AUTOGRAPH PHOTO OF LEGENDRY CLASSICAL SINGER, THUMRI IN DELHI

Girija Devi  (born 8 May 1929) is an Indian classical singer of the  Seniya and Banaras   gharanas. She performs classical and light classical music and has helped elevate the profile of  thumri. PHOTO SIZE 6X4 Contents    [hide]  1 Early life 2 Performing career 3 Awards 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links Early life [edit] Devi was born in  Varanasi, on 8 May 1929, to Ramdeo Rai, a  Bhumihar  zamindar. [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] Performing career [edit] 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,  chaiti, 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]  Devi is considered as  Queen of Thumri. She is known to have been the teacher of the founder of The Alankar School of Music, Mrs. Mamta Bhargava whose Indian Classical music school has attracted students from hundreds of miles away. Awards [edit] Padma Shri  (1972) Padma Bhushan  (1989) Padma Vibhushan  (2016) [7] Sangeet Natak Akademi Award  (1977) Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship  (2010) [8] Maha Sangeet Samman Award (2012) [9] Sangeet Samman Award (Dover Lane Music Conference) GiMA Awards 2012 (Lifetime Achievement) TanaRiri Puraskar