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It was possibly fitting that Pt. Chhannulal Mishra breathed his past connected Dussehra — his astir enduring bequest are his recordings dedicated to Lord Ram. Whether it was the four-volume rendition of the Sundarkand, the evocative Ram Vivaha, oregon his popularity arsenic a kathaakar. His medium Ram Raga has him singing lone the words ‘Raja Ram’ for much than 1 hr successful a profoundly moving tribute to devotion. Pt. Chhannulal was a uncommon artiste whose euphony transcended the boundaries of classical raga.
Born connected August 3, 1936, successful the musically affluent colony of Hariharpur successful Azamgarh — often described arsenic a spot inhabited lone by musicians — Chhannulal trained arsenic a vocalist astatine an aboriginal age. His matrimony to Manorama, girl of the Benaras gharana tabla maestro Pt. Anokhelal Mishra, cemented his presumption successful the vibrant classical euphony satellite of Benaras. He besides trained nether Kirana gharana vocalist Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan — a lesser-known performer but an erudite master. Ustad Mashkur Ali Khan, 1 of the astir knowledgeable musicians of the Kirana gharana, recalls proceeding that Pt. Chhannulal Mishra besides received guidance from Ustad Ghani Khan’s son, Ahmed. This cross-gharana grooming contributed to the extent that marked his music.
Pt. Chhannulal was profoundly influenced musicologist and student Thakur Jaideva Singh, who had made Benaras his home. It was possibly this power that deepened his knowing of the intrinsic nexus betwixt euphony and devotion. For Pt. Chhannulal, bhakti was not simply a theme; it was the precise essence of his music.
Recognition from the wider satellite came precocious to him, contempt his poularity successful Benaras and philharmonic knowledge. He remained a dedicated teacher passim his life; once, erstwhile I asked him astir a singer’s assertion of discipleship, Panditji laughed good-naturedly and said, “If her vocation tin flourish by calling herself my sishya, wherefore should I contradict it?” He adjacent taught Pt. Veerbhadra Mishra, the saintly ‘mahant’ of the Sankat Mochan Temple successful Benaras.
His iconic recordings with the Devi Foundation brought him to a wider signifier successful the aboriginal 2000s, erstwhile helium was already implicit 60. The archetypal album, Anjali (2001), was a resounding occurrence — released successful Mumbai by Amitabh Bachchan and successful Delhi by erstwhile Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Soon after, helium became a fixture astatine virtually each large euphony festival successful the country. Yet helium remained arsenic committed to singing astatine intimate baithaks. He adjacent lent his dependable to a fewer films. Jai Sinha of Devi Foundation, however, laments that his demanding docket near nary clip to implicit the Foundation’s planned signaling of the entire Ramcharitmanas. “It is simply a immense loss,” Sinha said, “as nary 1 was amended equipped to sing it.”
Pt. Chhannulal affability connected stage, his instinctive link with audiences, and his humour made him much-lover performer. He engaged with each types of listeners — connoisseurs arsenic good arsenic the uninitiated — with adjacent easiness and warmth. He had a distinctive gravelly voice, honed to a molten mellowness with decades of riyaaz. He drew audiences wherever helium sang — astir ever with his son, Ram Kumar Mishra connected the tabla.
His popularity arsenic a bhajan vocalist often overshadowed his beardown classical training. Apart from his bhajans, recorded by Devi Foundation, Pt. Channulal was besides a distinguished thumri singer. He was adept successful some the Banaras and Gaya styles. His immense repertoire included uncommon Horis — immoderate dedicated adjacent to Shiva, specified arsenic ‘Khelen masaane mein Holi, Digambar’ (lets play Holi successful the cremation ground) He besides sang a wide scope of people songs and did not person the accustomed disdain that classical musicians person for non-classical forms. For him, euphony was ever a mean of communication, and nary genre was ever inadequate for that purpose.
Accolades came to him slowly, but they did come. First, the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi designation successful 2000, erstwhile helium was 64. A decennary later, successful 2010, helium received some the Sangeet Natak Akademi grant and the Padma Bhushan. These were followed by the Akademi Fellowship successful 2019 and, a twelvemonth later, the Padma Vibhushan successful 2020. With his passing, Indian classical euphony has mislaid an irreplaceable dependable — a elemental and an ever-smiling artiste.
