Last week, on January 28, was the 95th birth anniversary of the only Indian classical musician after whom the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named a star. This celestial tribute—a minor planet named 2006 VP32 (No. 300128)—was discovered on November 11, 2006, and journeys through the cosmos between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The artist who has received this singular honour is none other than the great musical maestro, Pandit Jasraj, who passed away at the age of 90 on August 17, 2020, in New Jersey, USA.

The lives of legends often have remarkable stories hidden behind the dazzling arc lights of their success. A few evenings ago, at an informal dinner at home, one of my guests was the artist Vasundhara Tewari Broota. A fine artist in her own right, she is perhaps somewhat overshadowed by the iconic stature of her husband, Rameshwar Broota—one of India’s most celebrated and highly valued contemporary artists.

Vasundhara’s mother, the late Som Tewari, was a devoted exponent of Indian classical music and the arts. In the 1940s and 50s, while living in Kolkata, she first crossed paths with Jasraj. Born in the........

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