Hindustani classical singer Pandit Chhannulal Mishra passes away

New Delhi: Padma Vibhushan awardee and renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Chhannulal Mishra passed away on Thursday. He was 89.

He was unwell for several months and passed away at 4 a.m. in Mirzapur, after being unwell for several months, ANI tweeted. The legendary singer had celebrated his 89th birthday this August.

His last rites will be held in Varanasi today, confirmed his daughter, Namrata Mishra, to the news agency.

He received several prestigious awards throughout his illustrious career, including the Shiromani Award from Sur Singar Sansad, Mumbai; the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award; the Naushad Award from the Government of Uttar Pradesh; the Yash Bharti Award of Uttar Pradesh; the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship from the Government of India; and the Bihar Sangeet Shiromani Award.

He was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, on 25 January 2010, and later received the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, in 2020.

Born in Azamgarh in 1936, Mishra grew up to be a doyen of Hindustani classical music, contributing immensely to such styles of the form as Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Chaiti, Kajri, and Bhajan.

Mishra received music training from his father, Badri Prasad Mishra, as well as Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan of Kirana gharana, and Thakur Jaidev Singh.

He was an exponent of the Banaras gharana and the Purab Ang tradition of Thumri.