Vocalist Pandit Chhannulal Mishra during a performance (PTI photo)
VARANASI: Pandit Chhannulal Mishra, a doyen of Hindustani classical music and Padma Vibhushan recipient, passed away at the Mirzapur home of his daughter Namrata Mishra following a prolonged illness on Thursday morning. He was 89.“He was in hospital recently for 17-18 days with age-related issues. He breathed his last around 4 am,” his daughter Namrata Mishra said. He is survived by his son, tabla player Ramkumar Mishra, and three daughters. His wife and one of his daughters passed away four years ago.Mishra, who had been ill for over eight months, was admitted to SSL Hospital of BHU in Varanasi on Sept 13. Following improvement in his condition, he was discharged recently and had been staying with Namrata.PM Modi termed Mishra’s death “an irreparable loss for India’s music world and a personal loss for me”. In a post on X, he said the renowned vocalist “remained dedicated throughout his life to the enrichment of Indian art and culture” and “also made invaluable contributions in establishing Indian tradition on the world stage”.Modi said he had the opportunity to meet the vocalist several times . He recalled Mishra was one of his proposers when he contested LS polls from Varanasi for the first time in 2014. CM Yogi Adityanath called him “an inspiration” for practitioners of classical music.Mishra’s mortal remains were consigned to flames at Manikarnika Ghat following a guard of honour.A pride of the Banaras gharana, Mishra was not only a master of Khayal style singing but also took the eastern thumri and ‘Purab Ang’ style to new heights. Born on Aug 3, 1936, in Hariharpur village of Azamgarh, Mishra received his initial education in music from his father, Badri Prasad Mishra.He learned the intricacies of classical music from Ustad Abdul Gani Khan of Kirana gharana. Mishra received many awards and honours for his contributions in the field of music, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2000, Padma Bhushan in 2010 and Padma Vibhushan in 2020.
