Girija Devi
Devi performing in Pune in 2006
Background information
Born	1929 (age 79–80) Varanasi, United Provinces, British Raj
Genres	Hindustani classical music
Instruments	singing
Years active	1949–present

Girija Devi (Hindi: गिरिजा देवी; IAST: Girijā Ḍhevī) (born 1929) is an Indian classical singer of the Banaras gharana. She performs classical and light classical music and has helped elevate the profile of thumri.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Performing career 3 Awards 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] Early life

Devi was born in Varanasi in 1929.^[1] Her father played the harmonium and taught music, and had Devi take lessons in singing khyal and tappa from vocalist and sarangi player Sarju Prasad Misra starting at the age of five.^[2] She starred in the movie Yaad rahe aged nine and continued her studies under Sri Chand Misra in a variety of styles.^[2]

[edit] Performing career

Girija Devi made her public debut 1949 on All India Radio Allahabad, after getting married to a businessman circa 1946, but faced opposition from her mother and grandmother, because it was traditionally believed that no upper class woman should perform publicly.^[1][2][3] Devi agreed not to perform privately for others, but gave her first public concert in Bihar in 1951.^[2] She studied with Sri Chand Misra until he died in the early 1960s, worked as a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata in the 1980s and of the Banaras Hindu University during the early 1990s, and taught several students to preserve her musical heritage.^[2] Devi often toured and continues to perform in 2009.^[2][4]

Devi sings in the Banaras gharana and performs the purabi ang thumri style typical of the tradition, whose status she helped elevate.^[3][5] Her repertoire includes the semi-classical genres kajri, caiti, and holi and she sings khyal, Indian folk music, and tappa.^[3][6] The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians states that her semi-classical singing combines her classical training with the regional characteristics of the songs of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.^[2]

[edit] Awards

Devi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 1989.^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Mishra, Yatindra (2006). Girija: A Journey Through Thumri. Rupa. ISBN 8129108577. http://books.google.com/books?id=EbPIAAAACAAJ. 

[edit] External links

• Girija Devi at Allmusic

Persondata
NAME	Devi, Girija
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	देवी, गिरिजा (Hindi)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Indian classical singer
DATE OF BIRTH	1929
PLACE OF BIRTH	Varanasi, United Provinces, British Raj
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH