She might have made Kolkata her home but her birthplace Kashi always had a special place in Thumri queen Girija Devi's heart.
The legendary classical singer and a doyen of Banaras Gharana, Devi, who passed away at the age of 88 in Kolkata last night, wanted to build a world-class music academy here, a wish that remained unfulfilled.
"I have been asking for land for a music academy in Varanasi for the past 50 years but the government never paid attention. I could not get any land for the proposed academy. If I was given the land, I would have built a world class academy of music here," Devi had told PTI in an interview a few years ago.
"If there was an academy in Varanasi, I would not have settled in Kolkata," Devi, who was a faculty member of ITC Music Research Academy.
The singer, affectionately known to people as 'Appaji', had also expressed a desire to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard as Varanasi is his constituency.
Meanwhile, Devi's death has shocked the artistes in the city with many calling it a huge loss to the Indian classic music.
Renowned vocalist Pandit Channu Lal Mishra echoed Devi's sentiments about a music academy in the city to keep its rich musical tradition alive.
"Girija Devi was one of the gems of Banaras. Her heart always beat for the city. This culturally rich city needs an academy for music to keep its traditions alive. A centre where students can live and understand Banarasi Sangeet," he told PTI.
Revati Sakalkar, vocal music faculty member at Banaras Hindu University, said Devi's demise has robbed the city of its 'sur' (note).
"Shankar's Kashi will not be the same without Girija (another name of Goddess Parvati). We artistes feel that vaccume. She was the pride and joy of not just Kashi but the entire country," she said.
Devi's disciple Sakalkar said, "Kashi has given Ustad Bismillah Khan, Girija Devi and Birju Maharaj to the world. There should definitely be a world-class academy to keep the 'guru-shishya parampara' alive."
Soma Ghosh, another vocalist and adopted daughter of Bismillah Khan, said that such an academy should have been built when she was alive.
"There is nothing left in Kashi now. Those who want to learn music are compelled to move to other cities. We have lost baba (Bismillah Khan) and now Appaji who had so much to teach," She said.
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