Girija Devi

Girija Devi ranks among India’s foremost vocalists and stands as one of the final exponents of the Purab ang gayaki lineage within the Banares Gharana. Equally at home in the eighteenth-century khyal idiom and in the lighter forms of thumri, tappa, kajri, dadra, and chaiti, she received the Padmashree from the president of India in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 1989, in addition to Sangeet Natak Academy honors from both Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Born in Varanasi—then known as Benares—on the left bank of the Ganges in that historic center of culture and religion, she has performed for most of her life. Beginning at five under the guidance of the noted vocalist and sarangi exponent Pandit Sarju Prasad, she later pursued further training with Pandit Chandra Misra. Her first public appearance came in 1949 on a program aired by All India Radio from Allahabad, followed a year later by her initial concert engagement. From the early 1990s onward she joined the faculty of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy at its founding, instructing numerous disciples that included Dalia Rahut, Jayita Pandey, and Satyanarayan Misra, son of her own teacher Pandit Sarju Prasad. After twelve years she departed the academy and returned to Varanasi, where she accepted a visiting professorship at Banaras Hindu University.