India, Feb. 22 -- They stood in the arc of light, the greats of Indian classical music, voices and instruments poised to unfurl an evening's raga. Behind them, often just out of sight but never out of sound, was the steady, unassuming presence of Jayant Naidu - coaxing from four strings the unbroken sonic thread that holds Indian classical music together.

For nearly five decades, until he breathed his last late Friday evening, Naidu lent his tanpura to a roll call that reads like a compendium of modern maestros: Amjad Ali Khan, Parveen Sultana, Mukul Shivputra, Ajoy Chakraborty, Ajay Pohankar, Aruna Sairam, Malini Rajurkar, Birju Maharaj, Hariprasad Chaurasia, N Rajam, Ronu Majumdar, Nityanand Haldipur, Girija Devi, Ulhas Kashalkar, Rash...