Hubballi: Senior sitar artiste and Hindustani musician Pt. Shrinivas Joshi passed away here early Wednesday morning. He was 74.

Pt. Joshi, who lived in Venkateshwara Colony of Gokul Road in the city, is survived by his wife Radha, sitar artiste Nikhil Joshi and daughter Megha Prashanth Deekshit, who is a singer.

The senior artiste was greatly respected for not only his expertise with the sitar but also his comprehensive knowledge of Hindustani classical music. Pt. Joshi was a student of the renowned sitar artiste belonging to the Dharwad Gharana the late Ustad Bale Khan and considered to be one of the prominent musicians of the Gharana.

Pt. Joshi also participated in theatre activities in North Karnataka and composed music for several plays, including Girish Karnad’s famous play ‘Hayavadana’ and ‘Mricchakatika’. In addition, his contribution of a unique style of music to folk, devotional and ‘bhavageete’ songs was greatly appreciated.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi: A video circulating on social media claiming that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the cancellation of all Pakistani visas following the recent terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been found to be false and digitally manipulated.

The six-second clip was widely shared on X and Facebook. The video allegedly showed Albanese making the announcement in the aftermath of the December 14 attack.

An X user Tyagi (@mktyaggi) had shared the video on December 14. He claimed that the Australian government had decided to revoke all Pakistani visas after the incident and the post received nearly 50,000 views. A similar claim was amplified by another X account, Tiger Raja Satire (@TigerRajaSinggh), whose post garnered over 82,000 views and without verification, the video was also shared by multiple Facebook users

ALSO READ: Goa nightclub fire: Cops initiate process for blue corner notice against Khosla who fled to UK

A closer examination of the clip by Alt News revealed that the visible lip-sync discrepancies and suspicion about its authenticity. No credible reports of any Australian government decision to cancel Pakistani visas following the attack were found on any platforms.

To verify the source of the visuals, a reverse image search was conducted by Alt News, using key frames from the viral video. This led to several news reports published in August 2022 by The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and The Age, which featured Anthony Albanese wearing the same attire and standing against the same backdrop. Those reports related to a parliamentary discussion on the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament and had no connection to the Bondi Beach incident.

There was no announcement regarding Pakistani visa holders during the press conference and authorities have also clarified that no link to Pakistan has been established in connection with the attack.

Police said, with roots in Tolichowki in Hyderabad, the attacker Sajid Akram had Indian lineage and had migrated to Australia in 1998 on a student visa. He had visited India only on a few occasions for family-related reasons. Officials further stated that the factors leading to the radicalisation of Sajid and his son did not appear to have any connection with India or local influences in Telangana. While Sajid held an Indian passport, his children were born in Australia and were Australian citizens.