{"id":1990,"date":"2017-10-30T07:00:10","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T01:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rtiwala.com\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2024-07-08T17:11:26","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T11:41:26","slug":"girija-devi-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rtiwala.com\/content\/girija-devi-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Girija Devi: The Queen Of Thumri"},"content":{"rendered":"

RTIwala Explains<\/a>: Girija Devi\u00a0(8 May 1929 \u2013 24 October 2017) was an eminent classical singer and Padma Vibhushan<\/a> awardee. She passed away at\u00a0Kolkata\u2019s BM Birla Heart Research Centre hospital on Tuesday following a cardiac arrest. She was 88 and survived by a daughter. She was much acclaimed Indian classical singer of the\u00a0Seniya and Banaras<\/a>\u00a0gharanas<\/a>. She performed classical and light classical music and helped elevate the profile of\u00a0thumri<\/a>. She died on 24 October 2017. Considered as the queen of Thumri and fondly called Appa ji, Girija Devi was put on life support, her family said.<\/p>\n

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The Queen of Indian Music Girija Devi<\/h2>\n

The Queen of thumri was born in\u00a0Varanasi<\/a>, on 8 May 1929, to Ramdeo Rai. Her father played the\u00a0harmonium and taught music. Devi took her lessons in singing\u00a0khyal<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0tappa<\/a><\/em>\u00a0from vocalist and\u00a0sarangi\u00a0player Sarju Prasad Misra starting at the age of five. Thus the musical symphony existed in the atmosphere of her family.\u00a0She starred in the movie\u00a0\u201cYaad Rahe\u201d<\/em>\u00a0aged nine. She continued her studies under Sri Chand Misra in a variety of styles.<\/p>\n

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Devi made her public debut in 1949 on\u00a0All India Radio<\/a>\u00a0Allahabad. She got married to a businessman in circa 1946. She had to face opposition from her mother and grandmother because it was traditionally believed that no upper-class woman should perform publicly.\u00a0She worked as a faculty member of the\u00a0ITC Sangeet Research Academy<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Kolkata\u00a0in the 1980s and of the\u00a0Banaras Hindu University\u00a0during the early 1990s and taught several students to preserve her musical heritage.<\/p>\n

\"RTIwala<\/a>
(Image Source: Alchetron)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Devi sang <\/a>in the Banaras Gharana and performed the\u00a0purabi ang<\/em>\u00a0thumri<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>style typical of the tradition, whose status she helped elevate. Her gamut included the semi-classical genres\u00a0kajri<\/em>,\u00a0chaiti<\/em>, and\u00a0holi<\/em>\u00a0and she sang\u00a0khyal<\/em>,\u00a0Indian folk music, and\u00a0tappa<\/a><\/em>. Devi is considered as\u00a0Queen of Thumri<\/em>. She was a pioneer of Purab gharana and Hindustani Classical and non-classical vocal music.<\/p>\n

The Real Maestro of Thumri<\/h2>\n

The Queen of Thumri won a number of accolades and awards. It was all due to her passion and dedication that brought her at this juncture. The list goes as follows:-<\/p>\n

\"RTIwala<\/a>
(Image Source: The Hindu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n