THIS IS A RARE AND USED ITEM. IT IS NOT MANUFACTURED ANYMORE. NO RETURNS WILL BE ACCEPTED

An outstanding exponent of the Banaras School of vocal music, Siddheswari Devi is a versatile artiste of rare distinction. Although Light Classical Music in its various forms like Thumri, Dadra, Tappa, Kari, Chaiti, Hori and Purvi is her forte, she has specialized in Dhrupad, Dhamar and Khayal as well. Gifted with a rich and sonorous voice, her unique style of highly imaginative and emotional rendition has captivated the hearts of listeners all over the country and abroad.

Born in the year 1908, Smt. Siddheswari Devi was under rigorous musical training from her childhood and for years, she learn under the tutelage of Pandit Siyaji Maharaja Mishra, Guru Bade Ram Das of Banaras, Ustad Inayat Khan of Lahore and Khan Rajab Ali Khan of Gwalior. She started singing when she was only sixteen and made her first appearance in a concert at the tender age of eighteen. She became a popular artiste of Varanasi at the age of twenty six and since then she has been receiving frequent invitation for recitals from Rampur, Punjab, Mysore, Jodhpur and other States, which used to patronize Classical Music from very early times. At present she is on the staff of Bhartiya Kala Kendra at New Delhi.

In recognition of her significant contribution to the enrichment of Hindustani Music and perpetuation of the treasure of Banaras School, Smt. Siddheswari Devi was honored by an Award by the Sangeet Natak Akademy in the year 1966 and in the next year she was awarded ‘Padma Shree’ by the President of India.

While ‘Bol Bistar’ in Khayal style and ‘Pukar’ with emotional abundance are the characteristic features of her recital, Smt. Siddheswari Devi has developed the art of Thumri singing beyond any measure. She is an institution by herself for the contemporary age in view of her enormous repertory and heritage of a rich musical tradition of the ‘Purab’ style. Her recital on this disc reflects the spendour of her immortal image – as a tryly great exponent of this art.

On this record, Smt. Siddheswari Devi has offered from her rich repertoire highly imaginative exposition of a Thumri, two exquisite recitals of Dadra and one rare Tappa full of intricate patterns performed with amazing spontaneity.

The artiste has been accompanied on tabla by Ustad Keramatulla Khan, on the Sarangi by Mohamed Sagiruddin Khan and Sri Jnan Prakash Ghosh has provided accompaniment on the Harmonium