Singer Arijit Singh’s mentor and renowned classical musician Birendra Prasad Hazari passed away on Thursday at his residence in Murshidabad’s Jiaganj after a prolonged illness.

Arijit attended his teacher’s last rites along with his father Kakkar Singh and sister Amrita Singh Majumder.

Thursday night, Arijit rushed to pay his last respects to the legendary musician as soon as he heard of his death.

“It’s Vijaya Dashami. It's hard to believe that such a luminary would leave us on a day like this. So many artists were shaped by his hands, including Arijit Singh. Even Arijit’s sister and mother used to train under him,” said Shankar Mondal, Hazari’s son-in-law.

Birendra Prasad Hazari belonged to an illustrious family in Jiaganj with many notable figures like Rajendra Prasad Hazari, Dhirendra Prasad Hazari, and Birendra Prasad Hazari, who made significant contributions to Indian classical music. Hazari had himself trained over a thousand students, including Arijit’s late mother Aditi and his younger sister Amrita.

Speaking with The Telegraph Online last December, Hazari spoke about Arijit’s first step into music when he was around three years old when he started accompanying his mother to Murchhana, the music school run by the Hazari family.

“He would sit on my lap while I taught his mother and other students and stare at the harmonium,” Hazari recalled.

The musician added that while many of his students had carved out a name for themselves in the music industry, Arijit held a special place in his heart — not just for his professional success but also for the deep bond they shared.

Hazari taught Singh Rabindra Sangeet (songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore) and modern Bengali songs.

Birendra Prasad Hazari’s elder brothers, Rajendra Prasad and Dhirendra Prasad, taught Singh classical music and the tabla.

Hazari’s family traces its roots back to Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi. Some four centuries ago, they moved to Debipur, a village close to Jiaganj.