Girija Devi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Girija Devi
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Devi performing in Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (July 2015)
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| Background information | |
| Born | 8 May 1929 Benares, Benares State, British India |
| Died | 24 October 2017 (aged 88) Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Instruments | vocal |
| Years active | 1949–2017 |
Girija Devi (born May 8, 1929 – died October 24, 2017) was a famous Indian classical singer. She belonged to the Seniya and Banaras gharanas, which are like special schools of music. Girija Devi sang both classical and light classical songs. She was especially known for a style called thumri. People often called her the 'Queen of Thumri' because she made this type of music very popular. She passed away on October 24, 2017.
Early Life of Girija Devi
Girija Devi was born in Varanasi, India, on May 8, 1929. Her father, Ramdeo Rai, was a landowner who loved music. He played the harmonium and taught music to others.
Girija Devi started learning music at the young age of five. She took lessons in singing khyal and tappa from Sarju Prasad Misra. He was a vocalist and also played the sarangi, an Indian string instrument.
When she was nine years old, Girija Devi even appeared in a movie called Yaad rahe. She continued her music studies with another teacher, Chand Misra. She learned many different styles of singing from him.
Girija Devi's Singing Career
Girija Devi first sang publicly in 1949 on All India Radio in Prayagraj. This was after she married a businessman around 1946. However, her mother and grandmother were not happy about her performing in public.
At that time, it was not common for women from upper-class families to perform publicly. Girija Devi agreed not to sing privately for others. But she gave her first public concert in Bihar in 1951.
She continued to learn from Sri Chand Misra until he passed away in the early 1960s. Later, in the 1980s, Girija Devi worked as a teacher at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata. She also taught at the Banaras Hindu University in the early 1990s.
Girija Devi taught many students. She wanted to make sure her special musical style would continue. She often traveled and performed concerts. She was still performing as late as 2009.
Girija Devi sang in the Banaras gharana style. She was famous for the purabi ang thumri style. This style is typical of the Banaras tradition, and she helped make it very well-known.
Her songs also included other semi-classical styles. These were kajri, chaiti, and holi. She also sang khyal and tappa, along with Indian folk music.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians once said that her semi-classical singing was special. It mixed her classical training with the local styles of songs from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Girija Devi passed away on October 24, 2017. She was 88 years old. She died from a heart attack at the BM Birla Heart Research Centre in Kolkata.
Awards and Honors
Girija Devi received many important awards for her contributions to music:
- Padma Shri (1972)
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977)
- Padma Bhushan (1989)
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2010)
- Maha Sangeet Samman Award (2012)
- GiMA Awards 2012 (Lifetime Achievement)
- Sangeet Samman Award (Dover Lane Music Conference)
- TanaRiri Puraskar
- Padma Vibhushan (2016)
See also
In Spanish: Girija Devi para niños
