Keshav Ginde recipient of 2018 Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi LTA for Classical Music

Renowned flautist Pandit Keshav Ginde will be conferred the 2018 prestigious Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Lifetime Achievement (LTA) Award for Classical Music. Born in 1942 in Belgaum, Karnataka, Pt. Ginde hails from a family of musicians and started his musical training at the age of six. Ginde is credited with the designing of a new flute, which he named “Keshav Venu”, which can produce 3.5 octaves as against the maximum of 2.5 octaves achieved by other flutists. This special flute is 42 inches long and has been kept in the Archives of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in Delhi. The flute has also been recognized by the Limca Book of Records as the only flute that can produce 3.5 octaves. The annual LTA award, instituted by Maharashtra Government, honours maestros in classical music and singing. It carries a cash award of Rs 500,000, a memento and a citation,