The name Meera Banerjee always brings back the nostalgic memories of days when television and Internet were unheard of; yet some matchless voices filtered through the medium waves and reached the remote corners of our country. Even the most conservative elders allowed us children to listen to Lucknow Radio’s “Raag-Rang”. Those were the days when AIR made classical music an intrinsic part of every cultured family and ladies from such respectable families were willingly coming on the concert platforms as well. Bengal gifted a few khayal exponents and Meera Banerjee, undoubtedly, reigned supreme.
Her singing revealed an extensive gamut of musical expression ranging from soft caressing tone to swift dramatic taans of immense force, varied patterns and exuberance. She won millions of hearts by her precision and aesthetic balance between emotion and virtuosity in rendering khayals while her sweet and delicately nuanced emotive voice lent indescribable charm in her interpretations of thumri. Her ‘Kaun gali gayo Shyam’ remains etched on one’s mind as saint Meera’s spiritual quest.
But the root of her name lay in Meerut (pronounced Meerat by Bengalis), her birth place. Born on 28th March 1930, she was initiated into music by her musicologist father Shailendra Kumar Chatterjee. For a brief period she also trained under Pandit Chinmay Lahiri and, by 13 years of age, became an AIR artiste. Her performances instantly drew appreciation from seniors and contemporary musicians. She was honoured with the title of ‘Gitashree’ in 1944 when she was 14!
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Pandit Harishchandra Bali of Jalandhar, her father’s Guru, was so impressed by her talent that he gave her some rare bandishes and saadras. Meera, in turn, shared a few of those with the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, under whom she started learning from 1950 and continued till his death. She remains one of the most loyal torchbearers of Patiala style.
This devoted loyalty paid its dividends. Hers was a meteoric rise during the fifties. She sang at the Live National Programme, AIR in 1953. Next year, the Government of India invited her to tour several European countries as a member of its prestigious cultural delegation. Her performances were highly applauded wherever she went. Back in India, she was invited to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. By the mid-fifties, several of her long playing discs were released which became hugely popular. She married Prasun Banerjee in February 1957. A renowned vocalist in his own right, he too became a disciple of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. The couple recorded several duets, which were equally appreciated by their listeners. Meera went to Nepal as a State guest in 1962. Her concerts in Bangladesh were a great success. She lent her voice to the Bengali feature film “Atithi”, whose music was applauded in the international circuit.
It is but natural that several coveted awards came her way. She won the ITC SRA Award in 1996. The West Bengal State Academy Award was bestowed on her in 1999. She received the Dover Lane Music Award, the coveted Bhuwalka Award from Saurabh Academy, the G L Mehta Award in 2003, the Siddheshwari Award, Swar Siddhi Award and several others. But perhaps the fittest tribute to Meera Banerjee’s singing came from none other than her Ustad himself. He once commented in an interview, ‘When Meera sings, her music profoundly satisfies the soul’.
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Though later she withdrew from the stage-recitals due to failing health; yet, till recently, she radiated optimism full of romanticism as the chief guest of various soirees. She, with contagious affection, relished sharing juicy anecdotes related to her contemporaries; she would openly admit her crush for certain ‘good-looking’ musicians and after creating such ambience of bonhomie, she would throw light on their musical genius. For almost two decades Kolkata saw and admired the great Meera Banerjee in her role of the custodian of Bengal’s melodic history. At home, she kept training several worthy disciples who are carrying forward the legacy of Patiala Gharana; but the golden voice, that had ushered in a new era of khayal and thumri in Bengal, was forgotten during the barrages of recent ‘State-Awards’ and very quietly left for its heavenly abode on June 28, 2012.