Kolkata: Thumri queen Girija Devi, fondly known as Appa Ji, passed away late on Tuesday night at the BM Birla Heart Research Centre in Kolkata.
She was suffering from heart ailments and died of cardiac arrest around 10:30 PM at the hospital.
Speaking to News18, Girija Devi’s daughter Sudha Datta said, “Meri zindagi ujad gayi... Appa Ji humesha ke liye chal basi (My life is finished... Appa Ji has left us forever).”
“On Thursday, we will go to Banaras (Varanasi) for her last rites. I don’t know how I will spend the rest of my life without Appa Ji. I will miss every moment I spent with her, especially her rendition of Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Hi Jaaye. There will be no more Babul Mora from Appa Ji,” said the sobbing daughter.
On Wednesday, around 12:30 pm, Girija Devi’s body will be taken to Sangeet Research Academy in South Kolkata where her well-wishers, students and friends will pay their tributes. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also scheduled to pay her tribute.
Around 4 pm, she will be taken to Peace Heaven mortuary and on Thursday morning, Girija Devi’s body will be flown to Varanasi for the last rites.
Girija Devi along with her daughter Sudha Datta came to Kolkata for her treatment on October 10 and stayed at her grandson’s house at Regent Park in South Kolkata.
“On Tuesday, she complained of chest pain and was admitted around noon in the hospital. At night she passed away,” Kritika, the Thumri maestro’s student told News18.
“It’s a personal loss for us. Life ahead looks bleak without Appa Ji,” she lamented.
Pt Subhen Chatterjee, who was associated with Girija Devi for a long time as a table player, said, “Whatever I am today is because of her. For me, it’s like I lost my mother. I have never met such a wonderful person like her. Always smiling, helpful and down to earth.”
Girija Devi was born in Banaras (now Varanasi) on May 8, 1929. Her father Ramdeo Rai, a zamindar, encouraged her to start learning classical music from Pandit Sarju Prasad Misra when she was 5-years-old.
She was later taught by Pandit Sri Chand Misra, whose student she remained until he passed away in the 1960s. Later, she worked as a faculty member of the Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata in the 1980s and in Banaras Hindu University during the early 1990s.
In 1972, she was awarded the Padma Shri and in 1989, the Padma Bhushan. The Indian government awarded her the Padma Vibhushan in 2016.
She was a Khayal singer but was popularly known for Thumri and Dadra, along with the many other forms of folk music like Kajri, Chiati, Hori and Barahmasa.
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