Girija Devi, with the limitless expanse of her music and pristine voice, embodies the essence of classical music. In Chennai recently, Girija Devi was honoured for being awarded Padma Vibhushan. The ever radiant Dr. Vyjayantimala Bali felicitated the doyenne on behalf of ‘Singara Chennai.’ Incidentally, Girija Devi had received the award 27 years after she was conferred Padma Bhushan.
At ‘Parampara,’ the quality and brilliance of her youthful voice at 88 evoked powerful emotions. A large congregation of discerning rasikas came to listen to the grandeur of Thumri and classical bandish.
“Mahadeva” in Bhoop set the pace with the singer’s invocation of Siva. A bandish in Pooriya Dhanashri brought forth vivid images of Rama. The third piece captured the virah , the pain of separation experienced by Bharata when he pleads with his mother Kaikeyi, “Janani, main n jiyun bin Ram,” a heart rending rendition which also suggests that happiness lies in ‘being more’ than ‘having more’ - a phrase from Paul Claudel. This prompted Girija Devi to suggest to Vyjayantimala to weave a dance sequence around it.
“Hari mere jeevan pran adhaar” in Jog was steeped in devotioni and the embellishment of swaras. The shading of its mukhya swaras both shud and Komal ‘ga’ through gamakas, meends, and her vocal power brought out the essential splendour of the raga.
This was followed by the ‘folk’ music of Uttar Pradesh, called ‘Kajari,’ which essentially means black. It is sung during the rainy season and Girija Devi presented a beautiful piece of music in Dadra, “Kahna mano oh Radha.”
Last but not the least, a beautiful Tumri in Bhairavi, “Babul Mera Naihar Chooto Jaiye re,” which was the tour-de-force of the evening. The contrasting emotions of a bride leaving her home and another leaving this world, both carried by four men, brought out the reality of life.
Giving Girija Devi vocal support were Barnali, Manjulika Zhaver and Piyush. Ravindra Yavagal on the tabla, Vyasa Murthi Katti on the harmonium and Raja Shekhar on the violin provided excellent support.
Girija Devi was heading to Delhi along with 35 students to record the unique genre of music ‘Chhund and Prabhaund’ for the Sangeet Natak Academy, as she is the last and the only bearer of this great tradition.
