjee recounted.On another occasion, Banerjee remembers how he and Mishra were travelling for a concert in the US. Mishra was driving the car while a rare thumri recording was playing on the stereo. "Ramesh-da was sure that Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab was playing the sarangi. Ramesh-da was very engrossed with the music. He told me that either I should go behind the wheels or we should change and listen to something else. His involvement with the music was so deep that he didn’t want to drive then. Finally, we decided to take a break, listen to the album and then hit the highway. That was how committed he was to music," Banerjee said.On Facebook, Pt Ravi Shankar’s wife Sukanya Shankar put up a post following the demise of Mishra saying, "I am heartbroken to hear of dear dear Ramesh Misra's passing. An amazing musician and great human being. He was so devoted to his Guru and Guruji also loved him so much. He and his wife Maya were an amazing couple with such a big heart. They lived in a small place but always had an open home, welcoming guests. May God give Maya and their son to bear this great loss. May be Guruji welcomed him with the colours of Holi in Heaven!"