Thumri queen Savita Maharaj dead
Tribune News Service
Inimitable vocalist
- Daughter and disciple of late Siddheshwari Devi and recipient of the Padma Shri award, Vidushi Savita Devi had carved a niche for herself in the world of Indian classical music
as an inimitable vocalist.
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Chandigarh, December 21
Daughter and disciple of renowned thumri queen late Siddheshwari Devi, noted exponent Vidushi Savita Devi is no more. She was 80. An exponent of the Benaras Gharana, like her celebrated mother, Savita Devi, also known as Savita Maharaj, specialised in thumri, dadra, kajri, chaiti and tappa, the semi-classical styles of music. Thumri, best known for bhaav, was as much her forte as her mother’s.
Though she may have grown up listening to her mother’s thumris, naturally imbibing its expressional facet, yet she felt it had taken her a lifetime to really grasp its emotionscape.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, she also spoke of living in her shadow, only to emerge as much as her mother’s daughter as an artiste in her own right. Having learnt in the holy city of Varanasi from her mother, she would later recount her memories of mother-cum-guru in the book, “Maa…Siddheshwari”.
To keep her mother’s tradition of thumri of purab ang and her inimitable style alive, she founded Siddheshwari Devi Academy of Indian Music. Music for Savita was a prayer. No wonder when she sang bhajans, these were replete with spiritual fervour. An equally proficient khayal singer, she also adopted the style of the Kirana Gharana from her Gurus Pandit Mani Prasad and Pandit Dalip Chandra Vedi. But she never mixed her styles.
Though she also won acclaim as a sitarist and bagged a prize at an inter-university youth festival, she found her true calling and niche as a vocalist. Her artistry also reflected in her compositions. She wrote and composed several thumris, dadris and chaitis. In “Maa…Siddheshwari”, she recounted her mother’s struggles and achievements, providing a significant musical link, both as a daughter and disciple.
