Mumbai, October 24 (IANS). Girija Devi, known as the ‘Queen of Thumri’ in the world of Indian classical music, belongs to the Banaras Gharana. He won the hearts of people in India and abroad with his singing. There was a time when many people got emotional after listening to his singing. Girija Devi gave new heights to classical music as well as sub-classical styles like Thumri, Dadra and Eastern Ang. Girija Devi was born on May 8, 1929 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The singer was interested in Thumri and classical music since childhood, so she left home and took rigorous music lessons by staying with gurus for two years. For this reason, he had proficiency in both classical and sub-classical music. Girija Devi was married at a young age. At the same time, she started singing on the radio only after five years of marriage, but she got real recognition when she performed in place of Pandit Omkarnath Thakur during a conference in Arrah, Bihar. Actually, famous singer Pandit Omkarnath Thakur was supposed to sing at the conference, but his car broke down and he could not reach in time, so the organizers gave the opportunity to Girija Devi. The singer surprised everyone by singing on stage. After this, his life seemed to change. He started singing in radio shows, stage shows and conferences, now his singing is praised everywhere. Girija Devi was called to Delhi in the year 1952, but before that she was offering chants in the Banaras Conference. In the Banaras conference, stalwarts like sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan and sitar maestro Vilayat Khan were present before Girija. Ravi Shankar liked his thumri so much during the conference that he invited Girija to the Constitution Club of Delhi. There Girija Devi sang Thumri in front of the President, Prime Minister and many ministers. His voice fascinated everyone. The government paid much tribute to the contribution of Girija Devi. He received ‘Padmashree’ in the year 1972. ‘Padma Bhushan’ was awarded in the year 1989. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ was given to him in the year 2016. Apart from this, he also received the ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi’ award. Girija Devi lived in Kolkata in the last years of her life. She spent time at the Sangeet Research Academy teaching new artists. He died on 24 October 2017 in Kolkata due to a heart attack. –IANS ns/abm
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