Girija Devi

Domain:Performing arts

State: Uttar Pradesh

Description:

The video presents a snippet of a performance by the doyenne of the Banaras gharana, Girija Devi (1929-2017). She was fondly referred to as 'Appa Ji' and was revered as the 'Queen of Thumri.' The legendary classical singer Girija Devi was born in Varanasi in 1929. At the age of five, she started training in Khayal and tappa forms of Hindustani music under the tutelage of the influential singer and sarangi player Sarju Prasad Mishra. Later, she received training under Srichand Mishra with whom she trained till his death in the 1960s. Her first public performance was on All India Radio, Allahabad in 1949. She was recognized as one of the last masters of the Purab ang gayaki tradition of the Banaras gharana. She mastered both the classical style of khayal and the semi-classical styles such as, thumri, kajri, tappa, chaiti and dadri.