Girija Devi (8th May 1920, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) is an Indian singer and represent the Banaras Gharana of singers. She is adept at different styles of singing including Thumari, Dadra, Chaiti and Kajari, but she excels in Thumari.
Her father Ramdeo Rai was a local Zaminadar and interested in classical Indian music. He initiated her daughter;s musical training when she was five years old. Her first public recital (1949) from All India Radio, Allhabad, followed by recitals from stage at Arrah, Bihar, were highly appreciated, and was beginning of her public career as a singer. During her active singing career, she has rendered her recitations in several parts of India, as also in other parts of the world, including the USA, the former USSR, and several countries of Europe.
In recognition of her contributions in the field of music, Governmet of India has conferred on her the Padma Shree (1972), and the Padma Bhushan (1989), which are among the highest civilian awards of the Republic of India. Her contributions have also been recognized by various circles, and she has also received an honoury D. Litt. From the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth.
Further reading
India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women (ISBN 8188086193) by Indra Gupta
GirijaDevi has always led by example - her husband Singheshwar Majhi was the first alcoholic to face her wrath.
GirijaDevi did not stop with combating alcoholism alone - the mother of four children has pushed for roads, schools, teachers and doctors in her villages.
GirijaDevi has already been elected member of a local village council, and now aspires to stand for state elections and become a legislator to work for the people.
In her forty-three year stint as a performing artiste, GirijaDevi likes to feel that there are few places around the globe where audiences have not heard her music.
In a typical GirijaDevi concert, there is music, which speaks to the audience.
It was as if the floodgates had opened and the very next year GirijaDevi was invited to give her first live concert at Arrah in the state of Bihar and from the fifties, she was a constant invitee to concerts in India and abroad.
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