Chaiti are a semi-classical songs sung in the Hindu calendar month of Chait.^[1][2] These songs are rendered during the Holy month of Sri Rama Navami in March/April. It falls under light classical form of Hindustani classical music.^[3] The songs typically has the name of Lord Rama.

It comes in the series of season songs, like Kajari, Hori and Sawani, and is traditionally sung in the villages and towns of Uttar Pradesh: around Banaras, Mirzapur, Mathura, Allahabad and the Bhojpur regions of Bihar. Some of the popular singers of Chaiti are Girija Devi etc.

References[link]

1. ^ "Thumri queen mesmarises music lovers". Times of India. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-08-31/patna/27216894_1_music-lovers-classical-music-thumri. Retrieved 16 January 2012. 
2. ^ "Documentary Rajan Sajan". Times of India. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-24/pune/30436826_1_gharana-mishra-brothers-classical-music-traditions. Retrieved 16 January 2012. 
3. ^ "Life on his own terms". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/08/25/stories/2006082501940300.htm. Retrieved 16 January 2012. 

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Nirmala Devi aka Nirmala Arun ( –1996) was a Punjabi Hindustani classical vocalist of the Patiala Gharana, in far northern India.^[1][2][3][4] She is the mother of Bollywood actor Govinda.

Personal life[link]

Nirmala Devi was the wife of a popular actor, of the 1940s, Arun Ahuja. She has five children, including actor Govinda (actor) and director Kirti Kumar. She died in 1996.

Filmography[link]

• Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) - playback singer
• Bawarchi (1972) - playback singer, as Nirmala Arun
• Zara Bachke (1959) - playback singer
• Shama Parwana (1954) - playback singer, as Nirmala Arun

Soundtrack

• Bawarchi (1972) - performer: "Kahhey Kanha Karat Bijori"

Actress

• Savera (1942)

References[link]

Sharda Sinha (born October 9, 1952) is a folk-singer and music teacher from Samastipur, Bihar. .^[1]

Background[link]

Sharda Sinha sings Maithili and Bhojpuri songs, has received Padma Shri for her contribution to music. Prayag Sangeet Samiti organised Basant Mahotsava at Prayag where Padma Shri Sharda Sinha presented numerous songs based on the theme of spring season,^[2] where the advent of spring was narrated through folk songs.^[2] She regularly performs during Durga Puja festivities.^[3][4] She performed when the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam came to, Bihar.^[5] She has sung in many movies such as Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and has also produced several music albums such as Dulhin, Pirittiya and Mehndi. Bihar 'kokila' Sharda Sinha performed at Pragati Maidan in the Bihar Utsav, 2010, New Delhi.^[6] Sinha started the programme with her patriotic song "Maiya bharti pukarela jawan babua tora hathawa mein deshwa ke shaan babuwa". Her other songs, included "Paniya ke jahaj se paltaniya bani ahiya piya lele ahiya ho sindurwa Bengal Ke," "Kahe to se sajani hamaar jogiya," "Sutal chaliya baba ke bhawanwa," "Sun ho pardesia," "Sasuji se lutri," "Apna sajaniya ke" and "Dulhin dhire dhire chalio." ^[6]

She has one son and one daughter. Son Ashu is a Web Designer and daughter Vandana is married to Sanju Kumar, Vice President (Legal), Yes Bank and lives in New Delhi with her three-year-old daughter Anushka.

Sharda Sinha's all songs are very entertaining and heart touching but her most popular songs is "Patna Se Baida Bulai Da"

References[link]

Chhannulal Mishra
Live performance in Pune on 17 July 2009
Background information
Born	(1936-08-03) 3 August 1936 (age 75)
Origin	Hariharpur, Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, India
Genres	Hindustani classical music, Thumri
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1960–present
Labels	http://chhannulalmishra.com/

Pandit Chhannulal Mishra (Hindi: पंडित छन्नूलाल मिश्रा) (born 3 August 1936) is a Hindustani classical singer from Banaras, a noted exponent of the Kirana gharana (school)^[1][2][3] of the Hindustani classical music and especially the Khayal and the 'Purab Ang' - Thumri.

He has been awarded the 'Shiromani Award' of Sur Singar Sansad, Bombay; Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award; Naushad Award of U.P. Govt., and the Bihar Sangeet Shiromani Award.^[4][5] He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, on the 25th Janauray, 2010.^[6][7]

Biography[link]

Mishra was born on 3 August 1936 in Hariharpur, Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, in the home of Badri Prasad Mishra. His grandfather, “Gudai Maharaj” Shanta Prasad was a noted tabla player.^[8]

He first learnt music with his father, Badri Prasad Mishra and was then was educated by 'Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan' of the Kirana gharana.^[9] He was trained thereafter by Thakur Jaidev Singh.^[10]

Today, he is considered one of Indian finest exponents of Hindustaani classical music ^[4] because of his unique blend of the Banaras Gayaki and the Punjab Gayaki,^[5] in his khyal, dadra, thumri, chaiti, kajri, hori and bhajans.

Discography[link]

Audio releases[link]

• Anjali (Hindi: अंजलि, literally Offering) – Audio CD with 10 tracks which include four Stutis, two Shlokas, two Chalisas, one Stotra and one Vandana dedicated to various aspects of Shakti - Durga, Mahakali, Kali, Saraswati, Vindhyeshwari, Sitala, Ganga, Bhavani.
• Echoes of Benaras Volume 3 – Audio CD with three Thumris, one Sawani and one Chaiti.
• Holi Ke Rang - Tesu Ke Phool (Hindi: होली के रंग - टेसू के फूल, literally The colours of Holi, the flowers of Tesu) – Audio CD with eight songs on Holi, seven describing the Holi of Radha and Krishna and one describing the Holi of Parvati and Shiva .
• Kabir (Hindi: कबीर) – A set of two audio CDs with 12 Bhajans authored by Kabir, a middle-age mystic from Benares.
• Krishna Madhav (Hindi: कृष्ण माधव) – A set of two audio CDs with 12 Bhajans dedicated to Krishna.
• Purvaiya - Chaiti (Hindi: पुरवइया - चैती, literally From the Orient - Songs of Chaitra) – Audio CD with nine songs of the Chaiti genre which are traditionally sung in the Hindu month of Chaitra (March-April) which falls during spring.
• Purvaiya - Kajari (Hindi: पुरवइया - कजरी, literally From the Orient - Songs of Rain) – Audio CD with eight songs of the Kajari genre which are traditionally sung during the rainy season.
• Rama Raga (Hindi: राम राग, literally The Raga of Rama) – Audio CD with a one-hour rendition of the three words Raja (King), Rama and Raga in various Ragas.
• Tulsidas - Ramcharitmanas (Hindi: तुलसीदास - रामचरितमानस) – Audio CD with five excerpts from the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas in different Ragas.
• Shiv Vivah (Hindi: शिव विवाह, literally The marriage of Shiva) - Audio CD with the marriage of Parvati and Shiva from the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas sung in eleven different Ragas, along with four Bhajans dedicated to Shiva.
• Spirit Of Benares – Audio CD with two Khayals, two Thumris and two Dadaras.
• Krishna - From The Heart Of Benaras – Audio CD with nine songs dedicated to Krishna.
• Sundar Kand (Hindi: सुन्दरकाण्ड) - A set of four audio CDs with the entire Sundar Kand of the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas sung in different Ragas, along with two Bhajans dedicated to Hanuman.

Bollywood Song[link]

• Aarakshan (Hindi: आरक्षण) (2011) – Two songs, Kaun Si Dor with Shreya Ghoshal and Saans Albeli.
• Mohalla Assi -Title track

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site of Chhannulal Mishra

Girija Devi
Devi performing in Pune in 2006
Background information
Born	1929 (age 82–83) Varanasi, United Provinces, British Raj
Genres	Hindustani classical music
Instruments	singing
Years active	1949–present

Girija Devi (Hindi: गिरिजा देवी; IAST: Girijā Devī) (born 1929) is an Indian classical singer of the Banaras gharana. She performs classical and light classical music and has helped elevate the profile of thumri.

Early life[link]

Girija Devi was born in Varanasi, India in 1929.^[1] Her father played the harmonium and taught music, and had Devi take lessons in singing khyal and tappa from vocalist and sarangi player Sarju Prasad Misra starting at the age of five.^[2] She starred in the movie Yaad rahe aged nine and continued her studies under Sri Chand Misra in a variety of styles.^[2]

Performing career[link]

Devi made her public debut 1949 on All India Radio Allahabad, after getting married to a businessman circa 1946, but faced opposition from her mother and grandmother, because it was traditionally believed that no upper class woman should perform publicly.^[1][2][3] Devi agreed not to perform privately for others, but gave her first public concert in Bihar in 1951.^[2] She studied with Sri Chand Misra until he died in the early 1960s, worked as a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata in the 1980s and of the Banaras Hindu University during the early 1990s, and taught several students to preserve her musical heritage.^[2] Devi often toured and continues to perform in 2009.^[2][4]

Devi sings in the Banaras gharana and performs the purabi ang thumri style typical of the tradition, whose status she helped elevate.^[3][5] Her repertoire includes the semi-classical genres kajri, chaiti, and holi and she sings khyal, Indian folk music, and tappa.^[3][6] The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians states that her semi-classical singing combines her classical training with the regional characteristics of the songs of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.^[2]

Awards[link]

Devi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 1989, received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2010.^[7][8]

• Maha Sangeet Samman Award (2012)
• Sangeet Samman Award ( Dover Lane Music Conference)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Mishra, Yatindra (2006). Girija: A Journey Through Thumri. Rupa. ISBN 81-291-0857-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=EbPIAAAACAAJ. 

External links[link]

• Girija Devi at Allmusic