'Girija Devi's demise an irreparable loss to Banaras Gharana'
VARANASI: Demise of great vocalist and Thumri queen Girija Devi came as a big
shocker to the music lovers of Varanasi, the birth place of the eminent singer.
Girija Devi, fondly known as Appa ji, passed away in a hospital in Kolkata on
Tuesday evening. She was 88.
"It is an irreparable loss to Indian music and Banaras Gharana of music.
She was a guiding figure for us," said noted Sarod player and Yash Bharati
recipient Pt. Vikash Maharaj. "She was ailing for some time, and admitted to BM
Birla Hospital in Kolkata in the morning. She left for the heavenly abode in the
evening," he said adding that she had been living in Kolkata with her daughter.
"No one can fill the gap. Even at 88 her scintillating voice could leave
the audience spell bound. She was perhaps the last exponent of thumri, tappa,
chaiti and khayal. I heard her singing in an award ceremony in New Delhi on
August 27," said Ashok Kapoor, founder of a cultural organization Kala Prakash
working for the cause of Indian music.
Though settled in Kolkata, she regularly visited Varanasi. She was born in
Varanasi in 1929. She took lessons in singing khayal and tappa from vocalist
Sarju Prasad Misra in early childhood. She worked as a faculty member of the ITC
Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata in the 1980s and of the Banaras Hindu
University during the early 1990s. She was a prominent performer of purabi ang
thumri style of Banaras gharana. She was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2016.
see also:
Here we post in her memory a program from All India Radio (AIR), Delhi, broadcast on 7th of July 1989. This program is quite unusual as it contains just two longer performances in the Khayal format.
First we had posted here a CD from 1990. Because of our rule not to post commercial CDs on this blog we decided to replace it with this AIR broadcast, of which I was not aware that I had it. Just dicovered it now. We received it a while ago from our friend KF. All thanks to him and his generosity.
First we had posted here a CD from 1990. Because of our rule not to post commercial CDs on this blog we decided to replace it with this AIR broadcast, of which I was not aware that I had it. Just dicovered it now. We received it a while ago from our friend KF. All thanks to him and his generosity.
In 2011 we posted already an LP from 1979 by her. See here.
