Chennai: President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam will be on a fleeting visit to the city this afternoon (Dec 12, 2004) to pay his homage personally to the doyen of Carnatic music, M S Subbulakshmi, who passed away in a private hospital around midnight last night, following 'broncho pneumonia'.

Immediately on his arrival around 15:00 hrs (IST), Dr Kalam would straight away drive down to the musician's residence at Kotturpuram in the city to pay his last respects before returning to the national capital.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, former Governor P S Ramamohan Rao, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and leaders of various political parties have expressed their deep condolences to the family of the late Carnatic musician.

Expressing his deep grief, Barnala said her death was a ''great loss not only to Carnatic music but to the entire music world''. A legendary in Carnatic music, she was known for her ''simplicity and her devotion brought fame to our nation'', the Governor said.

Paying tributes for her ''innate simplicity, religious virtuosity and generosity of heart'', Former Governor Ramamohan Rao, in his message, said India had lost ''one of its outstanding achievers of the 20th century, whose angelic voice provided indescribable joys to the countless millions of music lovers in India and abroad.''

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, expressing her shock and grief at the sudden death of Subbulakshmi, said in her message that her passing away was an ''irreparable loss which leaves behind a void that cannot be filled.''

''The world has indeed lost a great singer and an even greater human being,'' she said in her condolence message.

Accompanied by his son and deputy general secretary of the party, the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) president and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, was the first to visit the musician's house this morning to pay his floral tributes.

In a poetic condolence message, he said ''the rain of music had now stopped for ever''.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president G K Vasan, MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) general secretary Vaiko, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader S Thirunavukkarasar, CPM (Communist Party of India- Marxist) State unit secretary N Varadharajan, and others have also paid their tributes to the music legend.