Renowned violinist Balabhaskar dead; Kerala CM pays homage

Noted violinist Balabhaskar, who was critically injured in a car accident, died at a private hospital here early Tuesday.

Politicians and celebrities offered their condolences and paid tribute to the musician.

Balabhaskar's two year-old daughter, Thejaswani, had died in the accident on September 25.

His wife, Lakshmi, is undergoing treatment.

The family was returning here from Thrissur after a temple visit when their car rammed a tree near Pallipuram.

The 40-year-old musician had undergone a surgery. He was on ventilator support and suffered a massive cardiac arrest and passed away at 1 am Tuesday.

After the postmortem, the mortal remains were taken to the university college campus here where Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Finance Minister Thomas Issac, and people from various walks of life paid homage to the departed.

Balabhaskar and his wife were students of the university college.

The funeral is expected to be held on Wednesday.

Condoling the musician's demise, Vijayan said Balabhaskar's untimely death was "deeply painful."